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Golden rice
Golden rice is a variety of rice (Oryza sativa) produced through genetic engineering to biosynthesize beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, in the edible parts of the rice. It is intended to produce a fortified food to be grown and consumed in areas with a shortage of dietary vitamin A. Genetically modified golden rice can produce up to 23 times as much beta-carotene as the original golden rice.
Golden rice is generally considered to be safe, with the FDA, Health Canada, International Rice Research Institute and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supporting its use. It has been met with significant opposition from some environmental and anti-globalisation activists, alleging risks regarding biodiversity and expressing concerns about unforeseen health effects and socioeconomic impacts. In 2016, 107 Nobel laureates wrote an open letter to Greenpeace and its supporters, asking them to abandon their campaign against genetically modified crops in general and golden rice in particular. In 2024, the Filipino Court of Appeals issued a cease and desist order for the growth of golden rice in the country, citing a lack of scientific certainty regarding its health and environmental impact.
Research for development of golden rice began as a Rockefeller Foundation initiative in 1982.
In the 1990s, Peter Bramley discovered that the phytoene desaturase gene (bacterial CrtI) can be used to produce lycopene from phytoene in GM tomato, rather than having to introduce multiple carotene desaturases that are normally used by higher plants. Lycopene is then cyclized to beta-carotene by the endogenous cyclase in golden rice. The scientific details of the rice were first published in 2000, the product of an eight-year project by Ingo Potrykus of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Peter Beyer of the University of Freiburg.
The first field trials of golden rice cultivars were conducted by Louisiana State University Agricultural Center in 2004. Additional trials were conducted in the Philippines, Taiwan, and in Bangladesh (2015). Field testing provided an accurate measurement of nutritional value and enabled feeding tests to be performed. Preliminary results from field tests showed field-grown golden rice produces 4 to 5 times more beta-carotene than golden rice grown under greenhouse conditions.
In 2018, Canada and the United States approved golden rice, with Health Canada and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declaring it safe for consumption. This followed a 2016 decision where the FDA had ruled that the beta-carotene content in golden rice did not provide sufficient amounts of vitamin A for US markets. Health Canada declared that golden rice would not affect allergies, and that the nutrient contents were the same as in common rice varieties, except for the intended high levels of provitamin A.
In 2019, golden rice was approved for use as human food and animal feed or for processing in the Philippines. On 21 July 2021, the Philippines became the first country to officially issue the biosafety permit for commercially propagating vitamin A-infused golden rice. The approval came as the first commercial propagation authorisation of genetically engineered rice in South and Southeast Asia. As a result of the permission, golden rice can be grown on a commercial scale in accordance with the terms and conditions specified by the Philippines government. In April 2023, however, the country's Supreme Court ordered the agriculture department to stop commercial propagation of golden rice in relation to a petition filed by MASIPAG (a group of farmers and scientists), who claimed that golden rice poses risk to the health of consumers and to the environment. This Writ of Kalikasan was upheld by the Court of Appeals in April 2024.
On 17 April 2024, the Court of Appeals in the Philippines issued a cease-and-desist order on the commercial propagation of two genetically modified crops, golden rice and Bt eggplant, citing a lack of "full scientific certainty" regarding their health and environmental impact. The decision was in response to a petition filed by groups including Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad Agrikultura (Masipag) and Greenpeace Southeast Asia. The court revoked the biosafety permits previously granted by the government to the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). This decision was criticized for putting the lives of thousands of children at risk.
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Golden rice
Golden rice is a variety of rice (Oryza sativa) produced through genetic engineering to biosynthesize beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, in the edible parts of the rice. It is intended to produce a fortified food to be grown and consumed in areas with a shortage of dietary vitamin A. Genetically modified golden rice can produce up to 23 times as much beta-carotene as the original golden rice.
Golden rice is generally considered to be safe, with the FDA, Health Canada, International Rice Research Institute and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supporting its use. It has been met with significant opposition from some environmental and anti-globalisation activists, alleging risks regarding biodiversity and expressing concerns about unforeseen health effects and socioeconomic impacts. In 2016, 107 Nobel laureates wrote an open letter to Greenpeace and its supporters, asking them to abandon their campaign against genetically modified crops in general and golden rice in particular. In 2024, the Filipino Court of Appeals issued a cease and desist order for the growth of golden rice in the country, citing a lack of scientific certainty regarding its health and environmental impact.
Research for development of golden rice began as a Rockefeller Foundation initiative in 1982.
In the 1990s, Peter Bramley discovered that the phytoene desaturase gene (bacterial CrtI) can be used to produce lycopene from phytoene in GM tomato, rather than having to introduce multiple carotene desaturases that are normally used by higher plants. Lycopene is then cyclized to beta-carotene by the endogenous cyclase in golden rice. The scientific details of the rice were first published in 2000, the product of an eight-year project by Ingo Potrykus of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Peter Beyer of the University of Freiburg.
The first field trials of golden rice cultivars were conducted by Louisiana State University Agricultural Center in 2004. Additional trials were conducted in the Philippines, Taiwan, and in Bangladesh (2015). Field testing provided an accurate measurement of nutritional value and enabled feeding tests to be performed. Preliminary results from field tests showed field-grown golden rice produces 4 to 5 times more beta-carotene than golden rice grown under greenhouse conditions.
In 2018, Canada and the United States approved golden rice, with Health Canada and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declaring it safe for consumption. This followed a 2016 decision where the FDA had ruled that the beta-carotene content in golden rice did not provide sufficient amounts of vitamin A for US markets. Health Canada declared that golden rice would not affect allergies, and that the nutrient contents were the same as in common rice varieties, except for the intended high levels of provitamin A.
In 2019, golden rice was approved for use as human food and animal feed or for processing in the Philippines. On 21 July 2021, the Philippines became the first country to officially issue the biosafety permit for commercially propagating vitamin A-infused golden rice. The approval came as the first commercial propagation authorisation of genetically engineered rice in South and Southeast Asia. As a result of the permission, golden rice can be grown on a commercial scale in accordance with the terms and conditions specified by the Philippines government. In April 2023, however, the country's Supreme Court ordered the agriculture department to stop commercial propagation of golden rice in relation to a petition filed by MASIPAG (a group of farmers and scientists), who claimed that golden rice poses risk to the health of consumers and to the environment. This Writ of Kalikasan was upheld by the Court of Appeals in April 2024.
On 17 April 2024, the Court of Appeals in the Philippines issued a cease-and-desist order on the commercial propagation of two genetically modified crops, golden rice and Bt eggplant, citing a lack of "full scientific certainty" regarding their health and environmental impact. The decision was in response to a petition filed by groups including Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad Agrikultura (Masipag) and Greenpeace Southeast Asia. The court revoked the biosafety permits previously granted by the government to the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). This decision was criticized for putting the lives of thousands of children at risk.