RICE golden
<font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">UN just rules can't label vit a b/c too low? needs fat to process, kpfa 6/18/18?
</font><div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/climate-change-will-make-rice-less-nutritious-putting-millions-worlds-poor-risk">https://www.alternet.org/climate-change-will-make-rice-less-nutritious-putting-millions-worlds-poor-risk</a></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
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</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://www.gmwatch.org/news/latest-news/16239-pope-francis-slams-gmos-and-pesticides-for-environmental-and-social-damage">http://www.gmwatch.org/news/latest-news/16239-pope-francis-slams-gmos-and-pesticides-for-environmental-and-social-damage</a></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
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</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><div>Pope Francis slams both GMOs and pesticides in a draft of his major environmental document that was leaked Monday. He has also called for independent and interdisciplinary research to study GMOs</div><div>
</div><div>Pope Francis’s open-eyed vision of the problems caused by GMOs and pesticides in the articles below is in stark contrast with the ludicrous hype generated by GMO proponents in 2013 around the Pope giving “his personal blessing” to GMO golden rice.</div><div>
</div><div>In fact it was far from clear if he knew exactly what he was blessing and this act cannot be claimed to be an endorsement of this GMO or GMOs in general.</div><div>
</div><div>It’s evident from the second article below that Pope Francis will not fall for the lie that we need GMOs to feed the world. He states that the problem of hunger could be solved through political will and tackling food speculation and food waste.</div><div>
</div><div>1. Pope Francis slams GMOs and pesticides for environmental and social damage</div><div>2. Pope Francis: We can end world hunger if we want to</div><div>—</div><div>
</div><div>1. Pope Francis slams GMOs and pesticides for environmental and social damage</div><div>Sustainable Pulse, Jun 16 2015</div><div>http://sustainablepulse.com/2015/06/16/pope-francis-slams-gmos-and-pesticides-for-environmental-and-social-damage/#.VX_cHufWlnc</div><div>
</div><div>* Pope Francis slams both GMOs and pesticides in a draft of his major environmental document that was leaked Monday. He has also called for the financing of independent and interdisciplinary research to study GMOs</div><div>
</div><div>On the subject of GMOs Pope Francis states, “It is difficult to give an overall judgment on the development of genetically modified organisms (GMO), plant or animal, for medical purposes or in agriculture, since they can be very different and require different considerations.”</div><div>
</div><div>He continues, “Although we do not have definitive evidence about the damage that transgenic cereals could cause to humans, and in some regions their use has produced economic growth that has helped solve some problems, there are significant problems that should not be minimized. In many areas, following the introduction of these crops, there has been a concentration of productive land in the hands of the few, due to the gradual disappearance of small producers, who, as a consequence of the loss of cultivated land, have been forced to retreat from direct production.</div><div>
</div><div>“The most fragile among them become temporary workers and many farm workers migrate to end up in miserable urban settlements. The spread of these (GM) crops destroys the complex web of ecosystems, decreases diversity in production and affects the present and the future of regional economies. In several countries there is a trend in the development of oligopolies in the production of seeds and other products needed for cultivation, and the dependence deepens when you consider the production of sterile seeds, which end up forcing farmers to buy (seeds) from producers.”</div><div>
</div><div>“No doubt there is a need for constant attention…to consider all ethical aspects involved. To this end it is necessary to ensure a scientific and social debate that is responsible and large, able to consider all the information available and to call things by their names.</div><div>
</div><div>“GMOs is an issue which is complex, it must be approached with a sympathetic look at all its aspects, and this requires at least one more effort to finance several lines of independent and interdisciplinary research… as we have seen in this chapter, the technique is unlikely to be able to …self-limit its power.”</div><div>
</div><div>On pesticides Pope Francis states, “We get sick, for example, due to inhalation of large amounts of smoke produced by fuels used for cooking and heating. This is added to by….fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and toxic pesticides in general. Technology that is linked to finance, claims to be only solving problems…this solves a problem by creating others.</div><div>
