GOLDEN RICE - Genetically Modified
Genetically modified to be enriched with beta-carotene, golden rice grains (left) are a deep yellow. At right, white rice grains
Critics of genetically engineered crops have raised various concerns. One of these is that golden rice originally did not have sufficient vitamin A. This problem was solved by the development of new strains of rice. However, there are still doubts about the speed at which vitamin A degrades once the plant is harvested, and how much remains after cooking.
A 2009 study concluded that golden rice is effectively converted into vitamin A in humans and a 2012 study that fed 68 children ages 6 to 8 concluded that golden rice was as good as vitamin A supplements and better than the natural beta-carotene in spinach.
Greenpeace opposes the use of any patented genetically modified organisms in agriculture and oppose the cultivation of golden rice, claiming it will open the door to more widespread use of GMOs problems with poverty and loss of biodiversity in food crops. These problems could be amplified by the corporate control of agriculture via control of genetically modified organisms. By focusing on a narrow problem (vitamin A deficiency), many argued, the golden rice proponents were obscuring the larger issue of a lack of broad availability of diverse and nutritionally adequate sources of food.
Other argue that a varied diet containing foods rich in beta carotene such as sweet potato, leafy green vegetables and fruit would provide children with sufficient vitamin A.
However Keith West of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has argued that foodstuffs containing Vitamin A are either unavailable, or only available at certain seasons, or that they are too expensive for poor families in underdeveloped countries.
In 2008 WHO malnutrition expert Francesco Branca cited the lack (in 2008) of real-world studies and uncertainty about how many people will use golden rice, concluding "giving out supplements, fortifying existing foods with vitamin A, and teaching people to grow carrots or certain leafy vegetables are, for now, more promising ways to fight the problem".
"Yellow endosperm," said Jennings. (The endosperm of a grain of rice or wheat is the main part that's eaten.)
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
Genetically modified to be enriched with beta-carotene, golden rice grains (left) are a deep yellow. At right, white rice grains
Critics of genetically engineered crops have raised various concerns. One of these is that golden rice originally did not have sufficient vitamin A. This problem was solved by the development of new strains of rice. However, there are still doubts about the speed at which vitamin A degrades once the plant is harvested, and how much remains after cooking.
A 2009 study concluded that golden rice is effectively converted into vitamin A in humans and a 2012 study that fed 68 children ages 6 to 8 concluded that golden rice was as good as vitamin A supplements and better than the natural beta-carotene in spinach.
Greenpeace opposes the use of any patented genetically modified organisms in agriculture and oppose the cultivation of golden rice, claiming it will open the door to more widespread use of GMOs problems with poverty and loss of biodiversity in food crops. These problems could be amplified by the corporate control of agriculture via control of genetically modified organisms. By focusing on a narrow problem (vitamin A deficiency), many argued, the golden rice proponents were obscuring the larger issue of a lack of broad availability of diverse and nutritionally adequate sources of food.
Other argue that a varied diet containing foods rich in beta carotene such as sweet potato, leafy green vegetables and fruit would provide children with sufficient vitamin A.
However Keith West of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has argued that foodstuffs containing Vitamin A are either unavailable, or only available at certain seasons, or that they are too expensive for poor families in underdeveloped countries.
In 2008 WHO malnutrition expert Francesco Branca cited the lack (in 2008) of real-world studies and uncertainty about how many people will use golden rice, concluding "giving out supplements, fortifying existing foods with vitamin A, and teaching people to grow carrots or certain leafy vegetables are, for now, more promising ways to fight the problem".
"Yellow endosperm," said Jennings. (The endosperm of a grain of rice or wheat is the main part that's eaten.)
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
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