Scientists in Bangladesh are preparing to conduct field tests of Golden Rice, the world’s first genetically engineered, vitamin A-enriched rice, before putting into production. The crop is being touted as one answer to the problem of micronutrient deficiencies around the world, but an Indian scientist (among others) is warning that Golden Rice poses a serious threat to human health. [1]
According to the Golden Rice Project, vitamin A deficiency is prevalent among the poor whose diets are primarily composed of rice and other carbohydrate-rich foods containing too few micronutrients. The situation is especially dire in Southeast Asia and Africa. About 250 million preschool children are affected by vitamin A deficiency (VAD). The group says that providing children with vitamin A could prevent about a third of all under-5 deaths.
Enter, Golden Rice.
The Golden Rice Project writes on its website:
“Rice containing provitamin A could substantially reduce the problems described above. This can only be achieved using genetic engineering because there is no provitamin A in the rice seeds, even though it is present in the leaves. Thousands of rice varieties have been screened for this trait without success. Existing coloured rice varieties contain pigments that belong to a different chemical class.”
The site continues:
“Biofortified crops, like Golden Rice offer a long-term sustainable solution, because they do not require recurrent and complicated logistic arrangements once they have been deployed.”
Renowned Indian scientist Dr. Tusher Chakraborty has another view of this supposedly miracle crop, however. While speaking to the UNB at a workshop on Food Security and Modern Biotechnology on October 10, Dr. Chakraborty said that Golden Rice “may carry traces of retinoic acid derivatives which may cause teratogenicity – that means birth defects in general.”
Retinoic acid is a retinoid, a compound derived from retinol or vitamin A. Retinoids are used to treat skin conditions and cancer. While vitamin A is important in pregnancy, an overabundance of the nutrient can cause teratogensis, the production of birth defects in a developing embryo. Too much vitamin A or an excess of retinoids in pregnant women can result in malformations to fetuses’ skulls, faces, limbs, eyes, and central nervous systems. [2] [3]
In addition to the targeted retinoic acid, the numerous other derivatives can be created in the transgenic rice that can trigger numerous unknown metabolic receptors in humans and lead to various health problems throughout life, he added.
Dr. Tusher, a member of State Council of Biotechnology, West Bengal, India, said: “Golden rice involves an unnecessary risk in the name of meeting vitamin A deficiency. It’s a move in the wrong direction, it’s a plot to divert the food culture to the wrong route.”
According to the scientist, there are plenty of other vitamin A sources in South Asia, including indigenous rice varieties that are naturally enriched with vitamin A.
“It’s a culturally distorted concept of nutrition to interject four-five other things in the staple grain. Nutrition security means the diversity of nutritious food, not to have all the supplements in one grain.”
Dr. Tusher also says daily consumption of rice needed to tackle South Asia’s vitamin A deficiency is unrealistic – 1.5kg. That would mean eating more than 3 lb. of rice every day.
Sources:
[1] The Daily Star
[2] News Medical
Business Insider (Featured image source)
Ok. So run the field trials, check the levels of vit A and it’s derivatives. Then we’ll know: a) if there are potential health risks and b) if there is sufficiently high vit A to make Golden Rice useful in combating vit A deficiency. Why shouldn’t we use every available tool to combat this problem? It completely baffles me as to why people want to reject potential useful tools.
But only after the social and economic demographic studies are conducted.
Any nutritionist will tell you, you need a diverse diet to maintain a balance.
Why do you feel social and economic demographic studies are necessary?
Yes, a diverse diet would be best. But that is not accessible to everyone. It’s easy for rich Westerners to say stuff like that.
The majority of the need for vitamin A is based on Africa, they have billions of dollars and vast amounts of resources. Why are the people in poverty and starving to the point of vitamin A deficiency.
Corruption, land grab for the resources and multinational corporation influence. Heck, Coca Cola owns the majority of their water resources. They have 9 year old children working in the mines for God’s sake, enough is enough…
Money before morals, values, ethics or human compassion?
Do the rich there have vitamin A deficiencies?
The UN has been feeding them rice for years, while the rebels run them into refugee camps so their gov can steal their land and sell it to the highest Corporate bidder.
Look it up, it’s all there.
Our people in poverty here have fairly diverse diets and the UN isn’t involved, maybe that is the key, our gov at least makes an attempt at feeding our impoverished, without outside lame corrupted sources.
Rich westerners, BS.
I’m really trying to see any reason in your comment why Golden Rice shouldn’t be included or at least considered as a tool in reducing vit A deficiency in south Asia. I see a lot of rambling deflecting, but not coherent reason.
