How Strong is the Case for Golden Rice?
(Pros and Cons of Golden Rice)
"Golden Rice" has been developed by scientists to combat vitamin A deficiency, which affects millions of children in the developing worlds. However, as a precautionary means, the crop was offered to the authorities for a safety evaluation which was interrupted when a group of around 400 protestors attacked the field trial in the Bicol region and uprooted all the GM plants. The project, initially started 20 years ago by German researchers with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, relied on modifying the rice through the addition of additional genes that produce beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the digestive process. Vitamin A deficiency is a significant problem in developing countries, which is why golden rice provides such an attractive solution to prevent unnecessary defects and death, especially among younger populations. Yet, farmers from the Philippines are avidly rejecting this crop option because of fears of damage it may cause, while also arguing that they have other solutions for the Vitamin A deficiency problem. However, the “Allow Golden Rice Now!” campaign is led by Dr. Patrick Moore, and aims to convince government officials and the Filipino people to accept Golden Rice as a nutritional and needed addition to their daily diet, with an emphasis on GM rice serving as a much needed golden bullet.
Simply put, golden rice offers a variety of benefits, including producing
Rice for Thanksgiving by Jocelyn Fong states that what comes to her mind with Thanksgiving celebration is her grandma’s eleven children poring turkey gravy over rice and the way she feels and relates to the representation of different cultures. Likewise, the reason why she has this image of Thanksgiving is that of the different roots of cultures she has, she has Asian, American, and Anglo influences in relation to culture. First, Fong was confused about what she must fit into a culture completely and that only was related to foods and traditions; this thought was influenced the generation of her grandma’s parents with the political issues and government applications in the United States where Chinese people were considered illegal immigrants
Lula was born in Huntsville, Alabama to Lexington Rice and Virginia Rice. The Rice family were cotton sharecroppers on the same land their grandparents were enslaved upon. But Lula and her younger brothers, Justus and Samuel, were well cared for by their mother Virginia. Virginia made sure they all went to school and had enough to eat and only worked in the cotton fields on days off from school. Lula, as the oldest, was given chores on the farm such as milking their one cow, feeding the chickens, and gathering eggs. In school Lula learned to read and was considered very bright for her age.
Deeter and Ventria are trying to get approval for commercializing pharmaceutical plants to produce medical proteins in rice. They are looking to expand beyond 50 acers to 120 in 2004. Therefore, they are subject to the CRC and Rice certification Act board. The first issue is outside critics. Per our text, the four advocacy organizations (friends of earth, center of food safety, the consumer union, and the environment California) produced a report addressing their concerns reporting to The California food and agriculture, The California EPA, California Health services and the public. The report stated that the first issue of concern was contamination of food rice. These groups do not want the rice that humans eat to be genetically altered by pharmaceutical rice. The contamination and cross polarization can occur by birds, insects, water fowl, and weather. Deeter and Ventria had no plans or protection to combat this issue. If these situations were to happen, they could cause hazardous human health issues. The consequences could be infections/diseases, allergies, stomach cancers, ulcers, resistance of digestion and immune system disorders and responses. The last issue addressed by this report was critical environmental consequences by accidentally cross-breading to produce a “super weed” promoting the spread of such.
Specter mentions that using these techniques we are actually able to make our foods a lot healthier. He says, “we can put something like vitamin A into rice, and that stuff can help millions of people, millions of people, prolong their lives.”One of the crops grown extensively in very poor areas of Africa
Due to reading “Stuffed and Starved” by Raj Patel this semester, I learned about how foods are produced and impact the world. Ever since I visited the farmer’s market in October, I became more aware of whether or not I am consuming genetically modified crops. Raj Patel revealed some of the many truths about the Green Revolution regarding genetically modified crops that influenced my choice of eating. Prior to reading the section of the book that made me aware of what I am eating, I believed that genetically modified crops were more beneficial than harmful to everyone. Not only did the genetically modified crops produce a higher yield to feed people, but the negative impact of technology outweighed its benefit. For example, Patel states, “domestic
Scientist promised GMOs (genetically modified organisms) would up the nutrition value in food, would increase drought tolerance, and increase yield. In the 30 years of GMOs not once has a new beneficial genetic trait arrised, yet GM (genetically modified) foods are still on the market; for example, Golden Rice is supposed to be genetically modified to contain
I saw many things that were in the video unlike what I saw in the book or things I read that weren’t like the movie in “The Speckled Band”. These differences varied from visual differences some physical and some changes in the actions of people.
