Lecture 11- Agriculture product safety and GMOs

Question 1

What are the different classes of GMOs?

Answer 1

• class 1 = no verified risk yet
• class 2 = low risk
• class 3 = medium risk
• class 4 = high risk

Question 2

What was Zhu v Nestle?

Answer 2

GM Labeling

• Zhu sued Nestle for not labeling GM ingredients in its coco powder product”Qiaobanban” and claimed compensation of the product price and to order Nestle to label GM ingredients on its packaging
• No GM was found and the court ruled in favor of Nestle and no GM labeling was required. This case shows Chinese courts rule on the basis of domestic standards

Question 3

What were problems encountered in implementing the biosafety regulations?

Answer 3

• lack of resources
• tension between the goals of different bureaucracies
• horizontal coordination of activities among different government agencies at the same level
• vertical conflicts between central and local governments
• other challenges