I think what Mommies little boy may be eluding to is something called the Hegelian Dialectic a.k.a. Problem ⇨ Action ⇨ Solution. In the case of Africa or Asia, foreign governments conspiring (or threatened) with local governments create the Problem. Then public concern is ginned up through media creating the Reaction. Corporations swoop in to save the day with the Solution.
When in reality, there was no problem, reaction, or solution needed. It was all manufactured for an end goal of control and profit. This isn’t a new concept and rather than acknowledge this, you pretend it’s all humanitarian.
Are you saying that vit A deficiency isn’t actually a problem?
Your first response is an attempt to put words in my mouth?
Nope, I’m asking for clarification.
And I don’t see how corporations tie in either. The research is being done primarily or exclusively by academics and companies that do have patents have waved those patents for humanitarian purposes. So with all of this, we’re supposed to ignore this potentially useful tool because why? A few ideologues refuse to be open minded. No. I refuse to let beliefs override science.
South Asia is worse, but effectively the same principle. Their govt’s are filthy rich, why are their people not fed?
Again
Create chaos, run the people off their land so they haven’t the means to do what they have done for thousands of years. Impoverish them. Then instead of actually helping them sustain a diverse diet, in comes Corporations to save the day?
Still poverty will grow and the people’s become more dependent of corporate influence instead of having the ability to care for themselves and their communities.
No profit in golden rice my ass, nothing is free.
You don’t steal people’s land then make the claim your helping them, that is madness spoken by the insane.
And control of food and local economies is far more effective than any missile systems
“South Asia is worse,”
Governments have not money anywhere. It is the peoples money. Governments dont do anything to make money, they just take it from the people.
Anyway there is no way that you can claim that the Indian government is rich, or the bangladeshi government is rich.
Get a grip on your tinfoil hat and support helping poor people.
I assure you, you haven’t a clue.
Get over it.
Funny…
Again, where are you getting this notion that this is a corporate initiative? That’s just not true. Stealing people’s land? wtf are you talking about? You’re opinion seems entirely based on prejudice, and frankly I find it exceptional repugnant that you would argue against a solution to a problem where both the the solution and the problem have absolutely nothing to do with you.
Seems the same to me. He seems to have jumped on the bandwagon, without realizing it’s not even a wagon.
It’s called history, it has repeated itself in this same fashion on many continents.
Since you haven’t seen the effects of warfare or lived them and I have.
How many humanitarian operations have you been involved with?
I would be more than inclined to say it has a lot to do with me, due to experience.
Grab this one activists, I’ll be waiting.
Again why can they no longer sustain their communities, when they have for thousands of years?
Please tell me how you know so much about me – that is pretty much all wrong? But none of that has anything to do with the fact that activists with an agenda have been blocking Golden Rice for years. Totally different issues.
You have refused to acknowledge history, knowing you would therefore be assumed by your agenda driven propaganda. Their will never be any realistic points, but rather a higher authority like attitude, ie ego.
All activists have an agenda, make your point.
Who makes the golden rice?
The research is done by a non-profit organization. Key patents and technologies are being provided for free from companies.
See for yourself.
www(dot)goldenrice(dot)org
“The patented key technology for the generation of Golden Rice, invented by emeritus professor Ingo Potrykus, of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), and Prof Peter Beyer, of the Univ of Freiburg, was the bargaining chip that provided access to a package of ancillary technologies needed to engineer the trait into rice (e.g. genetic transformation techniques and gene construct elements). A licence to those technologies was obtained from Syngenta. The package contained proprietary technologies belonging not only to Syngenta but also to Bayer AG, Monsanto Co, Orynova BV, and Zeneca Mogen BV.These companies provided access to the required technologies free of charge, for humanitarian purposes.”
I have been to that site.
It’s a not for profit, the board members are going to profit nicely.
NO Testing has been done on golden rice.
Humanitarian is the symbolic usage of wording.
These people fed themselves for thousands of years, why can they not feed themselves now?
NO Testing has been done on golden rice.
Well it’s difficult to do testing when anti-science wingnuts keep destroying the test fields.
Do you even know what countries South Asia includes? Seriously, the more you post, the less informed you seem. And many of the problem countries are not just in “South Asia”, but in Vietnam, Cambodia and the like – and of course almost half of Africa.
So according to you I’m wrong by using my experience with Africa as my comparative model?
At least I used USA in a realistic effort to show the govt can help meet the nutritional balance.
Golden Rice is biotech based, therefore it’s evil.
That’s what the agricultural fundamentalists believe.
I only spoke of nutritional diversity and the people’s ability to sustain themselves.
