8/25/13

Golden Rice - Lifesaver? - NYTimes.com

August24,2013

GoldenRice:Lifesaver?
ByAMYHARMON

ONEbrightmorningthismonth,400protesterssmasheddownthehigh fencessurroundingafieldintheBicolregionofthePhilippinesand uprootedthegeneticallymodifiedriceplantsgrowinginside. Hadtheplantssurvivedlongenoughtoflower,theywouldhavebetrayed adistinctlyyellowtintintheotherwisewhitepartofthegrain.Thatis becausethericeisendowedwithagenefromcornandanotherfroma bacterium,makingittheonlyvarietyinexistencetoproducebeta carotene,thesourceofvitaminA.ItsdeveloperscallitGoldenRice. TheconcernsvoicedbytheparticipantsintheAug.8actofvandalism thatGoldenRicecouldposeunforeseenriskstohumanhealthandthe environment,thatitwouldultimatelyprofitbigagrochemicalcompanies areafamiliarrefraininthelongrunningcontroversyoverthemerits ofgeneticallyengineeredcrops.Theyaredrivingthedesireamongsome AmericansformandatoryG.M.O.labelsonfoodwithingredientsmade fromcropswhoseDNAhasbeenalteredinalaboratory.Andtheyhave motivatedsimilarattacksontrialsofothergeneticallymodifiedcropsin recentyears:grapesdesignedtofightoffadeadlyvirusinFrance,wheat designedtohavealowerglycemicindexinAustralia,sugarbeetsin Oregondesignedtotolerateaherbicide,tonameafew. Wedonotwantourpeople,especiallyourchildren,tobeusedinthese experiments,afarmerwhowasaleaderoftheprotesttoldthe PhilippinenewspaperRemate.

ButGoldenRice,whichappearedonthecoverofTimeMagazinein2000 beforeitwasquitereadyforprimetime,isunlikeanyofthegenetically engineeredcropsinwideusetoday,designedtoeitherwithstand MOREINOPI herbicidessoldbyMonsantoandotherchemicalcompaniesorresist ARTICLES) insectattacks,withbenefitsforfarmersbutnotdirectlyforconsumers.

Editoria AndaloomingdecisionbythePhilippinegovernmentaboutwhetherto Mayor

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allowGoldenRicetobegrownbeyonditsfourremainingfieldtrialshas ReadMore addedanewdimensiontothedebateoverthetechnologysmerits.

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Golden Rice - Lifesaver? - NYTimes.com

Notownedbyanycompany,GoldenRiceisbeingdevelopedbya nonprofitgroupcalledtheInternationalRiceResearchInstitutewiththe aimofprovidinganewsourceofvitaminAtopeoplebothinthe Philippines,wheremosthouseholdsgetmostoftheircaloriesfromrice, andeventuallyinmanyotherplacesinaworldwherericeiseatenevery daybyhalfthepopulation.Lackofthevitalnutrientcausesblindnessin aquartermilliontoahalfmillionchildreneachyear.Itaffectsmillions ofpeopleinAsiaandAfricaandsoweakenstheimmunesystemthat sometwomilliondieeachyearofdiseasestheywouldotherwisesurvive. Thedestructionofthefieldtrial,andthereasonsgivenforit,toucheda nerveamongscientistsaroundtheworld,spurringthemtocounter assertionsofthetechnologyshealthandenvironmentalrisks.Ona petitionsupportingGoldenRicecirculatedamongscientistsandsigned byseveralthousand,manyventedasimmeringfrustrationwithactivist organizationslikeGreenpeace,whichtheyseeasplayingonmisplaced fearsofgeneticengineeringinboththedevelopingandthedeveloped worlds.SometooktootherchannelstoconveytoAmericanfoodiesand FilipinofarmersalikethebroadscientificconsensusthatG.M.O.sare notintrinsicallymoreriskythanothercropsandcanbereliablytested. Atstake,theysay,isnotjustthefutureofbiofortifiedricebutalsoa rationalmeanstoevaluateatechnologywhosepotentialtoimprove nutritionindevelopingcountries,anddevelopedones,mayotherwisego unrealized. TheressomuchmisinformationfloatingaroundaboutG.M.O.sthatis takenasfactbypeople,saidMichaelD.Purugganan,aprofessorof genomicsandbiologyandthedeanforscienceatNewYorkUniversity, whosoughttocalmhealthriskconcernsinaprimeronGMANews Online,amediaoutletinthePhilippines:Thegenestheyinsertedto makethevitaminarenotsomeweirdmanufacturedmaterial,hewrote, butarealsofoundinsquash,carrotsandmelons. Mr.Purugganan,whostudiesplantevolution,doesnotworkon geneticallyengineeredcrops,anduntilrecentlyhadnotparticipatedin thepublicdebatesovertherisksandbenefitsofG.M.O.s.Buthaving beenraisedinamiddleclassfamilyinManila,hefeltcompelledto weighinonGoldenRice.AlotofthecriticismofG.M.O.sinthe Westernworldsuffersfromalackofunderstandingofhowreallydire thesituationisindevelopingcountries,hesaid.
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8/25/13

