LAUSR

The economic benefits of genetically modified (GM) crops have been well-documented in the literature (Huang et al., 2002; Huang et al., 2005; Qiao, 2015; Qiao et al., 2016). Previous studies showed that the global economic gain that the GM crops had generated at the farm level approximated 100 billion USD in 1996–2011 (Brookes and Barfoot, 2013). More importantly, this significant benefit had helped dozens of millions of farmers, with most of them being small poor farmers in developing countries. Given their high profitability and other benefits, GM crops had been widely adopted in the world. By 2015, the cumulative sown area for GM crops reached 2 billion hm, with GM crops being grown in 28 countries (James, 2015). Although GM crops could contribute to the reduction of hunger throughout the world, the commercialized GM varieties are primarily industrial crops, such as cotton, and feed crops for animals (Huang et al., 2002; Qaim and Zilberman, 2003; Huang et al., 2005). To date, none of the major GM food crops have been commercialized anywhere in the world, and little is in the pipeline in most countries. The major concern behind the stagnancy of the commercialization of GM food crops is the potential negative impact on food safety. Such doubt had emerged even before the commercialization of GM crops. In recent years, the protest against GM technology has increased consistently and rapidly, dominating the public and media debate (Kathage and Qaim, 2012; Cleveland and Soleri, 2005). Furthermore, the difficulties in commercializing GM rice causes the decline in the amount and direction of public and private biotechnology research. China might be the only country that had put forward the commercialization of GM rice. Early in 2009, China had released biosafety certificates to two GM rice varieties, which were in their final stage before commercialization. However, the Chinese government took no further action since then, and China currently shows no sign of advancing the commercialization of GM rice. As well as in other countries, the opinion against GM technology spread rapidly in China. The GM technology had been described as a “weapon” that developed countries used to aggress China. People who are against GM technology not only include public individuals but also scientists. According to a recent survey conducted by the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 9% of the scientists interviewed believed that GM technology affects food safety negatively. Would GM rice really improve farmers’ welfare by decreasing pesticide use and increasing yield? Despite this important question, empirical studies focusing on this issue