Get over your GMO activist propaganda.
I just happen to have a lot of realistic information on this topic and a friend of mine was a Col in the South African Army.
I am fully aware of the reasons behind the vitamin A deficiency.
You scientists (GMO activists) are all way outside of your realm of knowledge here.
“…and a friend of mine was a Col in the South African Army.”
LOL, thanks for sharing, Simone!
“Um, he’s sick. My best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s
girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going with the
girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it’s
pretty serious. “
LMAO
People have had life experiences before, your not special.
Water is wet and night is dark.
You’re not very good at this, huh?
I just happen to have a lot of realistic information on this topic and a friend of mine was a Col in the South African Army.
You can’t seriously expect people to accept that as a reliable source.
You scientists (GMO activists) are all way outside of your realm of knowledge here.
Right, all the the scientists are way outside their realm of knowledge, but you (a non-scientist) are not? That’s hilarious and completely delusional.
Your expecting people to accept you as a reliable source, because?
Knowing and having realistic knowledge and experience as to economics and many of the historic events of Africa would seem relevant.
Your talking science and I’m trying to point out the land transfer issue constant conflict and how hard it is for people to survive within an economy that has them deep into poverty.
Their best source of nutritional diversity would to build it themselves and they would have if they could have.
The question why can they not build their communities to provide for themselves?
I expect people to look up facts and educate themselves.
Poverty, the root cause of vitamin A deficiency, has many causes and it isn’t going to be solved anytime soon. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t take actions to reduce the damage caused by poverty. Golden Rice is just one possible tool so why not use it? It seems your reasoning comes down to prejudice and ideology, probably the two worst reasons to hold an opinion.
These people have fed themselves for thousands of years, why can they not feed themselves now?
What does a Col in the SA army have to do with nutrition, farming, or Golden Rice? And your almost total lack of knowledge displayed on the subject lead me to believe that you have done almost no real research except hit a few of the anti-GMO articles.
Look at all of the activists having fun with this.
Really what does real life have to do with anything?
Again why have the people been unable to do what they have done for thousands of years?
Golden Rice hasn’t been tested, not required, and the FDA approved it. all testing was done through substantive equivalence.
Goldenrice dot org board has the inventors on it. plus it’s a not for profit. I’m not going to waste my time researching their board members.
They are funded by the Gates Foundation, is it part of their eugenics program?
Your total lack of knowledge on real world events and their effect is very dangerous. Though I know this is just how you activists work.
It;s economic manipulation, if you really want to help join the peace corps.
Ah.. you finally raised the “eugenics” flag. End of discussion.
Maybe they should choose their friends more carefully?
Mommies little boy
Golden Rice has no commercial application, the only people to make any money from it will be the farmers who produce it and the market holders who will sell it.
Currently there are 250 million children suffering VAD, an economy will be more productive and wealthier if parents do not have to stay at home looking after sick children. Healthy children can help out their families, tend gardens and go to school.
Why are there 250 million children malnourished, because no one had invented golden rice yet?
Your narrow field of view, agenda, is the true danger. Which it will hinder any realistic humanitarian efforts.
History and knowledge is the only true course of action, your offering a temporary solution fixated on beliefs held with a community of biased scientists.
I have a friend who is a 4-star general in the US Air Force. Do I win? Does your colonel friend counsel you on GE crops? Or are you just tossing that out like “My child is an honor roll student”, and therefore we should respect you as the parent?
Though my friend was in the South African Army, I already know the GMO activists, not real people, will use real life info as an arguing point. Like Podunk Roberts did with the Veteran.
Now lets make the point, that is no worse than an activist here claiming to be a scientist, why aren’t you bashing them?
Therefore IMHO, your a bunch of gamers living in your parents basement getting paid to act like real life comes from a laboratory.
GE Crops have absolutely nothing to do with the perils of mankind, they are just a solution to one of the many problems that people face.
I’m talking about real life issues, not the activist recruiters on campus.
What I can’t figure out is what knowing a colonel in the army has to do with anything being discussed, as Warren Lauzon asked below. You didn’t say whether your colonel friend knows anything about GE issues or even whether you had ever discussed the topic with the colonel. Does the colonel have something to say about the topic that you wish to share?
I agree with you that GE crops won’t solve everything, and that they are at times promoted as silver bullets. We need to be cautious with the technology, but all of the evidence I see indicates that biotechnology can provide powerful tools for addressing significant human and environmental needs, and all indications are that the current GE crops in use are safe. I can fathom no humanitarian or scientific rationale for opposing golden rice.
GE is just the point to where the real life issues have brought us to.
