] China could open the door to biotech rice within two
] years, paving the way for the GMO crop to enter the food
] stream across Asia, the head of a trade group said
] Monday.
]
]
] "Rice is likely to be approved in China in the near term,
] maybe in two years," said Clive James, chairman and
] founder of ISAAA, a group with industry and public
] foundation support that promotes biotech as a way to halt
] global hunger.
]
]
] "And once China approves rice, this will move through the
] rice countries of Asia -- like India, Pakistan and the
] Philippines -- where rice is king," he said in an
] interview.
]
]
] Knocking down the barriers to using GMO (genetically
] modified organism) rice would be a major coup for
] industry and other backers of GMO crops.
]
]
] Rice is the staple of half the world's more than six
] billion people. China has long been seen as the pioneer
] in GMO rice, and is the world's top producer and consumer
] of the commodity.