AFTER a regulatory approval process lasting two years, Bangladesh is expected to soon green-light the cultivation of 鈥済olden rice鈥� genetically modified to prevent vitamin A deficiencies. It would be the first approval in a country where the rice is sorely needed, and perhaps a turning point in a long-running and bitter battle.
Our bodies make vitamin A from beta-carotene, the pigment that gives carrots and sweet potatoes their colour. But many people can鈥檛 afford to eat much apart from rice, which is low in beta-carotene. Lack of vitamin A causes blindness and weakens the immune system, and . There is a global push to give vitamin A supplements to children, but a .
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When biologists unveiled the prototype of golden rice in 1999, they expected a warm welcome. The researcher behind the project, Ingo Potrykus, told 快猫短视频 that it would be three years before farmers could plant it. Yet 20 years on, the rice has been approved only in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US, countries not noted for vitamin A deficiency.
Early strains didn鈥檛 produce enough beta-carotene, but this was fixed. The problem now is that golden rice has been demonised by anti-GM campaigners, who see it as a Trojan horse for the acceptance of other genetically modified crops, even though this has already happened in many countries.
What shocks me is that some activists continue to misrepresent the truth about the rice. The cynic in me expects profit-driven multinationals to behave unethically, but I want to think that those voluntarily campaigning on issues they care about have higher standards.
For instance, there is the claim that the US Food and Drug Administration has said that golden rice has no nutritional benefits. The FDA said only that because people in the US eat so little rice on average, . In the Philippines, meanwhile, it is beta-carotene breaks down into cancer-causing chemicals. That simply isn鈥檛 true.
The deeper problem here is the idea that genetically modified crops are inherently good or bad. All crop breeding involves genetic changes. What we call genetic modification is just a newer set of manipulation methods 鈥� now including CRISPR, which makes it far easier to make desired changes. Think of it as like computer-generated graphics in films. CGI can create amazing effects, but what makes a movie great 鈥� or terrible 鈥� is the end result, not how the special effects are achieved.
Opponents of genetic modification claim it is inherently dangerous. If this were true, many 鈥渘atural鈥� foods would be bad for us. One in 20 plants, including tea and bananas, naturally contain genes added by the bacterium used by genetic engineers.
That doesn鈥檛 mean all GM crops are good. Some, especially those designed to help turn a profit, could turn out to have undesirable consequences. The irony is that activists have helped to create a situation in which only rich multinationals can afford to get GM crops approved, while many potentially beneficial ones never get beyond the laboratory.
Worse, because anti-GM campaigners have made so many false or exaggerated claims about existing GM crops, people might be less likely to believe them if there is a genuine problem.
My fear now though is that if Bangladesh approves golden rice, activists will try to dissuade farmers from growing it and parents from feeding it to their kids. This battle is far from over, and its victims will continue to be needlessly suffering children.