</div><div>“It creates a vicious circle in which the intervention of the human being to solve a problem often worsens the situation further. For example, many birds and insects die out as a result of toxic pesticides created by technology, they are useful to agriculture itself, and their disappearance will be compensated with another technological intervention that probably will bring new harmful effects… looking at the world we see that this level of human intervention, often in the service of finance and consumerism, actually causes the earth we live in to become less rich and beautiful, more and more limited and gray, while at the same time the development of technology and consumerism continues to advance without limits.”</div><div>
</div><div>You can find the full draft document here (in Italian): speciali.espresso.repubblica.it/pdf/laudato_si.pdf</div><div>
</div><div>2. Pope Francis: We can end world hunger if we want to</div><div>Mark Woods</div><div>Christian Today, 12 June 2015</div><div>http://www.christiantoday.com/article/pope.francis.we.can.end.world.hunger.if.we.want.to/56045.htm</div><div>
</div><div>Pope Francis has called for a new focus on global hunger in a major address to delegates from the international Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome.</div><div>
</div><div>In a hard-hitting speech, he warned against the tendency to "delegate" and "desert" in the face of the problem. He spoke of a "generic resignation" and "indifference" to hunger, as if it were unavoidable. "Sometimes one has the sensation that hunger is an unpopular topic, an insoluble problem," he said.</div><div>
</div><div>However, Francis argued that a lack of will was behind the continuing lack of food security in many parts of the world and said that it was possible to tackle the issue.</div><div>
</div><div>He instanced food speculation, responsible for high prices that hit the poor hardest. The products of the earth "have a value that we can say is 'sacred', given that they are the fruit of the daily work of persons, families, communities of farmers – a work that is often dominated by uncertainties, worries over climatic conditions, anxieties over the possible destruction of the harvest", he said.</div><div>
</div><div>He also spoke of the shocking waste of food – standing at around a third of everything produced globally – and said it was important to reflect on the use of crops for biofuels and feeding animals: "It is worrying to know that a good quantity of agricultural products is used for other ends, perhaps good ends, but which are not the immediate need of one who is hungry."</div><div>
</div><div>Francis also warned against "monopolising of lands of cultivation by trans-national enterprises and states, which not only deprives farmers of an essential good, but which directly affects the sovereignty of countries". "There are already many regions in which the foods produced go to foreign countries and the local population is doubly impoverished, because it does not have food or land," he said.</div><div>
</div><div>"And what to say of the women who in many areas cannot possess the land they work, with an inequality of rights that impedes the serenity of family life, because the danger is run of losing the field from one moment to the other?" Most food production, he argued, was "in the main the work of family properties". He urged the FAO to support small-scale family enterprises through lobbying for better legislation.</div><div>
</div><div>The Pope urged a commitment to simpler lifestyles that would mean fewer resources were consumed, saying: "We must begin from our daily life if we want to change lifestyles, conscious that our little gestures can ensure sustainability and the future of the human family."</div><div>
</div><div>He concluded: "Let us modify our relation with the natural resources, the use of the soil, let us modify our consumption, without falling into the slavery of consumerism; let us eliminate waste and thus we will overcome hunger."</div><div>
</div><div>In another sign of the Pope's commitment to the poor, he is to open a homeless shelter on the edge of Vatican City in Rome. The shelter, which is still under construction, will host 30 people at a time and will be run by volunteers. It follows an earlier initiative to provide showers, haircuts and shaves under the colonnade of St Peter's Square.</div><div>
</div><div>Earlier this month Francis donated money to allow two busloads of poor people to travel from Rome to see the Shroud of Turin. He has also invited homeless people to a private viewing of the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel.</div><div>
