Golden Rice: A Dangerous Experiment, Essay Example

Numerous products have been genetically modified for the market place today.  One such product is that of ‘Golden Rice’ that contains a large amount of Vitamin A or beta carotene that is converted into Vitamin A. It is Beta Carotene that gives Carrots their bright orange colour and similarly the golden look in rice.  “For the golden rice to make beta-carotene three new genes are implanted: two from daffodils and the third from a bacterium” (Bionet, 2010).

The rice is of great advantage to third world countries as they have only historically eaten rice with a lack of nutrients and vitamins. The consequence of poor nutrition can result in blindness or death, particularly in South East Asia where there is a heavy reliance upon rice. There is no good argument to support not growing genetically modified rice other than that of fear and exploitation by the Companies producing it.  It is really a question of seeing the bigger picture here and providing healthier more reliable nutritional crops to the undernourished parts of the world. “The World Health Organization estimates up to 500,000 children go blind each year because of vitamin A deficiency.” (Black, 2005).

Syngenta / Zeneca are one Company that has been producing and licensing the production of Golden rice. In 2005 they were reported to have been granted 16 licenses primarily in the Asia Pacific regions. Opponents to production say that this type of genetically modified crop is still not safe for human consumption “The absence of animal testing data on Golden Rice is especially worrying as Golden Rice is engineered to overproduce beta carotene, and studies show that some retinoids derived from beta carotene are toxic and cause birth defects” (BanGMfood.org, 2009).

The real question is if GM foods can save lives in undernourished countries we should be working towards perfection of these foods to help the less affluent countries that would otherwise starve.

Works Cited

BanGMfood.org. (2009, 5). Golden Rice: A dangerous experiment. Retrieved 10 20, 2010, from BanGMfood.org: http://www.bangmfood.org/feed-the-world/17-feeding-the-world/37-golden-rice

Bionet. (2010). 4 examples of genetically modified crops. Retrieved 10 20, 2010, from Bionet: http://www.bionetonline.org/english/content/ff_cont3.htm

Black, R. (2005, 3 28). GM ‘golden rice’ boosts vitamin A . Retrieved 10 20, 2010, from BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4386933.stm