The companies now committed to eliminating GE ingredients
include internationally known brand names such as Danone, Heinz,
Lay's, Lipton, Lotte and many others. "Companies are committed to
non-GE because GE food is unwanted," said Sze Pang Cheung,
Greenpeace China Campaign Manager. "GE food brings no benefits to
consumers, but there are health risks and irreversible
environmental threats. On the contrary, conventional soya has been
consumed in China for 5000 years. Our common sense should tell us
which is safer."
According to the latest survey done by Greenpeace in Beijing,
Shanghai and Guangzhou, 87% of respondents demand that food
producers label their GE products. If foods are labeled, 40% of the
respondents said they would choose non-GE food over GE food, while
24% would choose otherwise. 70% of the respondents said they would
lose confidence in a brand if its products were found to contain GE
ingredients. In contrast, 40% of the respondents would increase
their confidence in brands that have committed to a non-GE
policy.
"The GE industry is talking about 'Europeanization' of the
global attitude to GE food, and we see it is happening in China,"
said Sze Pang Cheung. While the Chinese government has lately given
in to the US pressure and granted safety permits to import GE
products, Chinese consumers seem to be worried. Last year, a young
mother from Shanghai, Zhu Yanling, sued food giant Nestlé for not
labelling the GE product which she had been buying for her two-year
old baby.
To mark the official launch of the first Shoppers Guide in
China, Greenpeace volunteers handed out the Guide to consumers in
the busy spots in Shanghai and Guangzhou to inform consumers of
non-GE products in the market. The Guide is also available for
download in sina.com, the most popular Chinese portal site which
has more than 23 million hits everyday.
Greenpeace has stepped up its campaign around the world against
GE food. Shipments carrying soya suspected of being contaminated
with GE have been targetted in ports around the world - The Rainbow
Warrior today, anchored in the channel of Port Kembla Harbour in
Australia, is preventing a U.S. shipment from delivering its load
of GE soy to Melbourne and contaminating the Australian food chain.
Shoppers Guides have been launched in twenty countries including
France, Brazil, Germany, Spain and Italy, the guides will
effectively educate millions of consumers about GE products.
VVPR info: Follow the Greenpeace GE campaign on www.greenpeace.org.hk and www.greenpeace.org/stopGMO
Notes: 1 50 producers (with 78 brands) sent formal statements to Greenpeace confirming they do not to use GE ingredients in their products sold in China.2 The consumer survey was commissioned by Greenpeace and carried out in February by Research International. Telephone interviews were conducted with 600 respondents in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in February 2004.