SoylentNews

takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

What's taking vitamin A fortified "golden rice" [wikipedia.org] so long to come to market? A new study blames the rice rather than anti-GMO activists [futurity.org]:

Heralded on the cover of Time magazine in 2000 as a genetically modified crop with the potential to save millions of lives in the developing world, Golden Rice is still years away from field introduction and even then, may fall short of lofty health benefits still cited regularly by GMO advocates. "Golden Rice is still not ready for the market, but we find little support for the common claim that environmental activists are responsible for stalling its introduction. GMO opponents have not been the problem," says lead author Glenn Stone, professor of anthropology and environmental studies at Washington University in St. Louis.

First conceived in the 1980s and a focus of research since 1992, Golden Rice has been a lightning rod in the battle over genetically modified crops. GMO advocates have long touted the innovation as a practical way to provide poor farmers in remote areas with a subsistence crop capable of adding much-needed vitamin A to local diets. A problem in many poor countries, vitamin A deficiencies leave millions at high risk for infection, diseases, and other maladies, such as blindness. Some anti-GMO groups view Golden Rice as an over-hyped Trojan Horse that biotechnology corporations and their allies hope will pave the way for the global approval of other more profitable GMO crops.

A new study published in the journal Agriculture & Human Values [doi.org] [DOI: 10.1007/s10460-016-9696-1] reports little evidence that anti-GMO activists are to blame for Golden Rice's unfulfilled promises. "The rice simply has not been successful in test plots of the rice-breeding institutes in the Philippines, where the leading research is being done," Stone says. "It has not even been submitted for approval to the regulatory agency, the Philippine Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI). A few months ago, the Philippine Supreme Court did issue a temporary suspension of GMO crop trials. Depending on how long it lasts, the suspension could definitely impact GMO crop development. But it's hard to blame the lack of success with Golden Rice on this recent action."

Original Submission