People aren’t born dreaming of and working towards the day they get to eat GMO products.
The real question is why, after thousands of years, can’t they feed themselves anymore?
That is an important question, but is perhaps the wrong question. Food insecurity has been part and parcel of humanity since its beginning. The magnitude of the problem has grown because of much greater human populations than have ever peopled this planet, but the problem itself is unchanged. So, we seek the tools to help us resolve that insecurity the best that we can. Adding nutrients to rice to help people live healthier lives, and with seed that costs nothing for impoverished growers, and which can be harvested and reused in subsequent seasons, there is a great opportunity to reduce food insecurity for millions of people. And then if drought tolerance is further added, even less insecurity. This is using biotechnology to address real-life issues.
Actually try freeing up land so these people can thrive within their local communities and support their own nutritional needs as they have done for thousands of years prior.
Too many misnomers stated and avoidance of the real problem.
Freeing up land doesn’t solve the problems. Zimbabwe is a prime example of how simply freeing up land can actually have negative results, proliferating poverty and suffering rather than alleviating them. Unless there are sufficient labor, resources, and skills to work the land properly (including water and nutrient additions), and appropriate crops that can be grown there to maintain the physical and economic health of those who work the land, the land alone is of no value. The value of golden rice is that it addresses at least one of those critical areas. Are you familiar with the “One Acre” program?
Not much information on the one acre program, other than them praising themselves. Nicely funded non-profit though, Morgans and Barclays.
The reference to Zimbabwe lead to some very interesting references, appears to have failed due to the program starting a war, which was my point in the first place.
They have good reason to praise themselves, as they have been highly successful in helping smallholders in Africa to begin securing income that allows them to not just feed themselves, but to generate additional revenue for health care and education. Is it wrong for them to receive funding from wealthy groups when they are doing good? You seem to be very jaded toward any wealthy organization and their philanthropic giving. Would you rather they gave their money to organized crime than promoting agricultural development in impoverished areas?
The war in Zimbabwe was what led to the land takeover and distribution of the land back to the people. And then the failure of the subsequent landholders exacerbated the war because of greater hunger and poverty. Just giving land to the people is a recipe for disaster. The One Acre program, and others like it, specialize in providing the people with the skills and resources to succeed on the land. That is critical.
I’m very familiar, with Rhodesia.
Your reference to it is lacking a plethora of information.
There is no realistic, ie historical, Data on the 1 acre program.
All hearsay.
Though it is good to provide the knowledge and training for communities to locally sustain themselves, I’ll agree there.
Well yes, my comments lack a lot of information and detail – space and time are rather limited, after all – but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t correct.
There have been a number of reviews of the One Acre program and its effectiveness (e.g., http://www.humanosphere.org/environment/2013/10/one-acre-fund-leads-kenyan-farmers-maize-disease-fight/). It just started in 2006 and now has over 250,000 participants. That’s impressive adoption for what started out as a two-man show in 2006. Making significant agricultural inroads with new ideas in Africa and South Asia is tough going, so that kind of growth is remarkable. If it weren’t doing something right, it wouldn’t have grown like that in a region with deeply entrenched maize-producing smallholders.
Well yes, my comments lack a lot of information and detail – space and time are rather limited, after all – but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t correct.
There have been a number of reviews of the One Acre program and its effectiveness. It just started in 2006 and now has over 250,000 participants. That’s impressive adoption for what started out as a two-man show in 2006. Making significant agricultural inroads with new ideas in Africa and South Asia is tough going, so that kind of growth is remarkable. If it weren’t doing something right, it wouldn’t have grown like that in a region with deeply entrenched maize-producing smallholders.
So no corporation is involved with golden rice? None. Is that what you’re claiming?
Depends on what you call “involved”. Several corporations have given away the tech for free, including Monsanto to the Golden Rice Project.
BS, only 1 corporation has given their patent to the golden rice org.
“.. The package contained proprietary technologies belonging not only to Syngenta but also to Bayer AG, Monsanto Co, Orynova BV, and Zeneca Mogen BV.These companies provided access to the required technologies free of charge, for humanitarian purposes…”
The only involvement, to the best of my knowledge, is a granting of access to patented technology free of charge. Perhaps they have also contributed research expertise. But the product itself, Golden Rice, is not a commercial product. It can be grown by farmers without the need to pay royalties, so long as the income from the crop is less than $20,000. Beyond this, the crop is no longer considered for “humanitarian purposes” and would be considered commercial. Thus, people will be able to grow this rice, and even earn a considerable amount of money off of it without any corporate involvement. That is my understanding.
Academics are funded by?