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</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">6/16</font></div><div><h3 class="yiv1200880815null" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467389966505_5526" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 18px; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: 22.5px; letter-spacing: -0.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://ecowatch.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=214ab5fbb3f6015d74ffab4ec&id=e83dc7c142&e=c2e8fdabfa" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467389966505_5525" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 11, 14); outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; background: transparent;">Greenpeace to Nobel Laureates: It’s Not Our Fault Golden Rice Has ‘Failed as a Solution’</a></h3><br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px; line-height: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467389966505_5524" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: 18px; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Greenpeace is being targeted by more than 100 Nobel laureates who have...</span></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/agriculture/problem/Greenpeace-and-Golden-Rice/">http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/agriculture/problem/Greenpeace-and-Golden-Rice/</a>
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<strong>he
so-called 'Golden' rice is a genetically engineered (GE) rice variety
that has been developed by industry to produce pro-vitamin A
(beta-carotene). Its proponents have hyped GE 'Golden' rice as a
high-tech, quick-fix solution to vitamin A deficiency (VAD), which is
prevalent in developing countries and can lead to blindness. But behind
the hype, GE 'Golden' rice is environmentally irresponsible, poses risks
to human health, and could compromise food, nutrition and financial
security.</strong>
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<div> <div class="left"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div>
<div class="right"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">GE 'Golden' rice has been in development for over 20
years. The tens of millions of dollars invested in GE 'Golden' rice
would have been better spent on VAD <a href="http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/vad/en/" target="_blank">solutions</a>
that are already available and working, such as food supplements, food
fortification and home gardening. Greenpeace believes that, by combating
VAD with ecologically farmed home and community gardens, sustainable
systems are created that provide food security and diversity in a way
that is empowering people, protects biodiversity, and ensures a
long-lasting solution to VAD and malnutrition.</font></div>
<div class="left"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div>
<div class="right"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">GE 'Golden' rice is highly likely to contaminate
non-GE rice, if released to the environment. GE rice contamination will
affect traditional, conventional and organic rice farmers because they
will <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/bayer-rice-scandal071106/" target="_blank">lose their markets</a>,
especially export markets, which would negatively impact rural
livelihoods. If any hazardous, unexpected effects would develop from GE
'Golden' rice, the GE contamination would affect countries where rice is
an essential staple and put people and food security at risk.</font></div>
<div class="left"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div>
<div class="right"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Several populations affected by VAD are <a href="http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/06/05/950482/green-moms-vs-entry-golden-rice-philippines" target="_blank">expressing concerns</a>
about using GE 'Golden' rice as a solution. It is irresponsible to
impose GE 'Golden' rice on people if it goes against their religious
beliefs, cultural heritage and sense of identity, or simply because they
do not want it....
...
Rice can become contaminated with GE rice, even just from field trials, such as in the <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/bayer-rice-scandal071106/" target="blank">United States</a> and <a class="zoom" href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jul/20/china-gm-rice-contamination" target="blank">China</a>.
It's likely that GE 'Golden' rice will similarly contaminate non-GE
rice. Rice is widely cultivated in many parts of the world and seed
saving is common. If cross-pollination or seed mix-up causes GE 'Golden'
rice contamination, it could prove difficult, if not impossible to
eradicate. GE 'Golden' rice was back under the spotlight in 2012
following a scientific publication stating that researchers fed the
experimental GE 'Golden' rice to children in China <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/agriculture/problem/Greenpeace-and-Golden-Rice/#1">(1)</a>. However, it transpired that the parents of the children concerned <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/news/blog/24-children-used-as-guinea-pigs-in-geneticall/blog/41956/" target="blank">weren't informed</a> the rice was GE. This violation of ethical rules led to disciplinary action being taken against the <a class="zoom" href="http://news.sciencemag.org/asiapacific/2013/09/golden-rice-not-so-golden-tufts" target="blank">researchers involved</a>.
Despite all the hype surrounding GE 'Golden' rice, it still remains
unproven whether daily consumption of GE 'Golden' rice would actually
improve the vitamin A status of people who are deficient <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/agriculture/problem/Greenpeace-and-Golden-Rice/#2">(2)</a>.
