THE latest version of 鈥済olden rice鈥�, genetically engineered to provide extra vitamin A, has got the go-ahead for trial plantings in India and the Philippines. Strains produced by crosses with local varieties should be in the ground later this year. 鈥淚t鈥檚 finally moving,鈥� says Jorge Mayer, project manager at the University of Freiburg in Germany.
Supporters say golden rice will help combat vitamin A deficiency, which affects millions of children worldwide and in severe cases can cause blindness. Opponents such as Greenpeace see it as a Trojan horse intended to make GM crops more acceptable.
One of Greenpeace鈥檚 criticisms was that the original strain of golden rice contained little more provitamin A than normal rice. But the latest variety, Syngenta Golden Rice 2, contains 37 micrograms of provitamin A per gram, 23 times as much as the first variety (Nature Biotechnology, DOI: 10.1038/nbt1082). A typical daily serving of around 200 grams should provide the recommended minimum dose of vitamin A 鈥� providing the provitamin is not destroyed by cooking and can be absorbed by the body.
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鈥淎 typical daily serving could provide the recommended minimum dose of vitamin A鈥�
As critics point out, those issues remain unclear. To resolve them, the rice will be fed to volunteers in the US later this year. Mayer argues that Greenpeace鈥檚 blanket opposition is impeding the very trials that will give the answers it demands. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a catch-22,鈥� he says.
