The Legislature has passed an amendment to the School Health Act. The amendment, passed Monday, sets out to ban genetically modified food from school menus in order to ensure children’s health.
The amendment was proposed by DPP legislator Lin Shu-fen.
Lin said that studies overseas have found a higher incidence of allergies, autism, and rare diseases in the countries that consume the most genetically modified foods. Lin said that genetically modified soy has been shown to contain highly harmful pesticide residue. Soy is a major ingredient in Taiwanese school lunches.
"After the amendment is passed, there are still many problems to solve. We need to collaborate with the education, health, and agriculture ministries to ensure the bill’s implementation on every level," Lin said.
The new amendment requires spot-checks of lunches at every school at least once a year. A quarter of seats on school lunch councils will also have to be filled by parents, so that parents will have adequate room to give feedback.