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===
</font><h3 class="r"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://www.goldenrice.org/">The Golden Rice Project</a></font></h3><div class="s"><div><div class="f kv SWb" style="white-space:nowrap"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><cite class="Rm">www.<b>goldenrice</b>.org/</cite></font></div></div></div><div class="g"><div class="rc" data-hveid="28"><div class="s"><div><div class="f kv SWb" style="white-space:nowrap"><div class="crc"><div class="crl" data-async-context="res:0;ri:;site:goldenrice.org" data-async-trigger="cra-0-filled" data-ved="0ahUKEwihgL7Mi7fMAhUW02MKHY9EDjUQ5CsIIjAA"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Golden rice<span class="Bs" /></font></div></div></div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="st">The <em>Golden Rice</em> project wins the Patents for Humanity Award 2015 ... Unfortunately, public misconceptions about <em>genetically modified</em> (<em>GM</em>) organisms have ...</span></font><div class="osl"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a class="fl" href="http://www.goldenrice.org/Content3-Why/why1_vad.php">Vitamin A Deficiency</a> - <a class="fl" href="http://www.goldenrice.org/Content3-Why/why.php">Why Golden Rice</a> - <a class="fl" href="http://www.goldenrice.org/Content2-How/how1_sci.php">The Science</a> - <a class="fl" href="http://www.goldenrice.org/Content3-Why/why3_FAQ.php">FAQs</a></font></div></div></div></div></div><div class="g"><div class="rc" data-hveid="40"><h3 class="r"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice">Golden rice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</a></font></h3><div class="s"><div><div class="f kv SWb" style="white-space:nowrap"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><cite class="Rm">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/<b>Golden</b><b>rice</b></cite></font></div></div></div></div></div><div class="g"><div class="rc" data-hveid="40"><div class="s"><div><div class="f kv _SWb" style="white-space:nowrap"><div class="crc"><div class="crl" data-async-context="res:1;ri:;site:en.wikipedia.org" data-async-trigger="cra-1-filled" data-ved="0ahUKEwihgL7Mi7fMAhUW02MKHY9EDjUQ5CsILjAB"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Wikipedia<span class="Bs" /></font></div></div></div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="st"><em>Golden rice</em>
is a variety of rice (Oryza sativa) produced through genetic
engineering to .... Domingo advocates continued research in the areas of
<em>GM</em> rice and its ...</span></font><div class="osl"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a class="fl" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#Creation">Creation</a> - <a class="fl" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#Potential_use_to_combat_vitamin_A_deficiency">Potential use to combat ...</a> - <a class="fl" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#Research">Research</a> - <a class="fl" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#Controversy">Controversy</a>
</font><h2><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="mw-headline" id="Controversy">Controversy</span></font></h2>
<div role="note" class="hatnote"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">See also: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food_controversies" title="Genetically modified food controversies">Genetically modified food controversies</a></font></div>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Critics of genetically engineered crops have raised various concerns.
An early issue was that golden rice originally did not have sufficient <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_A" title="Vitamin A">vitamin A</a>. This problem was solved by the development of new strains of rice.<sup id="cite_ref-paine2005_4-4" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-paine2005-4">[4]</a></sup> The speed at which vitamin A degrades once the rice is harvested, and how much remains after cooking are contested.<sup id="cite_ref-then2009_35-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-then2009-35">[35]</a></sup> However, a 2009 study concluded that golden rice is effectively converted into vitamin A in humans<sup id="cite_ref-Tang_5-1" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-Tang-5">[5]</a></sup>
and a 2012 study that fed 68 children ages 6 to 8 concluded that golden
rice was as good as vitamin A supplements and better than the natural
beta-carotene in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinach" title="Spinach">spinach</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Norton_7-1" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-Norton-7">[7]</a></sup></font>
<font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenpeace" title="Greenpeace">Greenpeace</a> opposes the use of any patented <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_organism" title="Genetically modified organism">genetically modified organisms</a> in agriculture and opposes the cultivation of golden rice, claiming it will open the door to more widespread use of GMOs.<sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-36">[36]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-greenpeace2005_37-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-greenpeace2005-37">[37]</a></sup> The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rice_Research_Institute" title="International Rice Research Institute">International Rice Research Institute</a>
(IRRI) has emphasised the non-commercial nature of their project,
stating that "None of the companies listed ... are involved in carrying
out the research and development activities of IRRI or its partners in
Golden Rice, and none of them will receive any royalty or payment from
the marketing or selling of golden rice varieties developed by IRRI."<sup id="cite_ref-irri.faq.gr2014_38-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-irri.faq.gr2014-38">[38]</a></sup></font>
<font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandana_Shiva" title="Vandana Shiva">Vandana Shiva</a>, an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" title="India">Indian</a> anti-GMO activist, argued the problem was not the plant per se, but potential problems with poverty and loss of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity" title="Biodiversity">biodiversity</a>.
