Editorial; Genetically Engineered Crops

Beginning of article

The announcement by the Korea Consumer Protection Board (KCPB) last week that genetically modified (GM) beans are used in some 82 percent of all tofu products on the market here has shocked people. It is quite natural people are surprised that they have been unknowingly exposed to GM food whose safety has yet to be confirmed.

The extent of the uneasiness here is reflected in the 80 percent fall in the sales of tofu products since the KCPB announcement last week.

Local civic groups called for the recall of the products because of a possible hazard to people's health, while the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) retorted that the safety of the products is beyond doubt because the same beans have been used in Europe and Japan since 1996.

GM crops are produced under a technology, first developed in the United States in …