Almost 20 years
Golden Rice in Bangladesh
Maxim Rousseau, Polit.roo
Bangladesh may become the first country to allow the cultivation of "golden rice". This genetically modified variety, the seeds of which really have a golden yellow color, contains a high amount of beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A. The use of such rice in food will help significantly reduce the spread of childhood blindness.
In regions where rice is the main part of the diet, vitamin A deficiency is widespread. For example, in Bangladesh, about 21% of children suffer from a lack of this vitamin. In addition to childhood blindness, vitamin A deficiency increases the likelihood of death from infectious diseases. According to WHO, due to hypovitaminosis A, more than a million people die annually in the world, and up to 0.5 million cases of irreversible childhood blindness are registered.
Golden rice was created in the late 1990s by Ingo Potricus from the Swiss Higher Technical School of Zurich and Peter Beyer from the University of Freiburg specifically to combat vitamin A deficiency. In ordinary rice, beta-carotene is synthesized only in the leaves, since the plant needs it for photosynthesis. Scientists had to ensure that this substance accumulated in the endosperm – the main nutrient part of the seeds. To do this, two genes were introduced into the rice genome, one was taken from the narcissus Narcissus pseudonarcissus, and the other from the bacterium Erwinia uredovora.
The first article about golden rice was published by Science magazine in 2000. Over the next few years, the creators of the variety worked to improve it and as a result created a variant of "golden rice 2". In it, the narcissus gene was replaced by a gene of a similar protein taken from corn. The beta-carotene content in the new rice variant increased to 31 mcg/g (compared to 4-8 mcg/g in the original version). To meet the body's need for vitamin A, it is enough to eat 75 grams of such rice per day. Now the golden rice contained enough beta-carotene and was ready for use.
However, contrary to the hopes of the creators of the variety, it was not possible to distribute golden rice in countries for which vitamin A deficiency is a serious problem. The reason for this was the opposition from opponents of genetically modified plants. One of the influential opponents of golden rice was Greenpeace, which opposes the use of any genetically modified organisms in agriculture, including the cultivation of golden rice, since, according to this organization, golden rice will open the door to wider use of GMOs.
Indian activist Vandana Shiva believes that the problem lies not in the plant itself, but in potential problems with poverty and loss of biodiversity. According to him, by focusing on a narrow problem (vitamin A deficiency), supporters of golden rice hide the limited availability to the population of poor countries of a variety of foods containing all the substances necessary for the body. Shiva and other protesters believe that a varied diet containing foods rich in beta-carotene, such as sweet potatoes, spinach and other vegetables, could provide children with enough vitamin A. On August 8, 2013, in the Philippines, protesters from the ultra–left organization "Farmers Movement of the Philippines" ravaged an experimental field with golden rice plantings. Other critics drew attention to the possible inefficiency of golden rice, since the beta-carotene contained in it can be destroyed during cooking and is not well absorbed by the human body.
Supporters of golden rice actively participated in the controversy. They conducted a series of tests, where they proved that the absorption of beta-carotene from golden rice exceeds this indicator in spinach, and beta-carotene of rice origin is effectively converted into vitamin A in the human body. To arguments about possible alternative sources of beta-carotene, they answer that sweet potatoes and other crops are not so widespread, besides However, for everyday food, they are available, as a rule, seasonally, unlike rice.
But it was not possible to obtain permits for the widespread cultivation of golden rice from state regulatory authorities. Over the past two years, golden rice has received official approvals only in the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. These countries are not included in the vitamin A deficiency zone, and there is no need to grow golden rice in them, however, the permits obtained there will avoid problems if products containing golden rice, for some reason, get into these countries.
The golden rice variant recommended for Bangladesh was created at the International Rice Research Institute, which is based in the Philippines. The basis for it was the dhan 29 variety, which is widely grown in Bangladesh and yields about 14% of the national rice harvest. The variety was tested at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI). They did not identify any problems related to the cultivation of golden rice in the fields, and did not find significant differences in the quality of products.
The BRRI data collected during the tests was reported to the Bangladeshi Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in November 2017. After that, the Main Biosafety committee under this Ministry began considering possible environmental risks and the safety of eating golden rice.
The discussion came to an end only recently. On October 28, Dhaka Tribune reported that a decision would be made by November 15. But even after this date, the official result was not announced. Comments on this matter sounded very different. Some said that the delay was caused by the death of one of the committee members. Others argued that there was strong disagreement within the committee about the need to introduce golden rice. But supporters of this culture are optimistic. Director of Farming Future Bangladesh Arif Hossain says: "We hope that golden rice will get the green light soon." In his opinion, the scientific evidence is convincing, the committee has already approved one genetically modified crop (the variety of eggplant, which does not require the use of pesticides, was approved in 2014), and golden rice enjoys significant political support in the country.
If the approval of the committee is obtained and approved by the Ministry of Environment, golden rice will be registered by the Seed Certification Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture of Bangladesh. However, it requires separate field tests, so that golden rice will be able to get to farmers no earlier than 2021.
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