Shiva claimed these problems could be amplified by the corporate
control of agriculture. By focusing on a narrow problem (vitamin A
deficiency), Shiva argued, golden rice proponents were obscuring the
limited availability of diverse and nutritionally adequate food.<sup id="cite_ref-shiva_39-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-shiva-39">[39]</a></sup> Other groups argued that a varied diet containing foods rich in beta carotene such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_potato" title="Sweet potato">sweet potato</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_vegetable" title="Leaf vegetable">leaf vegetables</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit" title="Fruit">fruit</a> would provide children with sufficient vitamin A.<sup id="cite_ref-foe_40-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-foe-40">[40]</a></sup> Keith West of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johns_Hopkins_Bloomberg_School_of_Public_Health" title="Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health">Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health</a>
has stated that foodstuffs containing vitamin A are often unavailable,
only available at certain seasons, or too expensive for poor families in
underdeveloped countries.<sup id="cite_ref-Norton_7-2" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-Norton-7">[7]</a></sup></font>
<font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In 2008, WHO malnutrition expert Francesco Branca cited the lack of
real-world studies and uncertainty about how many people will use golden
rice, concluding "giving out supplements, fortifying existing foods
with vitamin A, and teaching people to grow carrots or certain leafy
vegetables are, for now, more promising ways to fight the problem".<sup id="cite_ref-Enserik2008_41-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-Enserik2008-41">[41]</a></sup></font>
<font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In 2013, author <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Pollan" title="Michael Pollan">Michael Pollan</a>, who had critiqued the product in 2001, unimpressed by the benefits, expressed support for the continuation of the research.<sup id="cite_ref-Revkin_42-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-Revkin-42">[42]</a></sup></font></p>
<h3><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="mw-headline" id="Support">Support</span></font></h3>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_and_Melinda_Gates_Foundation" title="Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation" class="mw-redirect">Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation</a> supports the use of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_organism" title="Genetically modified organism">genetically modified organisms</a> in agricultural development. Specifically, the foundation is supporting the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rice_Research_Institute" title="International Rice Research Institute">International Rice Research Institute</a> in developing Golden Rice, a genetically modified rice variant used to combat <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_A_deficiency" title="Vitamin A deficiency">Vitamin A deficiency</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-43">[43]</a></sup></font></p>
<h3><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="mw-headline" id="Protests">Protests</span></font></h3>
<div role="note" class="hatnote"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">See also: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food_controversies#Protests" title="Genetically modified food controversies">Genetically modified food controversies § Protests</a></font></div>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">On August 8, 2013 an experimental plot of golden rice being developed at IRRI in the Philippines was uprooted by protesters.<sup id="cite_ref-NYT82413_26-1" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-NYT82413-26">[26]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Revkin_42-1" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-Revkin-42">[42]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-44">[44]</a></sup> British author <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Lynas" title="Mark Lynas">Mark Lynas</a> reported in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_%28magazine%29" title="Slate (magazine)">Slate</a> that the vandalism was carried out by a group of activists led by the extreme left-inclined <i>Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas</i> (KMP) (unofficial translation: <i>Farmers' Movement of the Philippines</i>), to the dismay of other protesters.<sup id="cite_ref-Revkin_42-2" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-Revkin-42">[42]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-45">[45]</a></sup>
