Use of banned pesticides illegal

Seventeen Chinese farmers were arrested from a collective farm in Sakhalin, Russia, recently on suspicion of using banned chemical pesticides, ripening agents and genetically modified (GM) seeds. The workers may be Chinese, but they don't deserve sympathy for indulging in such malpractices, says an article in Beijing News. Excerpts:

The use of banned insecticides, ripening agents or GM seeds both in Russia and China is illegal. According to the law, any individual or organization producing or selling food containing disease-causing micro-organisms, pesticides and veterinary drug residue or heavy metal contamination beyond the standard limit faces imprisonment for the crime of producing and/or marketing toxic food.

But because of lax enforcement of the law, companies that produce or market such products and their actual users - farmers - are seldom punished.

Since violators can get off with light punishment or escape punishment altogether, some farmers use banned insecticides, GM seeds and ripening agents to increase their outputs and earn more money. This is true for farmers in both China and Russia - as well in the rest of the world. Quite a few such cases have been reported from China in recent years. In Russia, some farmers have been reported to be using banned chemical fertilizers. Which means the use of banned materials by Chinese farmers in Russia was not a one-off case.

To prevent more farmers from picking up the illegal habit in their quest for higher profits, relevant departments should take steps to warn them against the use of banned chemicals and GM seeds.

(China Daily 07/10/2013 page9)