China has found alternatives to genetically modified (GM) food

Scientists in China have come up with their own alternative to genetically modified (GM) crops - enormous vegetables grown from seeds that have been to outer space.

Guangzhou City Greenhouse Technology Development Company is one of six institutions in China dedicated to growing seeds that have made the trip.

Its greenhouses are filled with two-meter long melons and oversized chili peppers, while the company brochures promise carrots that grow to more than a meter in length and tomatoes that weigh a kilogram or two.

Chinese farmers, who often find it difficult to produce high quality crops, are welcoming the horticultural giants.

The vegetables are also reported to have superior nutritional value.

Laboratory trials indicate that they contain double the vitamins, 7 per cent more iron and 25 per cent more trace elements than their terrestrial rivals.

The Chinese suggest that changes to the seeds, which are sent into space for 15 days, are caused by the lack of oxygen, zero gravity and being bombarded by cosmic rays.

However, while these conditions can affect DNA, causing genetic mutations, British biotechnology scientists remain skeptical.

It may turn out that the mutations in the Chinese crops are just flukes, or that the vegetables were inflated by a quirk in the growing process, in a similar way to the prize-wining marrows at your local fete.

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