www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

Scientists are working round the clock to develop the much needed acceptable
rice variety with Vitamin A that can help the 400 million people in the
world at risk of vitamin A deficiency, August 2006 by Josephine Maseruka.

The first African Rice Congress held in Dar es Salaam early August heard
that between 100 and 200 million children are affected by severe vitamin A
deficiency of whom 50 million are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Records also show
that 1.3 million to 2.5 million pre-school children die annually because of
vitamin A deficiency. In developing nations, where Uganda falls, vitamin A
deficiency is responsible for 250,000 cases of blindness every year.

Vitamin A deficiency is also a leading cause of early child death,
diarrhoea, measles, pneumonia and a major risk factor for pregnant and
lactating women. The alarming situation has led to attempts by European
scientists to develop rice varieties with vitamin A.

Dr. Ingo Portrykus, a professor of science at the Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology and Peter Beyer of the University of Freeburg in Germany have
developed the Golden Rice with high levels of Beta-carotene, which is
converted to vitamin A in the body. Two genes were taken from a plant called
daffodil and a third gene from bacterium which were introduced into rice
through genetic engineering to get rice with vitamin A.

Dr. G.S. Khush of California University told the congress that the goal for
the genetic engineering was to improve the rice nutritional content to fight
the growing rate of malnutrition, especially among people who derive most of
their calories from rice.

Khush said the invention was also aimed at lowering the risk degree of
vitamin A deficiency and healthy problems that result from it.

The International Rice Research Institute Director P. Anderson said,
'Vitamin A is necessary for the poor. We cannot reach the very many of the
malnourished in the world. Rice with vitamin A can be a suitable
alternative.'

However, the Golden Rice has already met stiff resistance from scientists
and environmentalists. They argue that 300gm of Golden Rice can provide at
most 20% of adult's daily dose of vitamin A and since pre-school children
consume less than 150gm of rice daily, Golden Rice would only supply a
little 10% of the required vitamin A daily.

Others have reasoned that vitamin A can be obtained from liver, milk,
butter, egg yolk, chicken, meat while Beta-carotene can be got from dark
green vegetables, spinach, carrot, pumpkin and mango, which can be taken in
small quantities.

There are already attempts to get vitamin A through orange sweet potatoes,
which are affordable to small farmers and the rural poor.

Health experts argue that Golden Rice if taken by people who have rice as a
staple food, could lead to excessive intake of vitamin A among those who do
not suffer from vitamin A deficiency.

Excessive vitamin A can lead to hypervitaminosis or vitamin A toxicity which
leads to abdominal pain, vomiting and dizziness. Daffodil is responsible for
allergic reaction that manifests as a rash.

Environmentalists insist that they need proof that there are no serious
environmental consequences to the ecology from the Golden Rice and that it
won't have adverse effect or risk on people's health.

Scientists must ensure that the Golden Rice must be accepted as a miracle
for vitamin A deficiency and must not blindly release it with unknown risks
of producing vitamin A through genetic engineering.

Source: [allafrica.com]

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