Companies, another word for corporations?
What is more humanitarian, providing for and allowing the people to sustain their local communities and nutritional needs, or watching them starve and die until the GE rice is developed and marketed?
This problem didn’t just suddenly appear.
Why have they fed themselves for thousands of years and not they cannot?
Your thinking is completely intransient on this issue.
Yes, it would be better if people could all feed themselves with nutritionally rich diets. But that;s not the reality of the world we live in. And need I remind you that until recently, malnutrition and starvation was far more widespread. This isn’t a new phenomenon. The idea that people living in areas of poverty used to eat healthy a thousand years and now suddenly cannot is delusional. Where one earth did you get this notion?
Yes, it would be great is initiatives like the Golden Rice Project were no necessary. But the fact is, vitamin A deficiency remains a problem. Let’s do everything we can to address it. That includes trying to lift people out of poverty but why not also use technology to enrich the nutritional content of staple foods? Because a bunch of Luddites living in rich first world countries don’t like the idea? That’s plain ignorant.
Your comments are largely symbolic of a standard mind set from within a community.
If you look at the WHO regional maps the malnutritional areas tend to remain as a constant. Most of them have been war torn or involved in internal conflicts in some fashion or another.
To dismiss the reasons and historical events will just lead to future failure.
Again using key words, delusional, and ignoring facts will lead to no humanitarian progress other than a short term solution.
The real solutions are community driven, historically.
Your whole theory blows up once you realize that there is no profit in Golden Rice for any corporation or Government. It is just a plant trait not a SAM missile system.
Yep, I think the commercial condition on Golden Rice is no patent payments for less than $20,000 annual crop revenue.
And I am sure that they only put that in there so that huge farming Co’s could not produce crap piles of golden rice and put the subsistence farmers out of business. It really is a humanitarian project, and I applaud them for it.. I just wish it didn’t take so long, it breaks my heart to know that there are folks out there that are dying and going blind because of these asshole Anti GMO freaks.
Oh, the things these doofs say, just because they’re opposed to biotech!
“They should grow carrots!”
Umm…well…carrots don’t grow so well when the soil is saturated. Duh.
These people are so dumb, it’s incredible.
And grow Yams in your freaking swamps and rain forests!
“no profit in Golden Rice for any corporation or Government”
Yes…of course, no profit. Right…
Yes no profit for anyone, they will even give out the seeds for free.
To everyone…right? There are no stipulations?
Yes no stipulations unless you are a commercial grower. Then you have to pay. The stipulation is to protect subsistence farmers.
You may want to check those stipulations again. It might be a little more complicated and muddled than whether or not a commercial grower is involved.
I did check.
Not well enough. Like I stated, it’s more complicated, than what you claim. Guess our exchange is at an end, apparently. Better luck next time.
You are not really up on the subject are you? Have you read ANY of what is on the IRRI pages?
Why don’t you tell me more of what you know that I know or don’t know, so I and everyone else knows too.
Hegelian Dialectic,
Very interesting, thank you.
Your an activist, you are supposed to fully support the agenda.
So coherent or not, you will do and say as your told.
Why cannot these farmers sustain themselves as they have done for thousands of years?
If having an opinion and voicing it makes me an activist then sure, whatever. My voice is my own. Launching an ad hominem attack against me only further discredits your already weak opinion.
Why cannot these farmers sustain themselves as they have done for thousands of years?
Are you high? Do you think people used to live in food filled utopias until evil modern agriculture stole it all away from them? That is just as ignorant as people thinking cavemen lived healthier lives and therefore we should all eat Paleo diets.
The majority of those suffering vitamin A deficiency are in rice eating countries like South East Asia rather than Africa.
They suffer from VAD because they can only afford a handful of rice a day. They can not afford a balanced diet. Fortifying their diet will stop them suffering blindness and death.
What have you got against saving the lives of children?
http://www.goldenrice.org
You seem to think that Africa is one country, and that the same conditions apply everywhere. Very little of the worst exploitation is by those evil multinationals – most is by warlords and corrupt governments.
Africa is a continent.
Study their history, maybe talk to somebody who has been there since birth.
Corporations make billions of dollars off of war. War is big business.
Get over your activist rants.
Oh, for Pete’s sake!
We’re not talking about people that aren’t able to conveniently walk to Dean & Deluca.
So your saying they have the ability, but they prefer to just sit and watch their children die?
The stupidity is the basic refusal to remember history, they have fed themselves for thousands of years. Why are they suddenly unable?
For one thing there are more of them than ever before, oh wait you can’t understand that. It has to be the governments fault. It must be nice for you to always have someone to blame.
