Golden Rice

'Golden Rice': Who Would Have Thought Something So Dry Could Raise So Much Controversy?

Heated debate over the bioengineering of a type of rice that has come to be called 'golden rice' has been taking place in the past five years. Exploration of the possibilities that would follow the mapping of the rice genome began in response to the huge populations in developing countries that experience vitamin deficiencies; namely, vitamin A. When biotech company, Syngenta, announced that they had mapped the rice genome, a series of activist groups spoke out against a project that was, many argued, politically and financially motivated. This has been a topic of intense debate that I was surprised to find. Developing a kind of rice containing a vitamin that is lacking among large populations seems to be such a great idea. So why does so much controversy surround the project? There are many more disadvantages to the introduction of the new technology than one might anticipate. The following first explores the effects of vitamin a deficiency and then the arguments of the opposition and supporters' responses to it.

Vitamin A is an organic compound that is needed in small amounts in the human body; however a deficiency in this micronutrient can lead to problems and illnesses (3). The vitamin is found naturally in many plant and animal foods in the forms of retinal in animals and carotene in plants (3). Retinal pigments that are very important for night vision are produced by Vitamin A; the vitamin is also important in maintaining the strength of epithelial tissues (5). Without proper amounts of Vitamin A, the outer lining of the eyeball becomes dry and wrinkled, leading to redness and inflammation and, which brings potential of blindness...

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...ww.indiatogether.org/reports/goldenrice/science.htm

9)"An exercise on how not to do science.", Author of this article is adamant critic of 'golden rice.'

http://www.indiatogether.org/reports/goldenrice/science2.htm

10)"Golden Rice and Vitamin A Deficiency.", This article addresses problems with Golden Rice

http://www.foe.org/safefood/rice.html

11) "Golden Rice: blind ambition?" Friends of the Earth International. Link Magazine: Issue 93, April/June 2003. More arguments against Golden Rice

12)"Grains of delusion: Golden rice seen from the ground.", Assessment of pros and cons of Golden rice.

http://www.grain.org/grain/error404.cfm?url=/publications.delusion-en-p.html

13)"Golden Rice and Beyond.", This article contains arguments supporting Golden Rice research and the importance of technology transfer.

http://www.biotech-info.net/Grandbeyond.html