hankyoreh

The importation of genetically modified organisms, or GMO, began in earnest with the arrival of fifty thousand tons of genetically modified corn in Ulsan on May 1. Food companies that are part of an umbrella industry organization say that of the 2 million tons of corn that is going to be imported this year, about 1.2 million tons are going to be of the genetically modified variety.

There have been instances in which genetically modified soybeans have been imported, but there can be no comparison to what it means to be importing genetically modified corn. The soybeans were used only in the production of cooking oil, but the corn is going to be used in starch sugar going into all sorts of processed foods. The thing is, the law does not currently require labels on food ingredients to indicate whether they contain ingredients from GMOs. It especially doesn’t require disclosure on processed foods with genetically modified starch sugar. The result is that no one is going to be able to avoid eating foods made from GMOs.

It is nothing short of a serious encroachment on the right of the people to have their health protected to be importing GMOs for use in food under the current law, given how there continues to be controversy over the safety of GMOs. No country and no company has the right to force feed the population genetically modified foods. At the very least, the people need to have their right to choose guaranteed by requiring all food products that use GMO ingredients to be identifiable by label. Companies in the industry should begin disclosing such information voluntarily, even before the law is revised to make it a requirement. The government and the industry should also cease imports immediately, unless they are going to make an effort to make sure people know what they are eating.

The United States, the world’s biggest exporter of foods made from GMOs, opposes labeling regulations, but the European Union and other countries say GMOs should not be commercialized yet because the potential risks remain unknown and they have not been scientifically proven as safe. Given how genetically modified foods have been in the distribution chain for only a decade now, the EU’s position would seem to be the right one. There’s no reason for us to raise our hand and volunteer to be the guinea pigs.

At the same time, there needs to be a profound look at our agriculture policy. The grain crisis that the government and the industry are invoking as the reason to be importing GMOs is not by any means a temporary phenomenon. It will be hard to secure the safety of the country’s food without altogether reconsidering Korean farm policy that depends almost entirely on imports for all of its grain needs, excluding rice.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]