No local farmers participated in the uprooting; only the small number
of activists damaged the golden rice crops because the farmers believe
local customs which imply that killing a living rice plant is unlucky.<sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-46">[46]</a></sup></font></p>
<h2><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="mw-headline" id="Distribution">Distribution</span></font></h2>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Potrykus has enabled golden rice to be distributed free to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsistence" title="Subsistence" class="mw-redirect">subsistence</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmer" title="Farmer">farmers</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-potrykus2001_47-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-potrykus2001-47">[47]</a></sup> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitarian_use_licenses" title="Humanitarian use licenses">Free licenses</a> for developing countries were granted quickly due to the positive publicity that golden rice received, particularly in <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_%28magazine%29" title="Time (magazine)">Time</a></i> magazine in July 2000.<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-48">[48]</a></sup> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_Company" title="Monsanto Company" class="mw-redirect">Monsanto Company</a> was one of the first companies to grant free licences.<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-49">[49]</a></sup></font>
<font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The cutoff between humanitarian and commercial use was set at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US$" title="US$" class="mw-redirect">US$</a>10,000.
Therefore, as long as a farmer or subsequent user of golden rice
genetics does not make more than $10,000 per year, no royalties need to
be paid. In addition, farmers are permitted to keep and replant seed.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#cite_note-50">[50]</a></sup></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
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</font></div></div></div></div></div><div class="g"><div class="rc" data-hveid="52"><h3 class="r"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/03/07/173611461/in-a-grain-of-golden-rice-a-world-of-controversy-over-gmo-foods">In A Grain Of Golden Rice, A World Of Controversy Over GMO Foods ...</a></font></h3><div class="s"><div><div class="f kv SWb" style="white-space:nowrap"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><cite class="Rm">www.npr.org/.../in-a-grain-of-<b>golden</b>-<b>rice</b>-a-world-of-controversy-o...</cite></font></div></div></div></div></div><div class="f kv SWb" style="white-space:nowrap"><div class="crc"><div class="crl" data-async-context="res:2;ri:;site:npr.org" data-async-trigger="cra-2-filled" data-ved="0ahUKEwihgL7Mi7fMAhUW02MKHY9EDjUQ5CsIOTAC"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">NPR<span class="Bs" /></font></div></div></div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="st"><span class="f">Mar 7, 2013 - </span><em>Genetically modified</em> to be enriched with beta-carotene, <em>golden rice</em> grains (left) are a deep yellow.<wbr /> ... Its backers call it "<em>golden rice</em>."<wbr /> It's been <em>genetically modified</em> so that it contains beta-carotene, the source of vitamin A.</span>
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3/13
</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">There's a kind of rice growing in some test plots in the Philippines that's unlike any rice ever seen before. It's yellow. Its <a href="http://www.goldenrice.org/">backers</a> call it "<a href="http://www.irri.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task=category&id=764:golden-rice-at-irri&lang=en">golden rice</a>." It's been genetically modified so that it contains beta-carotene, the source of vitamin A.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Millions
of people in Asia and Africa don't get enough of this vital nutrient,
so this rice has become the symbol of an idea: that genetically
engineered crops can be a tool to improve the lives of the poor.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">It's a statement that rouses emotions and sets off fierce arguments. There's a raging, global debate about such crops.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">But before we get to that debate, and the role that golden rice plays in it, let's travel back in time to golden rice's origins.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">It began with a conversation in 1984.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The
science of biotechnology was in its infancy at this point. There were
