a storm in a rice bowl

Lai Yun， a senior campaigner for Greenpeace， never imagined that collecting a handful of grains of rice would lead to accusations of theft being leveled at his employer by Huazhong Agricultural University. The academic institution claimed that Greenpeace employees “plotted to steal” rice seeds and leaves from the school’s experimentation base in Sanya， on China’s tropical island province of Hainan.

For Lai， this was just another unsuccessful undercover investigation a fairly common occurrence throughout his 13-year career as an environmental activist.

Lai posted on his Weibo， China’s Twitter equivalent， that Greenpeace had been closely watching the illegal research and sale of genetically modified （GM） goods over the years， and that undercover investigations were a common practice. He claimed that it was not rare for Greenpeace to “catch out” enterprises that were illegally polluting the environment， and that the organization was “not ashamed”of this practice.

Greenpeace has yet to receive any communication from law enforcement concerning the matter， but the incident re-ignited the perennial debate between those in China in favor of GM products and their opponents， especially in the online realm.

Field Research

The “theft” incident can be traced back to Cui Yongyuan， a popular former anchor on State broadcaster CCTV and a vehement oppo- nent of GM food. Cui even made a field trip to the United States late last year to solicit opinions and shoot a documentary on the security of GM food， funded at his own expense.

In February， Cui posted on his Weibo claiming that GM rice was being cultivated illegally that is， experimental strains were being planted without the required government approval in Hainan. A month later， the province’s agricultural department issued a circular confirming Cui’s allegation 15 samples from 13 enterprises were found to be GM. Soon after， Greenpeace dispatched three employees to Hainan to investigate further.

On April 10， the trio nosed around the premises of several seed companies in Sanya， but failed to identify the illegal sale of GM seeds. They then visited several nearby farms， to no avail. Sanya’s Lingshui County is home to fields belonging to several of China’s foremost crop research institutes， including those affiliated with Wuhan University and Huazhong Agricultural University， one of the country’s leading research institutes on crop genetics. The Greenpeace workers decided to find out whether or not illegal cultivation was being carried out， and whether GM seeds from the experimental field had found their way onto adjacent farmland.

A day later， the group hired a local driver and set off in search of Huazhong Agricultural University’s research base.

This was not the first scrap between the environmental lobbying group and the university. In 2005， Greenpeace published a report on the illegal sale of seeds and rice in Hubei Province， where the univer-sity’s main campus is located. It further alleged that GM seeds were produced by New Technology Company， a firm owned by Huazhong Agricultural University. The report instantly grabbed media headlines and public doubts over the security of GM rice have been mounting ever since.

In a survey conducted by the Center for Agricultural Policy under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2010， 53 percent of respondents welcomed the concept of GM food， with only 16 percent in opposition， and 27 percent expressing neutrality. However， the report added that the public’s acceptance of GM food was on the decline compared to results in previous years because of growing safety concerns.

In November 2009， the Ministry of Agriculture granted biosafety certificates for two pest-resistant strains of GM rice and one variety of corn， making China the first country in the world to give the nod to field trials of GM staple foods. But the country approved neither commercial cultivation nor the import of GM grains， according to a report by State news agency Xinhua.

Zhang Qinglu， a teacher at Huazhong， told NewsChina that at about 5 PM on the day of the alleged theft， a man and a woman came to the experimental base， asking the way to the Wuhan University institute. Zhang said he courteously pointed them in the right direction and told them that the nearby courtyard was home to the experimental base of Huazhong Agricultural University. The yard was surrounded by a wall， and outside it lay tracts of GM corn. Beyond， separated by a country road， were large rice paddies.

“If we had asked directly where Huazhong Agricultural University was， only to be told we were already there， it would have been embarrassing，” Lai told NewsChina， explaining the impromptu dialog.

At nearly 10 PM， a member of security staff spotted two people sneaking into the field. Together with other security guards， he apprehended the intruders.

“Two people were caught red-handed in the field， and in the distance， another man was acting as lookout. It was obvious that the woman had hidden three envelopes of seeds and leaves in her clothes，”Zhang said.

Campus staff at the site stopped them and demanded they return what they had taken， adding that the land outside the experimental field also belonged to the university. The Greenpeace employees obliged， and were allowed to leave.

Lai told NewsChina that when the conversation began， staff at the university were aggressive， suspecting that they were from a seed company. According to Lai， when he and his colleague showed their work permits， the tension eased. He said he then telephoned his colleagues at the Greenpeace office in Beijing to explain what happened.

Escalation

“I thought we had made a compromise. I gave them my phone number and told them that they could call me if they needed anything. But after several days， I had not received a call，” Lai told NewsChina.

The saga took a dramatic turn on April 17 when Yan Jianbing， a professor of crop genetics in charge of the university’s GM research base in Lingshui County， launched a tirade at Greenpeace on his Weibo feed， labeling the incident as a “night-time break-in.”

Shortly afterwards， the university published an article on its website accusing Greenpeace of stealing rice seeds， claiming that the incident was a significant one， and calling Greenpeace “an overseas organization trying to steal the school’s scientific secrets，” a violation of China’s intellectual property law.

Greenpeace hit back， denying the accusations， emphasizing that it was only an investigation and they had just picked a handful of rice seeds and leaves and did not intend to damage the field or take the seeds out of China.

The samples had to be collected through “undercover field investigation” as it was virtually impossible to get access any other way， claimed Wang Jing， senior food and agricultural campaigner for Greenpeace. Wang said that Greenpeace was investigating the safety management of GM food after reports of “illegal plantation of GM corn” in Hainan. Greenpeace China soon released an official statement through its website， claiming that there had been no violation of intellectual property law， and that sample information would not be distributed.

“If Huazhong thought our acts were in violation of the law， litigation would be the correct option， rather than malicious speculation，”Wang added.

It was not the first time such an investigation has landed Greenpeace in difficulties recently. On August 8， 2013， activists backed by Greenpeace destroyed an experimental field of GM rice in Thailand.

Moreover， Greenpeace alleged that the poor management of the experimental fields at Huazhong Agricultural University was also to blame， noting that its test site was located less than 20 meters from surrounding farmland an apparent breach of China’s biological safety regulations， which require a minimum buffer zone of 100 meters.

In a statement to the media， Huazhong emphasized that if Greenpeace took issue with the university’s management， they should report to the GM safety office affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture. “We condemn such ‘theft，’ regardless of the purpose，” said Fan Jingqun， deputy director of the university’s biological science media center.

Professor Yan Jianbing told NewsChina that Huazhong’s experimental base had received plaudits from international biotechnology experts， including those from the EU， and that the 100-meter buffer zone is required only if no other separation measures are taken. However， Yan said， the 2.7-meter-high wall at Huazhong’s base put the university on the right side of regulations.

“Rice plants can grow to nearly one meter high and pollinate to a limited distance. The 2.7-meter wall is enough to block the spreading of pollen to other plants，” he said. “Without a permit from the school， no-one is allowed to remove seeds or leaves. It would be like turning up to an engineering company and taking away blueprints.”

As yet， the public security bureau has not filed a case concerning the incident. On May 5， China’s Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement that security around areas of GM plants should be enhanced， to prevent the leaking of trade secrets， and that any unidentified vehicles and personnel approaching an experimentation field should be treated with caution.