Gov't, Scientists Struggle to Root Out Opposition to GM Foods

(Beijing) – In July, 61 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering submitted a petition to the country's leaders asking that they begin promoting industrial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) rice as soon as possible.

The experts did not seek support from the public, and their names remain a secret. Information about the petition was only released three months later by Zhang Qifa, of the CAS. Zhang, dean of Huazhong Agricultural University's College of Life Sciences and Technology, made the announcement at a conference in the capital.