1

Adilov Mukhtarpasha
English 1123.003
Essay3A
04-29-15
Instructor Huang

The Golden Rice

Golden rice is a modified rice, which contains big amounts of the beta-carotene this kind of rice,
has a beautiful golden yellow color. Professor Ingo Potrykus in 1999 invented the new type of
rice which is called The Golden Rice. The Golden Rice is genetically modified rice which
contains a lot of beta carotene , which our body convents to Vitamin A. Golden rice is at the
center of a lot of controversies . The International Rice Research Institute think that it is good
meal for people , it is super unhealthy. I golden rice is not good because it is unhealthy,
expensive, dangerous for environmental and not proven safe.
After thirty years of hard work in the field of bioengineering, scientists first state that created
the world's first genetically modified product that will solve the global problem of malnutrition Vitamin A deficiency is fatal. A deficiency of this material reacts the immune system of children
and almost every year about two million babies die in the our world. . According to the Gates
Foundation.( 2013) Since a large proportion of vitamin A-deficient children and their mothers
reside in rice-consuming populations, particularly in Asia, Golden Rice should substantially
reduce the prevalence and severity of Vitamin A deficiency and prevent at least hundreds of
thousands of unnecessary deaths and cases of blindness every year. They think that Golden rice
will be so useful and healthy for poor people.

At first, Golden Rice makes a harmful effect on health. This rice is not real, that is why it has a
lot of GMO, which effects badly on our health. Golden rice can be allergic for some people. But
the conversion of carotene to Vitamin A is rarely successful. Diabetics with poor functioning of
the thyroid gland, in this group, we can include in at least half of the adult population, those
who are not able to do this conversion. Children make the conversion very bad and not even all
babies , grueling exercise, excessive alcohol consumption, excessive intake of iron (especially
from "strengthen" white flour and breakfast cereals), the adoption of many popular drugs,
excessive intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids, the deficit zinc and even cold weather can
prevent the transformation of carotene to vitamin A, as well as low fat . This is the case with all
genetically modified meal. The only real source of vitamin A is animal products. According to
the Pollan M.(2001) Further, theres no guarantee people will eat yellowish rice. Brown rice,
after all, is already rich in nutrients, yet most Asians prefer white rice, which is not. He means
that not everyone will eat golden rice. Since the liver helps preserve vitamin A, and this is
probably the best source of vitamin A on the planet.
GR - expensive and unproven "solution" to the problem, for which there are better solutions.
On the development of millions of money has been spent, and he is still not ready.
On the other hand, the program of the World Health Organization which struggles with vitamin A
scarcity low-rate, are still available and have attested yourself to work. They consetrate on
techniques such as teaching humans the cultivation of green and different types of vegetables in
the kitchen, support breastfeed and the use of food supplements and fastened foods, when you
need it. I think that green leafy vegetables contain more beta-carotene than GR.

For such wider distribution program requires lower costs. According to ETC group (2014),
GMO technology is an inexact method that provides no control over its consequences. They
have the additional advantage of a simultaneous treatment of dietary deficiency because other
they do not appear one by one. For example, beta carotene is able to be metabolized by our
organic system only if a human is a sufficient amount of fat. Will the supporters GR provide fat,
which is included in the diet, along with the GR to those who need it?
Moreover, producing of Golden Rice is so dangerous for our environment in each country
where Golden rice are grown on large-scale industry. Modified Rice can bring different allergies
and diseases to humans and place where rice grows. A problem which people do not want to
solve is related with GM food that a new plant species could have on the milieu. In the case of
GM , there are some viewpoints of technique that did not meet the treatment in relation to
precious environment and other types of rice. If this will be planted as a primary resource of
vitamin A for poor people , which is the main component of their diet, the vast fields of
monoculture lead to very low biodiversity.
Also , there is the lack of evidence that GR is safe for human consumption. The genetic
modification can conduct a new creation of big poisons or stimulus in herbs, or to alteration in
the nutrient importance. New poisons or stimulus might appear, actually when desirable geneflow was gotten from the real source as non-toxic changes might appear after gene entered into a
new plant. These unexpected alterations are hard to find without a matching safeness studies on
beings. But have not yet been any toxicological studies in animals. Many scientists complain
about the method by which the Board of humanity golden rice simply assumes that GR is safe
for human consumption, without showing a security research. But there was no evidence that
such studies have focused on the demonstration of equivalence or food security. While such

studies have not been published in peer-reviewed literature, the use of GR safety in food is not
proven.
Such type of fortification is risky - GR is such kind of product. However, there are questions
about meal benefication and the consolidation. Because of the matter of fact that each human are
different (young and old, healthy and sick, men and women, overweight and malnutrition), there
are people who get little amount of nutrients, while others - too much. Overdose of vitamin A
and other types of vitamins are connected to incremented risk of defects, and in the case of
smokers - with an incremented risk of upcoming cancer.
In conclusion, GR is not a real solve to the problem of undernourishment and might actually
conduct to further more big problems in people who grew up and eating it. Just ask yourself this.
If golden rice really brings the greatest humanitarian aid to combat vitamin A deficiency among
the poor and malnourished people in the world, why is it patented? Although, in the result of
researches, GM is held in about seventy patents owned about thirty two companies and
institutions. Seventy patents? Supporters of golden rice will tell you that for humanitarian
purposes, in developing countries rice is licensed free of charge. However, a conditions of the
free using until obvious. These deficiencies of clearness puts a big issue sign on how "free"
convention in fact is of great importance to the availability of GR and GMO to costumers over
the world.

References

Pollan M. (2001. March 4). The way we live now: The great yellow hype. The New York Times
Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/the-way-we-livenow-the-great-yellow-hype

Gates Foundation(2013, February 27). Agricultural development golden rice.

Retrieved http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/AgriculturalDevelopment/Golden-Rice

ETC Group. (2014, August 14). Why genetically modified crops pose a threat to peasants, food
sovereignty, health, and biodiversity on the planet. Retrieved from
http://www.etcgroup.org/content/why-genetically-modified-crops-pose-threat-peasants-foodsovereignty-health-and-biodiversity" http://www.etcgroup.org/content/why-geneticallymodified-crops-pose-threat-peasants-food-sovereignty-health-and-biodiversity