THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE
Re: Questions Persist over the Golden Rice Campaign
Genetically engineered (GE) to produce carotenoids, precursors of pro-Vitamin A, Golden Rice has been the centre of much attention as the hi-tech solution to combatting Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in developing countries since it was first presented to the world as such in 2000. Yet it is still not on the market in spite of its inventors and advocates pushing for immediate market authorization.
A new report by Testbiotech examines the status of the campaign on Golden Rice. The report addresses the unresolved issues and risks associated with Golden Rice. Among these are the fact that it is still not possible to judge whether or not Golden Rice is technically able to combat VAD and that any risks posed by the cultivation or consumption of Golden Rice have been largely ignored. To date, not a single feeding study on the rice has been published. In February 2013, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) itself, which is coordinating the Golden Rice Project, admitted that crucial data for risk assessment were still missing.
The full report can be downloaded at: http://www.testbiotech.org/en/node/1006 while the Summary is reproduced below.
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GOLDEN LIES: NO CREDIBILITY FOR GOLDEN RICE CAMPAIGN
After many years of development, Golden Rice is still not on the market. Initially it was thought that the commercial cultivation of Golden Rice would start in 2012. However, in 2013 this plan was once again postponed for several years. In 2013, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) coordinating the project admitted for the first time in public that crucial data for risk assessment were still missing. The current delay might have been triggered by a scandal involving Chinese school children: Chinese scientists were sacked and families received financial compensation after neither the children nor the parents were informed about a trial in which the school children were fed with the genetically engineered rice.
Nevertheless, some well-known advocates of the Golden Rice project such as Ingo Potrykus, one of the inventors of the rice, are still pushing for immediate market authorisation. In the meantime, the advocates of this product appear to have divided opinions. Some have gone as far as to say that government agencies and critics will be complicit in instigating a “Holocaust” (Chassy, 2010) or a crime against humanity if they prevent the introduction of Golden Rice. To speed up market approval and limit expenses, they are campaigning for a general lowering of standards for the risk assessment of genetically engineered plants (Potrykus, 2010).
This report shows that those involved in the Golden Rice project have demonstrated a complete lack of regard for necessary scientific accuracy and precision. Over many years they have used propaganda which was unacceptable from an ethical point of view. In doing so, they have sought to use the project to increase the pressure on regulatory authorities and accelerate the introduction of agricultural biotechnology.
It is still not possible to judge whether or not Golden Rice is even technically able to combat vitamin A deficiency. No data has been made available on the degradation rate of its carotenoid content (in particular during storage), nor on its real bioavailability. Any risks posed by the cultivation or consumption of Golden Rice have been largely ignored. Virtually no data are available on unintended new ingredients and changes in the metabolism of the plants or the reaction of the plants to changing environmental conditions. So far not a single feeding study on the rice has been published. In spite of all this, the trial with Chinese school children still went ahead.
It is highly likely that the commercial cultivation of Golden Rice will lead to the irreversible entry of this genetically engineered organism into the environment and to its crossbreeding with local rice varieties. It is not scientifically possible to predict the long-term ecological consequences.
Various reports refer to the significant progress that has been made in the fight against vitamin A deficiency in developing countries over the past 10 years. Efficient and low-cost programs that enjoy and offer a high degree of acceptance and reliability, and that can also be very precisely implemented, do exist. The scheduled market release of Golden Rice is therefore by no means without an alternative.