The genetic engineering industry loves to give as a savior from world hunger and malnutrition. As a remedy for the widespread vitamin A deficiency in the developing world, which can lead to blindness and death, has been using rice Genetic engineering with pro-vitamin A enriched. But the "golden rice" could not redeem the promises made so far. The supposed showcase "Golden Rice" is a total appears as a campaign to be helped with the GM food to break through. Critics of genetic engineering are morally pressured consumers are convinced of their benefits.
to vitamin-A rice to prevent blindness
The first generation of Golden Rice "was developed in 1999. Through genetic manipulation changes the rice scientists so that its grains are formed in carotenoids. It can in the human body, the essential vitamin A are formed. Since the grains were given by the carotenoids, a yellowish color, the rice "Golden Rice" was baptized. The seed industry promised that the "golden rice" could reduce vitamin A deficiency disease. Go blind each year, according to estimates by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in developing countries, up to 500,000 children due to lack of vitamin A. Half of them die within twelve months.
data will not be published
But as a show of foodwatch commissioned research (PDF) , most questions the quality and safety of the "Golden Rice" is still not answered. project operator is a so-called "Golden Rice Humanitarian Board, composed of different scientists financed. the project by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The operators have not yet even banal technical details such as the concentration of carotenoids after storage and publishes cooking the rice. This is of crucial importance, because carotenoids can be degraded during storage relatively quickly. It is unclear so far, then, how much vitamin A by Golden Rice arrives in fact in the body. The publication of these data for several years announced. But even refuse to direct the project operators to demand details.
risk assessment
missing on the other hand, there are significant risks to health and the environment. But even this, the operators have been no studies published. This is evidence that genetically modified rice may spread uncontrolled through crossing with wild relatives. In other genetically modified plants have been observed in animal studies also unexpected harmful effects. Thus, the transplantation of genes in pea bean led first to minor changes in the protein that triggered but life-threatening immune system reactions.
tests on school children are scheduled
Thus, although the basic technical data and publicly available results on the risk assessment of the "Golden Rice" do not exist, the operator of the project plan already testing of school children. Only the intervention of the authorities attempts were canceled in China, there were scheduled for summer 2008.
foodwatch calls on financiers to review its commitment to support
Still, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on the project. foodwatch has written to both foundations and asking them to review their commitment. Even against the background that specialists of the output of vitamin pills, the enrichment grant of normal foods with vitamin A and informing the people in the cultivation of carrots and green vegetables special now more successful than the use of genetic engineering.
policy pushes genetic engineering industry, in
Overall, the Golden Rice project is as a campaign to impose genetically modified food that was high profile a humanitarian dress over striped: a project with the same standards for risk assessment of genetically modified seeds is lowered and the critics of GM food should be put under moral pressure and broke through the rejection of the consumer should be. Above all, the policy should be the events surrounding the "golden rice" is a reminder because it uses only too happy to promises made by genetic engineering industry to be in the appropriate, but uncomfortable actions. - How about world hunger through a fair international trading system for agricultural products combat - to press
source.
"No GM in Wendland" foodwatch.de would inform the reader what the state of things E-mail: No-genetic engineering-in-Wendland. @ gmx.de 
