Golden Rice for Golden Life

“Golden Rice for Golden Life”

 

What is Genetic Engineering? 

Genetic Engineering

     Genetic engineering, often known as genetic modification, is the study of how to change or replace particular genes to modify an organism's DNA. Genetic engineering is used to produce brewing yeasts, cancer treatments, genetically modified crops and livestock, among a plethora of other products in the agricultural, industrial, chemical, pharmaceutical, and medical fields. The transformed product must still be, or once was, a living organism with DNA as the only need (Smith, Ph.D., 2022).

Golden Rice

A brand-new variety of rice with beta carotene is called "Golden Rice" (provitamin A, a plant pigment that the body converts into vitamin A as needed). This substance lends the grain its designation of golden or yellow-orange tint.

Golden Rice. The genetic engineering process is used to create golden rice. Beta carotene is produced by regular rice but is not present in the grain. As a result, scientists added the chemical via genetic engineering to the grain, a little change that increased the grain's nutritional value. The beta-carotene in Golden Rice, which was made possible by the inclusion of two new enzymes, is the same as the beta-carotene present in many fruits and vegetables, vitamin supplements, and dietary ingredients, including green leafy and yellow vegetables, orange-colored fruit, and even rice.  Beta carotene is also present in Golden Rice, a novel variety of rice (provitamin A, a plant pigment that the body converts into vitamin A as needed). This substance lends the grain its designation of golden or yellow-orange tint. The creation of Golden Rice involves genetic engineering (International Rice Research Institute,2018). 

Based on the same principles, national regulatory agencies such as FSANZ, Health Canada, and the US FDA have already concluded that Golden Rice is safe to grow and safe to eat. Beta carotene rice, often known as golden rice, may enhance vitamin A consumption and decrease the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in women and children (De Moura et al., 2016). As a result of golden rice's genetic modification to create beta-carotene—a substance not typically found in rice—many people benefit from this. When digested by the human body, beta-carotene into vitamin A. Our immune systems, skin, and vision all benefit from vitamin A. 

 

Environment & Its Nature

http://ww.goldenrice.org/image/how_env.jpg

The public's focus on potential environmental repercussions continues to be divided between two key concerns. These include the potential for a genetically engineered crop to spread like a weed and the potential for unintended genes to be passed on to wild cousins. Plants exhibit varying degrees of quantifiable inherently weedy behavior. Therefore, a transgene's impact on weediness will primarily depend on the new genetic context that it is placed in. Since weeds are primarily an agricultural issue rather than an environmental one, they must be managed well in the field. The introduction of transgenes into these wild relatives or the displacement of related plants in the wild, particularly in origin regions, is the other major cause for concern (Mayer, 2022). Additionally, it is created via genetic engineering, a modern biotechnology technique that permits the transfer of a certain trait from one organism to another (by adding the specific gene that carries the desired trait). This resulted from the failure of global surveys of rice varieties to discover any kinds that contain considerable quantities of beta-carotene, which meant that traditional plant breeding methods couldn't be used to produce Golden Rice. This was first conceived by Professors Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer in the late 1980s. IRRI became the first licensee of the scientists’ work in 2001.

 Golden Rice can effectively control vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and its deadly consequences, especially for children. Delaying the uptake of a genetically modified product shown to have clear health benefits has and will cost numerous lives, frequently of the most vulnerable individuals (Golden Rice Humanitarian Board, 2022).

“This Rice could save a Million kids a year.” —Dr. Ingo Potrykus

Golden Rice in Filipino households!?

Finally, a rice that is infused with vitamin A will soon be served on the tables of Filipino households.

According to Zonan Zagado of Philippine Rice Research Institute writer (2022), after over two decades of rigorous research and regulatory evaluation, Golden Rice has fully satisfied all biosafety regulatory criteria in the Philippines. The final step in regulatory approval was the issuance of the biosafety permit for commercial propagation in July 2021. As a result, Golden Rice may now be planted on farmer's fields and consumed by consumers once supplies are available. The first direct communal or public experience with Golden Rice will be possible thanks to the pilot-scale rollout in the Philippines. The Department of Agriculture, through the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has increased the Golden Rice seed production to ensure the availability of seed planting materials at the nearest period possible. Through Memorandum Order 19 series of 2022, Agriculture Secretary William Dar has given instructions to DA regional field offices on how to incorporate Golden Rice into their seed production and distribution program, specifically how to use their research experiment stations as seed production areas.

Despite numerous benefits & potential on golden rice, there remain many unanswered questions and ethical concerns about golden rice. In the end, Do the benefits outweigh risks? Let us know your opinions on the comment section. 

Sources:

Golden Rice International Rice Research Institute, 2017 https://www.irri.org/golden-rice

International Rice Research Institute, 2021 “Philippines becomes First Country approved Nutrient Enriched Golden Rice” https://www.irri.org/news-and-events/news/philippines-becomes-first-country-approve-nutrient-enriched-golden-rice

International Rice Research Institute, 2021 “FAQs”, https://www.irri.org/golden-rice-faqs#what-is-golden-rice

Lim L.C., 2021 “Farmer’s Gold Or Fool’s Gold? Facts About Golden Rice”. https://www.irri.org/golden-rice-faqs#what-is-golden-rice