Japan Lifts Rice Ban

Japan has lifted its ban on US long grain rice.

According to a report in Capital Press, Japan has now lifted its ban on US long grain rice after tests did not reveal any evidence of contamination.

Meanwhile, it is likely that rice farmers' legal action against Bayer will be heard in Arkansas in January. A report in the Economist suggests that the farmers are likely to prevail in their demands for stricter controls. But, as the Economist report says, "once genetically modified foods are out in the environment it is pretty hard to recall them, regardless of what politicians would like."

One of the most critical aspects for the GM industry is perhaps not a monopoly in seeds but the oversight necessary to generate consumer confidence in a market.