Why Did China Just Ban McDonald’s New Genetically Modified Super Potato But The US Did Not?
Simplot, an agribusiness which supplies McDonald’s with over 3
billion pounds of potatoes annually, has just announced its latest
genetic experiment with a potato appropriately titled ‘Innate.’
According to RT,the genetically modified (GM) potato has been engineered to bruise less
easily as well as to not turn brown for hours after it’s been cut.
Simplot has assured the public that Innate is coming to the market after
almost “a decade of scientific development, safety assessments and extensive field tests,” which
have taken place in Florida, Indiana, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, North
Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin -between 2009 and 2011.
But the biggest bonus Innate has to offer is its impressively lessened levels of acrylamide, a well known carcinogen which
is substantiated under high heat by deep-frying foods. The potato would
produce 75% less acrylamide than their current french fry buy silencing
certain genes and enzyme production.
Should We Be Concerned About The New GM Potato?
The USDA boasts there have been no observed dangers to other crops in
the vicinity of the Innate crop, and it is rumored that the FDA will
approve the potato within the month. However, the medical implications
of the alterations have not been tested, according to RT.
McDonald’s China has denied that it has imported or used genetically
engineered potatoes after the US Department of Agriculture approved the
Innate potato, “McDonald’s China does not use genetically modified
potatoes. The potatoes that McDonald’s China uses are in line with the
national laws and regulations,” the public relations department of
McDonald’s China told the Global Times Monday.