Yes
Almost 100% of the time the problems exist because of weak, manipulated and corrupt leadership.
That’s exactly what I’m saying.
The population is growing because of a weak government? Another credit to your stupidity.
Problem’s,
a matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome
an inquiry starting from given conditions to investigate or demonstrate a fact, result, or law.
Population,
all the inhabitants of a particular town, area, or country
Your lack of understanding is truly sad. I pity you. How do you do simple things like tie your shoes each day? Oh wait they made velcro shoes for people like you.
I said problems and said popuation, you must have had some difficulty understanding, so I added in my comment hoping you were able to see the difference.
But alas unless it’s scribbled on your wall in color crayon, I don’t think I will be able to help you.
No wonder you suffer delusions about being a successful seed seller.
you
shove that somewhere
I’m sorry folks, I’ll center up and shift.
I know this is GMO Roberts online persona, but it irritates me knowing some online gamer is sitting in his parents basement making his living getting paid to act like some bad azz alpha.
LOL, your title is mommies little boy and you have the nerve to claim that someone else is living with their parents? I guess you think trying to make fun of hard working people some how makes you feel better about yourself. Shameful.
I chose this name just for you, it gives you something else to insult. Every time your hit with reality you attack hard.
I made you relive your attack on the Veteran, so now your making up crap to insult me with, lmao.
Prove he was a veteran? Can’t can you. Once again you have only your imagination. You should really apologize to the vets for dragging them into your schemes, something I (or any honorable person) would do.
Yes, but that information is protected by the privacy act and I’m required to act in accordance, otherwise I would.
I’m sorry if any Veterans are offended, if any are please explain and I’ll correct my actions. Thank you.
You always have an excuse. You have no clue who lumpy is any more than the rest of us and now you are throwing out more BS. Using veterans for your lies. How disgraceful.
Personal Govt information isn’t covered by the privacy act?
Again you are covering a lie.
Got news for ya, the dude didn’t hide like we are, that takes some real ballz.
You are delusional blaming all of your problems on someone else never wanting to take responsibility for anything that has ever gone wrong in your life. I guess mommy was always there to kiss your boo boos for you and protect you. What a sad life you must lead.
What has went wrong in my life?
Your the one who changed words, due to whatever your reason was?
You have blamed just about everything on the government. You drag hard working farmers and the people that supply them through the mud, and now you have even tried to bring in the vets. You are a very weak and sad individual that has never had any responsibility in your life.
You need to stand on your insulting the Veterans issue, you have said enough there…
Again did I blame government or leadership?
Keep fishing activist, you Pro GMO folks are starting to really show your true colors.
Stand down
Shove that somewhere also
Carrying on a conversation with yourself? I guess that works since everyone else knows you are a hopeless loser.
Kinda hard to stand behind your fantasies.
I was specifically attacking you.
What did I blame on the Govt and which Govt?
Kind of a vague accusation.
You have blamed all governments thinking they are evil. Then you try to drag the vets into your lies. Shameful.
The US Govt has provided it’s impoverished with a diverse diet and the means to attain it and I’m sure a few others have done the same.
Why can’t other countries do that?
Nice twist activist.
Rather easy for one of the wealthiest nations who raise more than their share of food to supply its people. It is another thing for countries on the other end of the spectrum. Of course you wouldn’t know about such things as when you want something you just ring your little bell and your mommy comes running. Nice twist moron.
I found them, the studies had actually been done.
panna dot org/resources/agriculture-crossroads
panna dot org/food-democracy/feeding-world
Answering yourself instead of actually trying to get into the conversation? How sad.
It’s called, follow up.
Get off of the internet games and out of your parents basement on occasion.
Ya know what pissed me off the most, when you used the atheist activist as a creditable source for information. Dudes just like you, do anything, say anything for the money.
Pure paid freelance troll.
Did you get your wee little feelings hurt? Maybe your mommy will make it all better for you. If you was a true American and had ever fought for our freedom then you would realize that you shouldn’t be bigoted against people’s religious beliefs. You probably supported the holocaust as well knowing your evil mind. How sad.
So your here to just show people up?
What if I’m Jewish?
You just feel free to attack everywhere you please.
You are the one that has shown intolerance not I. You are the one that has show anger, not I. You are the one that want to blame everything and everyone for your issues in life, not I. You accuse me of being in my parents basement, when in reality it is most likely your dream to escape your mommies little dungeon, but are just to afraid of the big bad outside world.