no genetically engineered crops yet. Scientists were just figuring out
how to find genes and move them between different organisms.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Some people at the <a href="http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/">Rockefeller Foundation</a> thought that these techniques might be useful for giving farmers in poor countries a bigger harvest.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">So they set up a meeting at the <a href="http://www.irri.org/">International Rice Research Institute</a> (IRRI), in the Philippines, to talk about this.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/about-us/our-team/gary-h-toenniessen">Gary Toenniessen</a>,
who was in charge of the foundation's biotechnology program at the
time, says that a lot of people at this meeting were very skeptical
about biotechnology. They were plant breeders, masters of the
traditional way to improve crops.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">One evening, after the formal
sessions, "a group of these breeders were sitting around at the
guesthouse at IRRI, having a beer or two," says Toenniessen. After
listening to their skepticism for a while, Toenniessen spoke up. If this
technology did actually pan out, he said, and you could put any gene
you wanted into rice, which one would you pick? "What's your favorite
gene?"</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">They went around the room. Breeders talked about genes for resisting disease or surviving droughts.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">They came to a breeder named <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDQQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DOxdJ_wiimc0&ei=ooE3UfK3IoLC0QHhkoGQDw&usg=AFQjCNFxX6TbJ6JV_93Amlqe7b24c9FEFw">Peter Jennings</a>, a legendary figure in these circles. He'd created perhaps the most famous variety of rice in history, called <a href="http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe50s/crops_17.html">IR 8</a>, which launched the so-called Green Revolution in rice-growing countries of Asia in the 1960s.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">"Yellow endosperm," said Jennings. (The endosperm of a grain of rice or wheat is the main part that's eaten.)</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">"That kind of took everybody by surprise. It certainly took me by surprise. So I said, 'Why?' " Toenniessen recalls.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Jennings
explained that the color yellow signals the presence of beta-carotene —
the source of vitamin A. Yellow kinds of corn or sorghum exist
naturally, and for years, Jennings said, he had been looking for similar
varieties of rice. Regular white rice doesn't provide this vital
nutrient, and it's a big problem.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">"When children are weaned,
they're often weaned on a rice gruel. And if they don't get any
beta-carotene or vitamin A during that period, they can be harmed for
the rest of their lives," says Toenniessen.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Toenniessen was
persuaded, and the Rockefeller Foundation started a program aimed at
creating, through technology, what Jennings had not been able to find in
nature.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">A global network of scientists at nonprofit research institutes started working on the problem.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The first real breakthrough came in 1999. <a href="http://www.agbioworld.org/biotech-info/topics/goldenrice/tale.html">Scientists</a>
in Switzerland inserted two genes into rice that switched on production
of beta-carotene. A few years later, other researchers created an even <a href="http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v23/n4/full/nbt1082.html">better version</a>.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">A single bowl of this new golden rice can <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/96/3/658.abstract">supply</a> 60 percent of a child's daily requirement of vitamin A.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">"It's
a great product. And it's beautiful! It looks just like saffron rice,"
says Toenniessen, who's now a managing director at the Rockefeller
Foundation.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><div id="res173657232" class="bucketwrap image medium">
<div class="imagewrap" data-crop-type="">
<font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><br /><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/03/07/173611461/in-a-grain-of-golden-rice-a-world-of-controversy-over-gmo-foods#" class="enlargebtn" title="Enlarge"></a></font></div>
<div class="credit-caption">
<div class="caption">
<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
Golden rice plants at a confined field trial in 2010.
