Scientists have warned that a court decision to block the growing of the genetically modified (GM) crop Golden Rice in the Philippines could have catastrophic consequences. Tens of thousands of children could die in the wake of the ruling, they argue.

The Philippines had become the first country – in 2021 – to approve the commercial cultivation of Golden Rice, which was developed to combat vitamin A deficiency, a major cause of disability and death among children in many parts of the world.

But campaigns by Greenpeace and local farmers last month persuaded the country’s court of appeal to overturn that approval and to revoke this. The groups had argued that Golden Rice had not been shown to be safe and the claim was backed by the court, a decision that was hailed as “a monumental win” by Greenpeace.

Many scientists, however, say there is no evidence that Golden Rice is in any way dangerous. More to the point, they argue that it is a lifesaver.

  • gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de
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    6 months ago

    Rice is a well-understood plant with well-understood properties. One of these properties is that it just doesn’t have many vitamins. If you want vitamins, you have to get another plant as a side-dish.

    What these mad scientists propose is to change the very nature of rice to make it something that it is not, to solve a problem (Vitamin A deficiency) that could be approached with much less severe measures (like, growing carrots as a side-dish).

    Agriculture is like medicine: You should always attempt to use the approach that is least invasive and has the smallest possible impact, while still solving the problem. This way, you minimize complications and reduce risks.

    • BottleOfAlkahest@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      I think you may need to consider the cost and shelf life difference here. Suggesting “what if they just ate a more expensive vegetable more” seems like a pretty callous take.

      I know they grow carrots in the phillipines but they definitely aren’t native to there either.

    • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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      6 months ago

      Indeed, “eating more food” is generally agreed to be the best way to remedy childhood malnutrition and food insufficiency. It’s hands down agreed upon to be the best possible approach.

      Unfortunately, children who suffer from these maladies often lack additional food to eat, which is why there are several lines of inquiry for solving this problem:

      • can we make it so more food?
      • can we make the food better?
      • can we make the food faster?

      Inevitably, that means things like “vegetables that tolerate bad soil”, “vitamin fortified rice”, or “fast growing wheat”, or “crazy fertilizer strategies”.

      It’s a sad reality that most places that can’t grow enough food to properly feed children typically lack the ability to just grow more, to say nothing of diversifying into more resource intensive crops. otherwise they would probably do that.

    • HopeOfTheGunblade@kbin.social
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      6 months ago

      If just grow carrots lol was adequate, tell me again why people are deficient in the nutrients golden rice has over baseline rice, please.

        • HopeOfTheGunblade@kbin.social
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          6 months ago

          If people don’t want it, because they are being lied to about it, we should maybe stop the people lying and spread accurate information, before we decide that “it’s not the right solution”.

          • whoreticulture@midwest.social
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            6 months ago

            From the article

            "There are specific problems with Golden Rice,” said Wilhelmina Pelegrina, head of Greenpeace Philippines, last week. “Farmers who brought this case with us – along with local scientists – currently grow different varieties of rice, including high-value seeds they have worked with for generations and have control over. They’re rightly concerned that if their organic or heirloom varieties get mixed up with patented, genetically engineered rice, that could sabotage their certifications, reducing their market appeal and ultimately threatening their livelihoods.”

            This isn’t misinformation, this is a real issue. I’m an ecologist … we worry about genetic drift from native plants sourced elsewhere in the state!! Of course there is a concern about genetic drift from GMOs.

            Pelegrina added that relying on a single-crop system to alleviate malnutrition reduced resilience and increased vulnerability to climate impacts – a serious problem in one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries. “If things don’t work out, it’s the farmer and the consumers who pick up the tab.”

            There are also more practical, tried-and-tested solutions to tackle vitamin-A deficiency such as food supplementation programmes and supporting people to grow a range of crops including those rich in vitamin A, she claimed. “That should be where attention and investment is focused.”

            Maybe read the article before assuming the poor idiotic Filipino people are being misinformed 🙄

            • HopeOfTheGunblade@kbin.social
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              6 months ago

              I assume poor idiotic people everywhere are being misinformed. It has nothing to do with the specific subset of humanity they belong to, and everything to do with incentive gradients and entrenched power nodes.

    • Silverseren@kbin.social
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      6 months ago

      Rice already has the beta-carotene genetic pathway. It’s just missing the final enzyme gene to cause production of the precursor product.

      Furthermore, people have already tried to introduce alternative crops. But people who live there aren’t interested. If a crop like carrots isn’t a part of their cuisine, they have little to no interest in altering the foods they eat. Especially if they’re already subsistence farmers with limited crop growing areas.

    • variants@possumpat.io
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      6 months ago

      Like bill nye said, gmo’s are just a tool in your tool box to solve the answer and they are a really useful tool for the future as things get harder for us

    • spicy pancake
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      6 months ago

      that sounds like it would require paying people enough to afford more than just rice and we can’t be having that now can we