Golden Rice, Green Idiocy

The American Interest ^ | August 26, 2013 | Walter Russell Mead

[JerseyanExile]

On August 8th, 400 protesters ripped out seedlings of a new genetically modified plant called golden rice at a testing ground in the Philippines. Genes from bacteria and corn have been added to the rice to make it a source of vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency can lead to blindness and weakens the immune system, contributing to 2 million deaths every year. (Golden rice is being developed by a non-profit organization, not Monsanto.) As the Philippine government prepares to rule on whether or not to allow farmers to grow the wonder-crop, the anti-GMO movement is digging itself in for a fight. The New York Times reports:

If the rice gains the Philippine government’s approval, it will cost no more than other rice for poor farmers, who will be free to save seeds and replant them, Dr. Barry said. It has no known allergens or toxins, and the new proteins produced by the rice have been shown to break down quickly in simulated gastric fluid, as required by World Health Organization guidelines.

But the facts haven’t deterred the misinformed from campaigning against the technology. Greenpeace flatly rejects any and all biotech advances in agriculture, a Luddite and ludicrous position that is distorting the public debate:

“There’s so much misinformation floating around about G.M.O.’s that is taken as fact by people,” said Michael D. Purugganan, a professor of genomics and biology and the dean for science at New York University, who sought to calm health-risk concerns in a primer on GMA News Online, a media outlet in the Philippines: “The genes they inserted to make the vitamin are not some weird manufactured material,” he wrote, “but are also found in squash, carrots and melons.”…

“A lot of the criticism of G.M.O.’s in the Western world suffers from a lack of understanding of how really dire the situation is in developing countries,” he said.

With golden rice, we have a real, cost-effective way to safely provide millions of people with healthier food. The anti-GMO crowd is doing its best Marie Antoinette impression, saying the world’s poor should get the vitamin A this new rice provides by eating more fruits and vegetables. A well-balanced diet is a luxury many can’t afford. Cheap, nutrient-rich golden rice can save lives.

[GraceG]

The anti-GMO fools don’t understand there is a bbig difference betwween adding vitamins to plant vs. Making a plant produce it’s own pesticide/herbicide.

I am all for GMO for adding good things to plants and animals ie. Vitamins to plants and omega 3 to land herbavores.

I am against adding things like herbicides and pesticides.

In this caase the middle ground is the best ground to be on.

[null and void]

I’m just mad about Saffron
Saffron’s mad about me
I’m just mad about Saffron
She’s just mad about me

They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow

[TWhiteBear]

The work is being done by the IRRI, International Rice Research Institute, a Rockefeller Foundation partner.
I had some dealings with them in the ‘60 when great strides were being made, and using common hybridization practices.They are the best in the world at what they do and were good to work with.
I also have mixed feelings. Sometimes the scientists say that they have the gene thing all figured out and then sometimes they say they have no idea how all the genes are connected or what they do.
Chaos theory is more than a script writers idea in Jurassic Park.
Complex systems can and do go wrong. Just like when the nets were left off the GMO wheat fields and the geese ate the GMO grains and spread it to hell and gone.
Those folks had good intentions also.
TWB

[tinamina]

I think we ought to plant seeds God made otherwise we will suffer unexpected consequences. Remember when we were told margerine was better than butter? Look how that turned out.

[1010RD]

Liberalism is anti-human by design.

[1010RD]

I’ve got a book idea:

A group of hardleft whackos go back in time and try to assasinate Norman Borlaug. The future sends a cyborg back to protect Norman and kill all the whackos. It’s an action film.

[Toddsterpatriot]

I think we ought to plant seeds God made otherwise we will suffer unexpected consequences.

Exactly! Those poor people don't need their eyesight.

[Straight Vermonter]

I think we ought to plant seeds God made otherwise we will suffer unexpected consequences.

It has been millennia since we did that. People have been modifying food since the dawn of agriculture. Just look at what man did to corn as an example.

[narses]

+

Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:

Add me / Remove me

Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.

[jmcenanly]

Are you referring to the wild varieties of current fruits and vegetables? Most of these would be barely edible by todays standards.

Wild Banana


wild apple


Wild grapes

Genetic engineering is simply doing by design what we used to do by selective breeding

[JoeFromSidney]

The real irony is that almost every food we eat (ocean-caught fish are the major exception) is genetically modified. Virtually every domestic crop is the result of hundreds to thousands of years of selective breeding, including corn and wheat. The same applies to cows, pigs, and chickens, no to mention cats and dogs.

I do have doubts about adding pesticides to plants. They may be safe for humans, but that needs to be verified, not assumed. But directly adding genes for nutrients, instead of laboriously crossing and recrossing the plants, generation after generation, doesn't sound like it would create a problem.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

The same applies to cows, pigs, and chickens, no to mention cats and dogs.

You eat cats and dogs?

[JoeFromSidney]

You eat cats and dogs?

I don't, but some people do. The point, however, is that even our pets are genetically modified.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

I recently saw a documentary on how much dogs can, and have been genetically changed.

They commented how no other species has that much variety after selective breeding. They said, a cow is still a cow etc. But a Russian Wolfhound, a Pitbull and a Chihuahua are all very different animals.