Chapter 156 Who Touched Their Genes Beijing, Science Daily was founded by Mr. Guo in 1959 and is the top media in the domestic scientific community. As soon as Lai Minjun walked into the office, she was met with the fiery eyes of the editor-in-chief Rong Kai. Rong Kai threw a newspaper in Lai Minjun's face, "Who told you to give the article to XH Publishing House?" Lai Minjun carefully took the newspaper and took a glance at it. The article he had written with great effort was indeed published on it. "The publishing house didn't want to publish it, so I submitted it to other places." Rong Kai glared at him fiercely, "Do you have any basis? What makes you say that Tianyu No. 1 is a genetically modified variety?" Lai Minjun looked at the newspaper. "Based on your investigations?" Rong Kai was furious. "So far, the Ministry of Agriculture has never approved any genetically modified grain seeds for commercial planting in China, and there are currently no genetically modified grain crops planted in China."
“But given this trend, are we going to turn a blind eye?” Rong Kai shook his head with a bitter smile on his face. "I hope you can think more about the name of our newspaper when you do things. Science, what is science?" Lai Minjun bit her lip and said, "The number of mice has decreased, sows are having miscarriages... The closer we get to the truth, the more disturbing it becomes!" "Why do you say that's the truth?" Rong Kai waved his hand and said, "I will apply to the higher-ups to transfer you to another place." Lai Minjun looked up in surprise, her eyes full of panic, but Rong Kai had already left. Lai Minjun sat down dejectedly, and the other colleagues in the company just looked at her silently. The manuscript was indeed written by her, but some of the cases above were given to her by others. She also knew that Jiahe was developing biological breeding technology. Her hatred for GMOs, coupled with some personal reasons, prompted her to publish this article. Rong Kai returned to the office. Regardless of whether Tianyu No. 1 was genetically modified or not, he could already foresee that a huge public opinion storm would be set off in the country. He remembered the words of a senior from the Academy of Sciences. "Being behind and falling behind also poses huge risks and crises. If we stop moving forward now, China will lose the opportunity to compete for the technological leadership." …… Jiuquan, Tianhe Seed Industry. As soon as Guo Yang arrived at the office, Qu Yang came with a newspaper. "Boss, public opinion is spreading. There are already articles circulating on the Internet." Guo Yang took the newspaper and read it carefully. “Who touched their genes?” The report was very long, with both pictures and text, and took up an entire page.
The report pointed out that Tianyu No. 1 is a genetically modified crop, which is directly related to the abnormal animal phenomena that have occurred in various places recently. The giant rats are extinct; Fewer sows and sheep gave birth, and more miscarriages and stillbirths occurred; Pigs and dogs also often suffer from hepatic and renal ascites. All the animals that exhibited these abnormal phenomena had one thing in common: they had almost all eaten the same type of corn - Tianyu No. 1. The case list also seems very detailed. In a village in Shandong Province, a pig farmer used to have sows that could give birth to up to 16 piglets per litter, and never less than 10. However, in the past two years, the number of piglets born has never exceeded 10, and sometimes only six or seven; Some dog dealers also said that if you cut open a dog's stomach, there will always be a lot of water; In the village of more than 300 households, big rats are almost extinct, and only some small rats that seem unable to distinguish directions are left. The various abnormalities of animals are disturbing. When all the possibilities were denied one by one, the number of natural enemies, corn mold, and ecological pollution increased, The only clue that could link all the animal anomalies was the food they had eaten - Tianyu No. 1. This was followed by another analysis of GMOs, citing classics and also citing some foreign reports. There are even experts who stand behind it, saying, "Although we cannot be completely sure that Tianyu No. 1 is genetically modified corn, from all the signs, it is hard not to be suspicious." In addition to these, the report also describes the expansion speed of Tianyu No. 1. “Irresistible expansion!” The seed salesmen of Tianyu No. 1 seemed to have emerged from the ground overnight. They went from village to village, selling seeds to farmers' homes one after another. Most of these salesmen are from the local village. The per-acre yield of Tianyu No. 1 can reach 2000 jin, while ordinary corn fields only have 1000-1200 jin, which is far from it. When the first person took the plunge, the rest of the farmers were watching. But when the legend of increased corn production became a reality, watching immediately turned into action. In a village in Shandong Province, dozens of farmers lined up to buy seeds during peak hours. Under the temptation of high returns, becoming seed salesmen became a new way for farmers to get rich. They went from village to village, making every effort to sell their seeds, creating a snowball effect in rural areas. Villagers often talk about some myths of getting rich quickly, such as "someone in the town made more than one million yuan a year by selling seeds." Seeing this, Guo Yang smiled and said, "Tianhe's marketing work is very solid!" Qu Yang couldn't laugh. Guo Yang read for a while before finishing the report. The follow-up mainly talked about the risks brought about by the expansion of Tianyu No. 1. "The article is well written, but those cases are probably fabricated. They must have been made by a competitor, but I don't know which one." Qu Yang said: "Now portal websites such as Sohu and Sina have reprinted related reports one after another, and the headlines are also very exaggerated." Guo Yang sat down at his desk, opened the relevant web page and started checking it out. "The extinction of rats and the abortion of sows may be related to Tianyu 1 genetically modified corn."
