GM rice 'sold illegally in China'

"The environmental group Greenpeace says genetically modified (GM) rice is being sold in China even though it has not been approved for public consumption. A Greenpeace spokesman said the government was in effect experimenting on the Chinese people.

"China has been testing genetically modified rice for years and is expected to approve a strain for commercialisation soon. Liu Haiying, programme director for Greenpeace in Beijing, said GM rice was being sold at markets in Wuhan and a nearby suburb, and in two cities in Hubei.

"Greenpeace campaigner Sze Pang Cheung said the genetic engineering industry was 'out of control'. "A small group of rogue scientists have taken the world's most important staple food crop into their own hands and are subjecting the Chinese public to a totally unacceptable experiment,' he said."