Its called trying to hide your comments from the people that have showed you up. Another one of your shameful tactics. Typical of people that have no honor.
like Cindy implied I am stunned that any body can make $5241 in one month on the computer. try this website on `my` `prof1le`
&ddddddddd
Golden Rice does not contain Vitamin A, it contains beta carotene, which while being converted to vitamin A in the body, under some circumstances can produce retinoic acid. Sweet potato, green leafy vegetable and carrots also contain beta carotene and are just as likely or unlikely to end up as retonoic acid in the body.
Yes, I was simplifying the description.
LMAO, just as likely or unlikely to end up as retonoic acid in the body.
50% chance of rain tomorrow.
The truth about Golden Rice and its retracted study! http://livingmaxwell.com/is-gmo-golden-rice-shocking-new-development
Disaster – One Shocking New Development
Max Goldberg August 13, 2015
Golden Rice – Photo: International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) via Wikimedia (CC BY)
Golden Rice – Photo: International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) via Wikimedia (CC BY)
What GMO apologists will constantly tell you is that genetically-modified food is essential to feed the world.
They’ve spent so much money on lobbying and influencing politicians – $572 million from 1999 to 2010 – that a majority of people in Washington D.C. have actually come to believe this nonsense. (University of Michigan’s Catherine Badgley explains here why organic can feed the world.)
But GMOs, we are told, won’t just feed the world. They’ll supposedly nourish it as well.
One prime example of this is GMO ‘Golden Rice’, which was touted as a way to help solve a major global health problem by providing kids adequate amounts of Vitamin A.
A deficiency in Vitamin A causes blindness in 500,000 children each year, half of whom die within 12 months after losing their eyesight. (The GMO rice contains beta-carotene, which converts into vitamin A once inside the body).
However, a few new revelations surrounding ‘Golden Rice’ don’t make it seem so golden. Revolting is actually a better word.
Last year, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition announced that it would retract a paper from the Tufts University professor who claimed that GMO ‘Golden Rice’ was an effective Vitamin A supplement.
Why?
Major ethics violations.
The children, parents, and teachers were not informed that the rice was genetically-engineered, that it was ‘Golden Rice, and that there were health risks with consuming this rice. Greenpeace accurately dubbed these 24 unknowing victims as “guinea pigs”.
In an attempt to stop the retraction from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Dr. Guangwen Tang, the Tufts University professor and author of this paper, filed a complaint and motion for a preliminary injunction against the journal’s publisher, the American Society for Nutrition.
On July 17th, just a few weeks ago, a Massachusetts Superior Court ruled that the publisher could retract the paper and on July 29th, it did so. The American Society for Nutrition had this to say why it retracted the study.
— The authors are unable to provide sufficient evidence that the study had been reviewed and approved by a local ethics committee in China in a manner fully consistent with NIH (National Institute for Health) guidelines. Furthermore, the engaged institutions in China did not have US Federal Wide Assurances and had not registered their Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Review Committee).
— The authors are unable to substantiate through documentary evidence that all parents or children involved in the study were provided with the full consent form for the study.
Fortunately, this paper is now gone for good.
But the more shocking development, which has received close to zero media attention, centers around how the clinical trials for this GMO ‘Golden Rice’ were conducted.
While the American Society for Nutrition made its decision to retract the paper based solely on ethical considerations, there appears to be very serious scientific objections to this study as well.
As reported by The Ecologist, the website says the following:
A further objection raised to the scientific work is that the children were fed a diet rich in fat and protein – both of which would artificially raise the absorption of the beta-carotene, which is fat soluble. The meals comprised 20% fat by energy content and included 100g or 110g of pork meat, also eaten with egg, spinach and tomato soup.
Given that Golden rice is promoted as a means to raise the standard of nutrition among poor and malnourished children, a diet so rich in meat, fat, protein and vegetables is unrealistic and thus uninformative as far as the enhanced nutrition of the ‘target group’ is concerned.
Indeed, anyone eating so rich a diet as that given the the child subjects would be at little danger of suffering from vitamin A deficiency in the first place, since spinach, along with other green vegetables, is a good source of the necessary nutrients.
If in fact the kids were fed (1) a diet rich in fat, which would artificially and purposefully raise the absorption of beta-carotene and (2) a diet that in no way mimics that of a malnourished child in a developing country, it is pure and utter manipulation to get the desired results.
Can you imagine for one second what would have happened if there were no ethics violations and, thus, the scientific concerns were never uncovered?
These manipulated results would have been sold to politicians around the globe that GMO ‘Golden Rice’ is the answer and GMOs do benefit the world, despite what GMO-opponents say.
This example of what happened in China is exactly why we cannot trust “independent, objective studies” that claim GMOs to be perfectly safe.
