Golden Rice and the Children of the Poor

http://www.biosafety-info.net/article.php?aid=1008
October 17, 2013

THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE 

Dear Friends and Colleagues 

Re: Golden Rice and the Children of the Poor

The debate on Golden Rice continues to rage since it was first proposed as a solution to vitamin A deficiency more than a decade ago. Golden Rice is genetically engineered to produce betacarotene, a precursor to vitamin A. While the promise of this long-term experiment appears exciting, there remain serious questions regarding the efficacy and risks of Golden Rice, which have not been highlighted nor addressed by its creators and proponents.

We are pleased to share the article below by a TWN Associate in the Philippines, which provides a developing country perspective on the issue. Among the issues discussed are the biosafety institutional weaknesses that leave communities and the environment vulnerable while not providing adequate safeguards in the light of the power relations at play; the successes and remaining challenges of the vitamin A supplementation programme in the Philippines, which can be an efficient and sound alternative; the need to promote diverse diets, for which the country has an abundant resource of green and leafy vegetables; and the need to rethink quick techno-fixes that sidestep more deep-seated and structural concerns such as poverty, gender inequality, landlessness and limited social protection.

With best wishes, 

Third World Network

131 Jalan Macalister

10400 Penang

Malaysia

Email: twnet@po.jaring.my

Website: http://www.biosafety-info.net/ and http://www.twn.my/

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(Com)promised Charity: Golden Rice and the Children of the Poor

By Nina Somera (Third World Network Associate in the Philippines)

To read the article: http://www.biosafety-info.net/article.php?aid=1008