A group of 108 Nobel Prize-winning scientists sent Greenpeace a letter to stop the campaign against GM rice. Golden Rice is a variety of rice that has been developed and genetically modified by the industry to produce pro-vitamin A (beta-carotene), in order to integrate it into the diet of the poorest populations who risk deficiencies.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
A group of 108 scientists who received the Nobel Prize sent a letter to Greenpeace to stop the campaign against the laugh ogm. Golden Rice is a variety of rice that has been developed and genetically modified by the industry to produce pro-vitamin A (beta-carotene), in order to integrate it into the diet of the poorest populations who risk deficiencies.
The environmental association claims that the cultivation of laugh ogm it is neither safe for the population nor for the environment, while the Nobel laureates accuse the environmentalist association of unscientificity. There pro-vitamin A it is not naturally present in rice, it is added thanks to a genetic modification.
According to Greenpeace, the cultivation of Golden Rice is irresponsible from an environmental point of view, poses risks to human health and could compromise international food and financial security. Furthermore, millions of dollars have been invested in Golden Rice over the past 20 years just to enable multinationals of GMOs to make its way into the field of biotech agriculture. The same money could have been invested in various food improvement strategies and in favor of sustainable and local agriculture, to protect health and biodiversity.
In particular, environmentalists fear that GM rice can contaminate traditional rice cultivation, especially jeopardizing the work of farmers who have chosen organic farming and who could lose the certification of their company. The same populations suffering from a vitamin A deficiency do not consider GM rice as a solution, because it would be a food tax or because it goes against their traditions.
While activists are completely opposed to Golden Rice and its spread in agriculture, the large group of Nobel laureates is ready to clash to stop the campaign against GMOs, which would not be dangerous at all, would be sufficiently tested and adequately regulated by regulations. , as they point out in their letter:
"Humans have eaten hundreds of GMO-based meals in the past 20 years with no problem cases detected, while more than 1 billion farm animals were fed GMO feed from 1996 to 2011 and their health conditions improved. ".
The answer was not left to wait. For Wilhelmina Pelegrina, Greenpeace Southeast Asia activist, the Golden Rice initiative went bankrupt with its own hands:
"The initiative failed as a solution and the Golden Rice is currently not available for sale, even after more than 20 years of research."
The reason would be very simple:
“As admitted by the International Rice Research Institute, it has never been proven until now that Golden Rice can solve vitamin A deficiency. So, to be clear, we're talking about something that doesn't even exist. The multinationals are now trying to focus on Golden Rice to pave the way for the global approval of other GM crops considered more profitable ”.
Photo source: Greenpeace
La solution to the problem of world hunger and is malnutrition really represented by the spread and cultivation of GMOs? Or maybe you could invest in a more equal access to food and food resources and in sustainable agriculture? To cope with the vitamin A deficiency, healthy food is needed in abundance, grown in a natural way with respect for health and the environment.
Read also: GMOs: CHINESE CHILDREN USED AS CABLES TO TEST THE GOLDEN RICE
It is not through the use of genetic modifications that the serious problem of malnutrition can be solved, but through one effective redistribution of food resources that can allow the poorest populations to feed on foods already naturally rich in vitamin A, without resorting to technologies that lead to the creation of varieties whose harmlessness to the human organism is not yet known.
in Philippines, for example, the inhabitants have already found solutions to cope with nutritional deficiencies. Solutions based on natural foods already present in their country, without the need to introduce GMOs. Watch the video.
Read the Greenpeace report on GM rice here ‘Golden Illusion’.
Marta Albè
