Group warns PH vs ‘golden rice’: It’s not the solution to malnutrition

Regional coalitions of farmers, consumers and environmental protection activists asked the government to refuse "foreign security labels" of genetically modified "golden rice" and could pose a danger to public health.

This Stop Golden Rice Network from other countries may be a strategy to exploit weak regulations and policy loopholes of that country against genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to release gold rice in the Philippines I assert.

The alliance said in a statement that the recent approval of overseas GM crops may soon lead to "starting testing with children and pregnant women in the Philippines and Bangladesh".

The Canadian Ministry of Health announced that GM vitamin A will strengthen the approval of "Golden Rice" on March 16, 2018.

The network said that the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) also submitted gold rice safety approval and trade permission applications to the United States, Canada and Australia last year.

Cris Panerio of Magysasaka of Siyentipiko says: "It is also questionable why farmers and consumers in Asia, rice are in the dark and why the International Rice Research Institute is seeking safety approvals in Canada, Australia and the United States." Agrikultura (member of the Philippine farmers' network and network) Greeting from Masipag)

"Promoting ready-made, diverse and safe vitamin A food sources through sustainable and ecological agriculture is more important than genetically modified crops such as golden rice against malnutrition and food security and health security It's a long-term solution, "he added.

Golden rice was launched in 2000 when genetically engineered to produce beta carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, and is devoted to dealing with malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency (VAD).

According to the network, Syngenta, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation have invested millions of dollars in international livestock laboratories in 2011 to develop gold rice in Bangladesh and the Philippines.

Ana Bibal, a network activity coordinator, stated that the Ministry of Health Canada and Australia's New Zealand Food Standards Authority approved Golden Rice as "a product of company lobbying activities."

"Scientific discovery eliminates its feasibility, safety and intentions and does not solve social problems Golden rice can not cure blindness and resolve social problems of complex malnutrition We can not do it, profit, massive disorganized GM rice transaction and bioenhanced GM crop, "she pointed out.

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Golden rice is expected to prevent millions of deaths in developing countries and reduce the suffering of children and adults due to malnutrition of VAD and micronutrients. In addition, enabling further development of golden rice may increase the possibility of strengthening genetically modified crops to combat micronutrient malnutrition in developing countries. This is the main advantage of Golden Rice. Supporters of the project believe that improvements in public health in developing countries outweigh the risks associated with golden rice

Let's consider the story of genetically modified golden rice. Some companies have found a ridiculous problem of a reduction of (useful) scientific capacity as a human savior. My collaborators Yaneer Bar Yam and Joe Norman think that it is a simple and very simple traffic problem. Briefly, we waste more than a third of food supply, the benefits of simple improvement in logistics far outweigh the benefits of supply changes. Just think that 80% or 85% of the cost of tomato is due to waste at transportation, storage, not from farmer level cost (from corruption of unsold stocks).

Ingo Potrykus is one of the developers of the original Golden Rice stock, and he understands this. He developed a rich rice of beta carotene as a biological solution to the same problem, which is much easier. With one golden rice, self-sufficient farmers can produce 1,000 grains of rice, from which 1,000,000 seeds can be produced. From the core, farmers can plant 20,000 tons of rice in 2 years after 4 generations. The cost of influence of gold rice and aid is small: Educational program and vitamin supplement require annual budget, delivery network, and promote dependence. On the other hand, rice seeds can be rearranged every year, and farmers do not need to pay extra fee.