California Genetically Modified Rice Test Slated

The California Rice Commission has given its approval for an unnamed biotechnology company to plant a test plot of genetically modified rice somewhere in Imperial County, which borders on Mexico. The commission did not reveal the company’s name or the specific location of the test planting.

The location would be several hundred miles south of California’s rice industry, which has resisted introduction of biotech rice. The commission has supported a state moratorium on GM rice, saying any contamination of natural rice could quickly see California’s exports banned by Japan and South Korea.