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What is golden rice?
- Why Golden Rice, is there a need for it?
According to UNICEF, the estimated number of children deaths precipitated worldwide by vitamin A deficiency (VAD) every year lies at 1.15 million.
Diagram
A japonica variety of rice was engineered with three genes necessary for the rice grain to produce and store beta-carotene. These included two genes from the daffodil plant and a third from a bacterium. Researchers used a plant microbe to ferry in the genes into the plant cells. The incorporation of these genes allows the rice plant to modify certain metabolic pathways in its cells to produce precursors of Vitamin A, which was previously not possible. This was considered a technical milestone, as most agronomic traits engineered to date have only required the introduction of a single gene.
A four-step process:
The Developers
The Golden Rice project, which began in the early 1990’s, was a result of a collaborative effort between the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH-Zurich) and the University of Freiburg, Germany. Ingo Potrykus and Peter Byer are its main developers. Funding was obtained from ETH-Zurich itself, the European Commission’s agricultural research program, and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Source: ISAAA. (2008). The Golden Rice Technology. Retrieved March 09, 2018, from https://www.isaaa.org/kc/inforesources/biotechcrops/The_Golden_Rice_Technology.htm
Advantages
- Golden Rice and Beyond
The term “golden rice” was coined by a Thai businessman who is active in initiatives aimed at reducing the birth rate, a major cause of the food security problem.
Pros and cons argument
- The Golden Rice Controversy: Useless Science or Unfounded Criticism?Expresses opinion on the controversy involving the rise of a genetically engineered agricultural technology called Golden Rice. Views on the issue of the technology's efficiency; Argument against the potential of Golden Rice to provide viable alternatives; Development of science-based biosafety regulatory systems; Basis of opposition to genetically modified crops.