In the same article edited by Diaz it states that the use of a genetically modified (GM) type of cotton resulted in farmers saving “$25-$65 (USD) per acre owing to decreased pesticide application”. Not only are GMO’s saving famers money and time, but they are also reducing the amount of pesticides that are being put into the soil. It goes without saying that this decrease in pesticides would help to keep water safe and create less run of from farms. In an article by Josh Schonwald entitled “Engineering the Future of Food”, it states that “...250,000 children worldwide, mostly in the developing world, have diets lacking in vitamin A.” Because of this, “Between 250,000 and 500,000 of these children go blind every year.” For these children who are not able to get their hands on foods that are rich in vitamin A, GMOs may be one of the only solutions that they have. A plant called “golden rice” has now been cleared by every health organization in the world and had been deemed safe for consumption is now available. Like Schonwald and Diaz said, these are plants and organisms that are being produced in
Genetically modified crops are an incredibly important issue that everyone should be aware of since it is something we are exposed to at a daily basis. Genetically modified crops also known as GM crops or Biotech crops has been one of the most heated debates of issues within our society. The debate about the safety, concerns and disadvantages of GM crops have raged since the mid 1990 's but this is due to the lack of knowledge of the general public. Many people are unaware of what the GM crops actually are and what they offer. Genetically modified crops are plants that are used in the agriculture and have been modified to initiate a new trait to plants that does not happen naturally in the species. These plants are modified using genetic engineering techniques to enhance desired traits. GM crops are made when genes of commercial interest are transferred from one organism to another.() There are many methods used for the production of GM crops but the two primary used for plant insertion are gene guns and agrobacterium tumefaciens. There are also three types of modifications which are transgenic, cisgenic, and subgenic plants. However, there are a number of issues that surround this controversial topic such as environmental, health, and economic concerns. Even though there are some worrying facts about GM crops people don 't realize the advantages or the ways it has helped humans as well as animals. There are many reasons why GM crops are proven
Since the 8th grade, colleges were the only thing on my mind. The criteria are location, curriculum, internship rates and classroom sizes. George Washington University's prime location gives its students a large several internship opportunities. My goal of working for the government or an international corporation was a huge factor in my choice of GWU. I fell in love with the rigorous curriculum. The classes are small enough to become familiarized with your professors and vice versa. College/Universities with a large student body lose a great deal of networking opportunities due to lack of personalization of students and the academic staff. In my opinion, college is not only for education, but for exploration as well. With over 400 clubs and
In many undeveloped countries that do not have varied sources of food, malnutrition is major issue for them. A solution would be modified foods scientist engineered to include more vitamins and/or minerals meaning that the country would be able to use the rice to combat malnutrition. An example of this would be rice that scientist modified to give vitamin A; deficiency in this particular vitamin can lead to poor eyesight and sometimes even blindness. Even so, with the way plants breed with one another has been very
For those in the production of food who encourage healthier habits, genetic engineering has been most beneficial; as a wider range of fruits, vegetables, and plants have been created, offering, more easily and less expensively, better made products for living a healthier lifestyle. In one study from 2012, Susan Aldridge, an academic administrator, reports that twenty-five countries in the world are growing crops that are genetically engineered. These countries include both developed and developing countries. Aldridge states that genetically modified crops can help extinguish malnutrition in developing countries and that these "less developed countries can benefit from any new technology that can increase food production and quality and lower food prices (Aldridge )." If genetically modified plants are able to help end malnutrition in developing countries, think of what it can do for those countries whose population suffers from nutritional intake that causes harmful and deadly conditions to one 's body. No longer could anyone argue the inability to find better made foods or less expensive healthier choices; for the
In 1990, the rice is grown around 520 million tons in 112 countries and 95 percent of them were produced and consumed in Asia (Chang). The rice in Asian culture is not just cereal, but it’s part of their lives. It serves their meal almost everyday on their dining table. Oryza sativa is a species of monocot plants and known as Asian rice. The grain was spread started from South Asia to Southeast Asia and East Asia.
Our world is full of complications, situations that need people’s attention. Scientists are attempting to find answers for most of the world’s difficulties. Nevertheless, a solution for one problem creates some other obstacle. It becomes impossible to create a solution that does not have side effects. One of the difficult situations in this world is hunger and poverty. Many people lack enough food to live a healthy life, especially in developing and underdeveloped countries. In order to provide sufficient food and maintain food security, scientists discovered genetically altered foods. Genetically engineered foods are grown from plants or animals whose genes are modified by inserting new genes that can increase the plant’s and animal’s resistance to diseases and worms. By doing so, researchers improve crop yield and animal products. In addition to increasing the amount of food produced, scientists enhance the nutritive content of crops by using biotechnology, which results in reducing malnutrition. Furthermore, some investigators claim the environmental importance of
No antibacterial compounds are available resistant to this disease but genetic engineering has developed the first trees to resist this devastating disease and increased the consumption level. Specific foods have been developed to correct malnutrition problems. To this end, plants have been modified to provide increased and more stable quantities of essential amino acids, vitamins, or desirable fatty acids. For example, golden rice has been genetically modified to increase beta-carotene content which may help to overcome the severe vitamin A deficiencies that cause blindness and iron. Plants can also be genetically modified to grow well in areas of low production potential. For example, two researchers in Mexico inserted a gene from a bacterium into papaya and tobacco to produce acid-tolerant crops. The crops thus secrete citric acid from their roots by combining with toxic metals which in turn making the soils accessible to protect the tropical forests which contain most of the world’s species of plants and animals. Genetic engineering also helps to decrease or eliminate the allergenic proteins that occur naturally. For example, it has been already used to reduce the levels of major allergen in rice and peanuts. Genetic engineering brings closer the prospect of commercial production in plants of edible vaccines and therapeutics for preventing and treating human diseases like cancer and diabetes. The genetically derived vaccines are potentially