There is an agenda in our country to push GMOs, and nothing appears to be out of bounds.
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So how much golden rice would a person have to jam down his/her gullet to get enough Vit. A to have an effective level? It sounds rather like eating enough Vit. B-fortified bread to have an effective level of Vit. B. The GMO industry is shameless.
A child would only need about 60g a day to stop the negative effect of vitamin A deficiency. The patent for Golden Rice has been donated to the Golden Rice Humanitarian Project who give it away free to be developed into local varieties.
TheGolden Rice seeds will cost no more than other rice seeds and the farmer will be able to keep the seeds for free and plant in the next year.
http://www.goldenrice.org
One small bowl full or about 186 grams.
Give a man a fish feed him for a day…
Again why can’t they feed themselves as they have done for thousands of years?
These are poverty foods, not intended for anyone else.
These activists will fight for their monoculture, and never admit why the folks in poverty suddenly cannot feed themselves.
….while the artificial monoculture – as always – destroys the soil, environment, and biodiversity, and the strength of native plants.
How very odd. Of course, the rice MAY cause birth defects. It MAY also cause auto-amputation of limbs and heart explosions. Highly unlikely, but it MAY. Reading this blog MAY cause blindness, infertility and/or autism. You can stuff MAY in front of anything and be correct because it is conditional upon things which may or may not ever happen.
Yes, it would be wonderful if everyone could have a highly diverse and complete diet, but it isn’t happening in many parts of the world. We can sit and pontificate on the virtues of this ideal diet and bemoan the fact that others don’t get it for whatever reason, or we can look for ways to start to bridge the nutrition gap. This seed places the control of at least one key nutritional element in the hands of the poor growers themselves, with no additional cost. How is that a bad thing, especially since science has yet to demonstrate any human health issues related to transgenic crops? Vitamin A supplementing has been shown to reduce mortality and debilitation due to malaria in children in these same regions of the world. But it’s okay – we don’t mind losing 600-800,000 children to malaria each year, and millions of others being seriously sickened when there MAY be a risk of some birth defects due to Vitamin A-enriched rice, although there is as yet no evidence for this claim, just speculation. My sense is that these critics are wanting to see populations reduced, and would prefer to see the status quo continue so that happens. What other reason could they have for fighting so adamantly against tools that could protect and save lives?
srfood dot org/en/democracy-and-diversity-can-mend-broken-food-systems-final-diagnosis-from-un-right-to-food-expert
That’s what Monsanto said about its so-called ‘safe’ Bt cotton seeds too.
Sorry, you have found some peer reviewed science to say that Bt cotton is not safe LOL
Yes.
Lets see you peer reviewed evidence please. Must be peer reviewed not in a ‘paid to publish’ journal.
Waiting …………..
It is derived from all of the COI research the pro-GMO people provide.
That in itself would provide enough for any reasonably sensible person to demand more inquiry into the research.
Every peer reviewed study provided by the pro gmo activists is utter garbage.
Any thing provided by the anti gmo people will be shunned and compared to a highly COI funded study in favor.
That is a clue in investigatory work, motive.
Still waiting ……..
Why have you stood around for 20 years while the VAD has been happening throughout this time, when you could have been there saving the Women and Children all this time?
Why haven’t you been trying to save the children till now?
I have seen the WHO regional maps on the VAD in both categories, women and children. Seems to have been a very revealing resource.
Why is it the majority of VAD cases involve pregnant women or children?
Mommies little boy,
Those developing Golden Rice have not sat around for 20 years, they have been developing Golden Rice.
Field trials have begun in Bangladesh and soon the Philippines.
Those suffering VAD can only afford a handful of rice a day and cannot afford a varied diet to get the nutrients they need.
The current method of providing Vit A pills is expensive and unsustainable, wasting resources when Golden Rice will be able to fortify diets at no additional costs.
And before you start talking about big rich and greedy governments (sigh), whatever problems that exist that stops the populations for being able to afford varied diets wont be solved soon, and until then we need to stop 2 million children dying a year. Whatever is happening now is not working.
What is your solution taking into account the those who might suffer VAD cant afford anything else other than rice and to fix structural problems in these counties will take decades to fix.
Media has only two tools. One is the outrageous lie. This overused tool no
longer works, except on fools. The other tool used by presstitutes is
to discuss a problem with no reference to its causes.
And the inventors of golden rice are on the board, and it’s a non profit, with outrageously wealthy funding resources.
Historically what have arrangements like this ended up to be?
The Bill Gates Foundation have donated funds to the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines to develop Golden Rice.
The fact make you look stupid 🙂