China agriculture officials increasingly concerned about genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, have declined to renew biosafety certificates for GMO rice and a variety of GMO corn grown for research purposes. Officials didn't explain reasons for their decision.

Permits to grow a transgenic corn type and two GMO varieties of rice expired on Aug. 17. The decision by the Ministry of Agriculture to allow these GMO permits to lapse calls into question the future of some GMO crops and research in China.

Like Us on Facebook

The decision followed a ruling two weeks ago to ban GMO corn from the U.S. used in chicken and hog feed along with ethanol production. The US National Grain and Feed Association said that ban could cost American farmers more than USD$3 billion in future sales.

China only recently started banning GMO products. Previously, Chinese agriculture officials had been viewed as favorable to GMO production. When GMO research corn was approved five years ago this month, officials expressed enthusiasm.

Non-renewed GMO rice permits were in play for five years at Wuhan's Huazhong Agricultural University. Researchers were allowed to test GMO rice with Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, genes designed to ward off pests.

The banned GMO corn variety was being tested by Beijing's Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Biotechnology Institute. Researchers modified corn with phytase. This is an additive to livestock feed increasing the amount of phosphorous absorbed by cattle enabling them to grow faster and larger. However, the ban didn't extend to Bt corn, which the government continues to support in research settings.

The five year certificates were issued at a time when opposition to GMO seeds and genetic alterations to crops was just beginning to take shape. Public distaste for use of these crop alterations has grown exponentially during that period, acording to analysts.

Environmental activists applauded the decision. Wang Jing, a Beijing Greenpeace official, told ScienceInsider GMO research permits were loopholes now closed due to public concern over food safety.

Some analysts pointed to the decision as economically based. They said China has become self-sufficient producing rice without GMO alterations, so decided it didn't need to keep going with GMO research or production.

Huang Jikun, head of the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy at China's Academy of Sciences, said research wasn't deemed important since GMO alterations for commercial rice and corn production wasn't going to be approved. Cao Cong, a China policy analyst at Britain's Nottingham University said  the decision was a win for anti-GMO forces.

For more from Chinatopix on the subject visit: https://www.chinatopix.com/articles/5879/20140807/farmers-lose-billions-dollars-china-prohibits-imports-gmo-corn-agriculture-chickens-hogs-syngenta.htm.

TagsGMO, chinese gmo ban, rice, corn, agriculture, Biology, Environment, Policy, technology