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Provided: 2009. 3.5
Tel: 774-4050 / FAX:774-4090
Person in Charge: Lee Jeong-su, General Affairs Manager
Organizer: Park Hyo-jin
<Learn Facts about GM Foods > Consumer Education Program
-Information on GM Foods for Consumers Provided on 70 Occasions Nationwide-
The Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations (President Kim Cheon-ju) has been offering GM food education and promotional programs to the general public since 2008 with the sponsorship of the Korea Food & Drug Administration. The purpose of the programs is to help consumers overcome the fear of consuming GM food, which is rising due to insufficient information on GM foods while there are a wide range of people eating GM foods and both the media and consumers show a high interest.
GM Food Consumer Education Program will be offered to teenagers, college students, housewives, and middle-aged people since the middle of February to March in 16 cities and provinces on 70 occasions with the participation of some 3,500 consumers.
GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) are created for a special purpose by inserting the DNA of certain organisms with special characteristics into the chromosome of another organism by using recombinant DNA technology, and GM foods refer to food items or food additives that are made of genetically modified organisms as ingredients that can be manufactured and processed.
The aim is to provide information on both positive and negative aspects of GMO, such as increasing population, solving food problems caused by decreasing farmland, fortifying functional aspects of food, energy development, environmental problems, and curing incurable diseases, as well as problems involving monopoly over seed by a small number of multinational companies, violation of farmers’ rights caused by intellectual properties, environmental and ecological pollution, allergy antibiotics resistance, taste, and uncertainty in nutritional effects.
The topics of the text books to be used in the GM Food Consumer Education Program will include: △ Definition of GMO △ Application of Recombinant DNA Technology △ Purpose of GMO Development △ Definition of GM Foods △ Types of GM Agricultural Products △ Global Cultivation Status and Cultivated Area of GM Agricultural Products △ Cases of Disputes Over the Safety of GM Foods △ GM Food Labeling, and △ Safety Analysis of GM Foods. The council plans to offer more GM Food Consumer Education Programs in the future.
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Consumer Organization |
Number of Sessions |
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Green Consumer Network in Korea |
10 |
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Seoul YWCA |
3 |
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Korean Federation of Housewives Clubs |
10 |
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Consumers Korea |
10 |
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National Council of Homemakers’ Classes |
10 |
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Korea Consumer Affairs Institute |
10 |
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Korea Consumer Education Center |
7 |
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Consumers Union of Korea |
10 |
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Total |
70 |
Member Organizations
Green Consumer Network in Korea, National YWCA of Korea, Korean Federation of Housewives Clubs, Citizens Association for Studying Consumer Problems, National Council of Homemakers’ Classes, Korean Consumer Affairs Institute, Korea Consumer Education Center, Consumers Union of Korea, Korea YWCA
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