This is the story of a young mother who has been tackling a multinational corporation on the issue of the labelling of genetically modified food, winning media support along the way.
On March 27, 2003, Zhu Yanling, a 33-year-old mother, bought some Nestle Nesquik drinking chocolate in a Shanghai Carrefour outlet. It was for her baby.
But then she read a Greenpeace report and learned that the product contained genetically modified ingredients. And what's more on checking the packaging she found that the product was not labeled to disclose its genetically modified content.
Nestle is an industry giant. It is the biggest multinational food corporation in the world. But now one of its regular customers in China had stopped to think. Do we have the right to know if the food we buy has been genetically modified?
She went to see her lawyer Wu Dong. She asked him if it is legal for Nestle to put transgenic foods on the market in China without labeling them as such. Wu Dong told her that he believed that Nestle may have contravened Chinese Consumer Protection and Product Quality Legislation.
She also contacted Greenpeace International. According to Greenpeace, they had already started to check Nestle's products. Several times since last February they had found genetically modified Nestle products on Chinese mainland shelves.
She was to discover that there is no clear and unequivocal answer to the question of whether or not transgenic foods are safe for human consumption. Some scientists have suggested care should be taken in the application of this new technology especially where baby foods are concerned.
Nestle has undertaken not to market such products in Europe. But the company does produce transgenic foods for the Chinese market and what's more over here they do not label these products to disclose their genetically modified nature.
Zhu Yanling took exception to this. She made up her mind to fight for her right to know, the right to be able to choose for herself and her baby about the foods the biotech industries are now turning out.
So she went to the Shanghai Nestle Co. looking for answers. The senior staff at Shanghai Nestle insisted that the transgenic foods were safe, high quality products. But on the issue of why they failed to label their products as "genetically modified" they were of the view that this was not necessary. They insisted that they have not broken any law in China.
In the absence of a satisfactory reply in Shanghai, Zhu decided she would go to Switzerland and raise her concerns at the Nestle headquarters.
Before she went to Switzerland, she went on the Internet to test public opinion on the issue of genetically modified food. She would take this feedback on what people actually thought with her to deliver in person when in Switzerland.
"I think it is natural that these food companies should wish to find out what their customers really want. I just want a chance to speak to the senior staff at Nestle and tell them that their Chinese customers dislike biotech foods just as much as their European counterparts," Zhu Yanling said.
Before she left for Switzerland, she said she was going to knock on Nestle's silent door in the hope that it might open. But she was to be disappointed. She did have a one-hour meeting with the senior staff at the multinational's headquarters. She also sent them an open letter.
But she was to be disappointed as she felt her concerns remained unresolved and the Nestle position remained unchanged. They insisted that their products are safe and of high quality. They operate in many different countries often with different regulations and always comply with local legislation. They did not accept the view that there were much the same reservations about genetically modified foods in China as they were in Europe though conceding that this had not actually been tested by market research prior to launch on the China market.
She had been given no new clarification that she could accept as to why the products were not labeled as genetically modified. "I am really not satisfied with the Nestle attitude. The staff at the Nestle headquarters even denied there was any genetically modified material in their Nestle Nesquik. They had test results for a packet of Nestle Nesquik. But it is not the one I bought in China. The two packets of Nestle Nesquik were actually produced in different continents," Zhu Yanling said.
Though she expressed disappointment at Nestle's attitude in Switzerland, she felt happy with the support she had received from the media and from ordinary people there after they had heard her story.
They had admired her bravery. Here was a young mother who had come to Switzerland on her own to give her opinion to Nestle, the biggest multinational food corporation in the world.
Though she had met with many difficulties, she had never thought of giving up. She said,"Nestle products have made a big impression on my generation. Among the many brand names on the supermarket shelves, I choose Nestle products without hesitation. So, I have to carry on because I am a mother. I have to protect my child."
After her trip to Switzerland, Zhu Yanling is now bringing a lawsuit against the Shanghai Nestle Co. and the Shanghai Lianjia Supermarket Co. She is seeking just 13.6 yuan (US$1.64) in compensation, twice the amount she spent on her purchase. Just as she wrote in an open letter to netizens, her fight is for the right to know and the right to chose where transgenic foods are concerned.
Zhu Yanling said,"Everyone who lives in society should accept responsibilities relating to family, work and society. I am trying to live up to my responsibilities as a mother. I just want to protect my baby from harm."
Today she is still seeking a resolution to the issue.
(China.org.cn by Wu Nanlan, January 17, 2004)