"The genetically modified corn Tianyu 1 caused abnormalities in animals, and we must be careful about ecological pollution." The person who came up with this title is really a genius. Guo Yang just felt furious when he saw it. Not to mention netizens, their fear of GMOs was fully unleashed, and they denounced Tianhe Seeds. "Oh my god, Tianyu No. 1 is too scary." "You know what, corn is getting tastier and sweeter now." "Rural cases are more convincing, and farmers' observations are often superior to scientists' findings. Farmers are more able to provide many clues, while scholars are often in the laboratory." "I believe our nation has a patron saint. Those who develop and promote genetically modified foods in our country will not have a good end!" The more he watched, the angrier he got, and even Guo Yang was involved. "Mr. Guo, are you going to feed genetically modified salmon to our people in the northwest?" "It could also be whiteleg shrimp! Genetically modified!" Guo Yang took a few deep breaths, calmed down and thought for a while before speaking to Qu Yang. "Qu Yang, please contact the portal website and make a statement. I will contact the Ministry of Agriculture, as this matter is under their jurisdiction." After Qu Yang left, Guo Yang still felt very upset. Tianyu No. 1 is not a genetically modified seed, but it was inexplicably caught up in the whirlpool of public opinion. After thinking for a while, Guo Yang also had a bad idea and assigned work to Xie Shijie who was still browsing the web. "Shi Jie, pay someone to write a few soft articles to shift the topic to the safety of genetically modified foods and involve Monsanto and DuPont." "Be more secretive." "Ah?" Xie Shijie's eyes were round and he looked innocent. "Hey, don't act so pretentiously in front of me. Do you think I don't know you?" Guo Yang said. "Hey, I mean, why don't you write one yourself, Boss? The last one about the food war was really well written." Guo Yang raised his eyebrows. "It seems that it is not impossible? Then you write a draft first and I will polish it." Xie Shijie visibly wilted and sighed, "You really know how to order people around." While Xie Shijie was still looking up information and writing at his desk, Tianhe’s statement came out. Directly deny that Tianyu No. 1 is genetically modified. "The parents of Tianyu No. 1 were acquired patents and have absolutely nothing to do with genetic modification." The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture also stated that relevant units have been organized to test Tianyu No. 1 on the market, and no genetically modified ingredients were detected. Public opinion has eased slightly, but conspiracy theories are still rampant. At this moment, Tianhe's hired guns came out, and the debate on GMOs in the media communication field escalated again. But the focus is no longer on Tianyu 1.
Instead, the focus shifted to the area of genetically modified food safety, and the related topic was reignited in the media. Some media went to the streets to interview ordinary people, and the vast majority of people in the country are against genetically modified foods. "The rapeseed oil my family consumes is bought from the countryside by relatives in the countryside." "Do you think free-range chicken or fast-raised chicken is better?" “I think genetically modified foods are definitely harmful.” Some writers even said, "It's not that genetically modified crops have not been discovered, but that they have been covered up and suppressed." "All the evidence that the public has seen today about the absolute safety of genetically modified crops has been fabricated by interested parties to deceive the public. Leading among them are the genetically modified seed production companies headed by American Monsanto and DuPont. Of course, the relevant approval agencies of various countries who turned a blind eye also bear an unshirkable responsibility.” In an instant, everyone in Tianhe became spectators. Watching the quarrel between the various parties with joy. At this time, Xie Shijie's manuscript was also finished, and Guo Yang looked at it for a while. “The writing is good, but not enough to stir up the public’s emotions.” "Pen!" Guo Yang shouted. Xie Shijie looked at Guo Yang who suddenly became nervous and felt a little confused. Could it be that he could get more inspiration when writing like this? Guo Yang took the pen and started to make revisions quickly, as he was well prepared. If you want to divert people's attention, the GMO giant Monsanto is the best target. Xie Shijie also wrote about Monsanto, but Guo Yang felt that the storm was not severe enough. Tiandou No. 1 will also be able to complete its propagation this year and will enter the promotion stage by the end of the year. Let’s try the knife with Monsanto first! It took Guo Yang half a day to revise the manuscript, and he handed it to Xie Shijie, using almost all the knowledge he had accumulated in his previous life. “Go find a channel to publish it.” Xie Shijie took the manuscript and began to read, looking at Guo Yang with surprise from time to time. World War I, World War II; The Vietnam War, the biological weapon 'Agent Orange' developed by Monsanto, and the horrific deformed children; Ecological pollution led to a joint lawsuit by 2 American residents; The tragedy of Argentina's genetically modified soybeans... The changes are all directed at Monsanto, and they are all cases that can arouse people's emotions. "Are these all true?" Xie Shijie asked. Guo Yang smiled and said, "Some of them are true, and some of them may be rumors I heard from others, but that doesn't matter."
Xie Shijie held the manuscript and thought. "The boss is really evil." Please give me some recommendation votes!!
(End of this chapter)