Golden Rice: Should It Be Our Future? :: Essays Papers

Golden Rice: Should It Be Our Future? At the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, scientists created golden rice by inserting three genes into a certain rice variety which will in turn produce a greater amount of beta-carotene. This rice has a sort of yellowish hue, which has given the rice its name, golden rice. The rice is still under research and testing before it will reach the markets, which is guessed to be around 2003. If this rice is found to be safe and effective it will be a tool in providing these rice dependent countries with the nutrients they need. Rice is the staple food of many Asian and South Pacific countries. Rice is a major portion of these countries economic and agricultural systems. In places such as India, they used to eat brown rice, which is more nutritious because the outer bran layer is not removed during the milling process. When the British came to India they introduced white rice, which means the milling process has been taken to one further step. This reduces the amount of nutrients such as thiamine. White rice is now the major type of rice eaten in these Asian and Pacific countries. This has led to serious problems of malnutrition. Since normal rice does not have any beta-carotene, which is the precursor to Vitamin A, these populations are having vitamin a deficiencies. The World Health Organization stated that about 250 million people worldwide are at risk of permanent blindness, iron deficiency in women, and other serious ailments due to their lack of vitamin A. This genetically modified rice, known as â€Å"golden rice† has been created to meet the nutritional needs of these malnourished populations. Genetic engineering has become a world-wide issue. Hungry countries in Africa, such as Zimbabwe, whose population is as risk for starvation and death are skeptical about receiving genetically altered food from countries such as the United States. In China, a rice known as â€Å"super rice† has been created which is more resilient; but it has not been accepted by the Chinese markets because it is genetically altered. People are more interested in their food than ever before, and are concerned about their overall safety. They want to know where it comes from and if it has been altered from its natural state.