Golden Rice - Lifesaver? - NYTimes.com

SomeproponentsofG.M.O.ssaythatmorecriticalquestions,likewhere biotechnologyshouldfallasapriorityintheeffortstoaddresstheroot causesofhungerandmalnutritionandhowtopreventafewcompanies fromcontrollingit,wouldbeeasiertoaddressweretheynotlumped togetherwithunfoundedfearsbythosewhoopposeG.M.O.s. Itislongpasttimeforscientiststostandupandshout,Nomorelies nomorefearmongering,saidNinaV.Fedoroff,aprofessorattheKing AbdullahUniversityofScienceandTechnologyinSaudiArabiaanda formerscienceadvisertotheAmericansecretaryofstate,whohelped spearheadthepetition.Weretalkingaboutsavingmillionsoflives here. Preciselybecauseofitsseeminglyhighmindedpurpose,GoldenRice hasdrawnsuspicionfrombiotechnologyskepticsbeyondthe demonstratorswhoforcedtheirwayintothefieldtrial.Manycountries banthecultivationofallgeneticallymodifiedcrops,andaftertherices mediadebutearlyinthelastdecade,VandanaShiva,anIndian environmentalist,calleditaTrojanhorsewhosepurposewastogain publicsupportforallmannerofgeneticallymodifiedcropsthatwould benefitmultinationalcorporationsattheexpenseofpoorfarmersand consumers. Ina2001article,TheGreatYellowHype,theauthorMichaelPollan,a criticofindustrialagriculture,suggestedthatitmighthavebeen developedtowinanargumentratherthansolveapublichealth problem.Hecitedbiotechnologyindustryadvertisementsthatfeatured thevirtuesoftherice,whichatthetimehadtobeingestedinlarge quantitiestodeliverameaningfuldoseofvitaminA. Butthericehassincebeenretooled:abowlnowprovides60percentof thedailyrequirementofvitaminAforhealthychildren.AndGerard Barry,theGoldenRiceprojectleaderattheInternationalRiceResearch Instituteand,itmustbesaid,aformerseniorscientistandexecutive atMonsantosuggeststhatattemptstodiscreditGoldenRicediscount thesufferingitcouldalleviateifsuccessful.Hesaid,too,thatcriticswho suggestencouragingpoorfamiliestosimplyeatfruitsandvegetables thatcontainbetacarotenedisregardtheexpenseandlogistical difficultiesthatwouldthwartsuchefforts. Identifiedintheinfancyofgeneticengineeringashavingthepotential
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Golden Rice - Lifesaver? - NYTimes.com

forthebiggestimpactfortheworldspoor,betacaroteneproducingrice wasinitiallyfundedbytheRockefellerFoundationandtheEuropean Union.Inadecadeofworkculminatingin1999,twoacademicscientists, IngoPotrykusandPeterBeyer,finallyswitchedontheproductionof betacarotenebyaddingdaffodilandbacteriaDNAtothericesgenome. Theylicensedtheirpatentrightstotheagribusinesscompanythatlater becameSyngenta,ontheconditionthatthetechnologyandany improvementstoitwouldbemadefreelyavailabletopoorfarmersinthe developingworld.Withthecompanyretainingtherighttouseitin developedcountries,potentiallyasanalternativetovitamin supplements,Syngentascientistslaterimprovedtheamountofbeta caroteneproducedbysubstitutingagenefromcornfortheonefrom daffodil. IfthericegainsthePhilippinegovernmentsapproval,itwillcostno morethanotherriceforpoorfarmers,whowillbefreetosaveseedsand replantthem,Dr.Barrysaid.Ithasnoknownallergensortoxins,andthe newproteinsproducedbythericehavebeenshowntobreakdown quicklyinsimulatedgastricfluid,asrequiredbyWorldHealth Organizationguidelines.Amousefeedingstudyisunderwayina laboratoryintheUnitedStates.ThepotentialthattheGoldenRicewould crosspollinatewithothervarieties,sometimescalledgenetic contamination,hasbeenstudiedandfoundtobelimited,becausericeis typicallyselfpollinated.Anditsproductionofbetacarotenedoesnot appeartoprovideacompetitiveadvantageordisadvantagethat couldaffectthesurvivalofwildvarietieswithwhichitmightmix. IfGoldenRiceisaTrojanhorse,itnowhassomecompany.TheBilland MelindaGatesFoundation,whichissupportingthefinaltestingof GoldenRice,isalsounderwritingthedevelopmentofcropstailoredfor subSaharanAfrica,likecassavathatcanresistthevirusesthatroutinely wipeoutathirdoftheharvest,bananasthatcontainhigherlevelsofiron andcornthatusesnitrogenmoreefficiently.Othergroupsare developingapestresistantblackeyedpeaandaGoldenBananathat wouldalsodelivervitaminA. Beyondthefearofcorporatecontrolofagriculture,perhapsthemost citedobjectiontoG.M.O.sisthattheymayholdrisksthatmaynotbe understood.Thedecisiontogroworeatthemrelies,likemanyother decisions,onacostbenefitanalysis.
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Golden Rice - Lifesaver? - NYTimes.com

Howfoodconsumersaroundtheworldweighthatcalculationwill probablyhavefarreachingconsequences.Suchcrops,Scientific Americandeclaredinaneditoriallastweek,willmakeittopeoples platesonlywithpublicsupport. Greenpeace,forone,dismissesthebenefitsofvitaminsupplementation throughG.M.O.sandhassaiditwillcontinuetoopposeallusesof biotechnologyinagriculture.AsDanielOcampo,acampaignerforthe organizationinthePhilippines,putit,Wewouldrathererrontheside ofcaution. Forothers,thepotentialofcropslikeGoldenRicetoalleviatesuffering isallthatmatters.Thistechnologycansavelives,oneofthepetitions signers,JavierDelgadoofMexico,wrote.Butfalsefearscandestroyit.
AmyHarmonisanationalcorrespondentforTheNewYorkTimes.

Thisarticlehasbeenrevisedtoreflectthefollowingcorrection: Correction:August24,2013 AnearlierversionofthisarticlemisspelledthePhilippineregionwhereprotestersdestroyeda fieldgrowinggeneticallymodifiedrice.ItistheBicolregion,notBricol.

www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/sunday-review/golden-rice-lifesaver.html?hp&_r=0&pagewanted=print

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