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<font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="credit">
Courtesy of the International Rice Research Institute
</span></font></div>
</div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Others, though, don't find it beautiful at all.</b></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">For instance, consider what happened just a few months ago. Some U.S.-funded researchers published the results of a nutritional <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/96/3/658.abstract">study</a>
showing that people's bodies easily absorb the beta-carotene in golden
rice. They'd carried out that study among children in China.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>The result seemed like great news. But the environmental group Greenpeace immediately called it a <a href="http://gmwatch.org/latest-listing/51-2012/14157-alarm-at-us-backed-gm-food-trial-on-chinese-children">scandal</a>.</b></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">"People
are angry, really furious about these tests, using Chinese children as
guinea pigs," says Wang Jing, a campaigner for Greenpeace in China.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The Chinese government <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/china-sacks-officials-over-golden-rice-controversy-1.11998">reacted</a> quickly. It punished three Chinese co-authors of the study, removing them from their jobs.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In a <a href="http://www.chinacdc.cn/zxdt/201212/t20121206_72794.htm">report</a>
on the case, Chinese authorities say that the researchers didn't get
all the approvals they needed before carrying out the study. Also, the
researchers told the children, and their parents, that this was a
special kind of rice high in beta-carotene, but they didn't always say
it was genetically modified.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">"They actually hid the fact that golden rice is a genetically modified crop," says Wang.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">For some people, this makes all the difference in the world.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">This
is where golden rice gets caught up in the bigger argument over
genetically engineered crops — specifically, the argument over who
benefits from them.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b><a href="http://www.etcgroup.org/users/neth-da%C3%B1o">Neth Daño</a>, who works in the Philippines for the <a href="http://www.etcgroup.org/">ETC Group</a>,
an advocate on behalf of small farmers, says the main purpose of
genetically modifying crops has not been to help people; it's been
driven by profit.</b></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">"A handful of corporations in developing
countries has reaped billions in profits selling genetically modified
seeds and proprietary herbicides," she says. Yet those companies have
always claimed that this technology would benefit the poor. "The poor
have always been at the center of each and every assertion about the
importance of genetically modified organisms to mankind."</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">So this is the real significance of golden rice, she says. It gives biotech companies a chance to say, "See, biotechnology <em>is</em> good for the poor!"</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">"Some proponents are already announcing that the debate is over, that the golden rice product is the clincher."</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Don't
misunderstand me, Daño says: Golden rice is not purely public
relations. It is, indeed, supposed to help malnourished people —
although she doesn't think it's a very good way to help. She thinks it
will be more expensive and less effective than traditional nutrition
programs.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">This rice is mainly going to help the image of biotechnology, she says.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">This
mixture of motives — helping people and promoting biotechnology — also
shows up in the biography of the man who's now leading the golden rice
effort.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><div id="res173657752" class="bucketwrap image medium">
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<font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><br /></font></div>
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<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
Dr. Gerard Barry, IRRI's golden rice project leader, inspects golden rice in the screen house.
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<font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span class="credit">
Bill Sta. Clara/International Rice Research Institute
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</div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b><a href="http://www.irri.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=10150:barry-gerard&lang=en">Gerard Barry</a>,
a native of Ireland, spent more than 20 years in St. Louis working for
Monsanto,</b> the company that pioneered genetically engineered crops.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">He's listed as first inventor on some of Monsanto's most valuable <a href="http://www.google.com/patents/US5627061">patents</a>.
He found the gene that made crops immune to the weedkiller Roundup.
That gene is now in soybeans, corn and cotton grown on hundreds of
millions of acres.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">But along the way, Barry also got interested
in rice. "It was very exciting. It was probably my favorite crop to
work on," he says. "Because you got to meet really passionate people.
Rice is something that's vital to large numbers of people. I mean, a
couple of billion people eat it."</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Ten years ago, Barry left the
corporate world and moved to the nonprofit International Rice Research
Institute in the Philippines — the place where the idea of golden rice
was born.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">His job is now to shepherd it down the home stretch to the finish line.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Part
of the job involves old-fashioned plant breeding to transfer the
beta-carotene genes into rice varieties that farmers like to grow.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">But before farmers can get their hands on golden rice, government regulators in each country need to agree that it's safe.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Later
this year, the network of golden rice researchers will apply for
approval in the Philippines. After that, they'll do the same in
Bangladesh.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Yet that's only the first step. They'll have to
roll out a marketing campaign on behalf of golden rice, and the campaign
has to reach the poorest people in the most remote villages.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">"Golden
rice will be good for everybody, but some people need it more," Barry
says. "Our job is to make sure that [those] people have access to it,
understand the value of it, and ask for it."</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> </font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">This will be the
final test of that 30-year-old brainstorm — the idea that genetically
altered rice actually could be a cheap, self-multiplying source of this
vital nutrient.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
==
</font></div></div></div></div>