When alarmism beats science
Scientific community taken aback by the Golden Rice ban by the Philippines Court of Appeals
A communication from Philippines Presidential Communications Office states that the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) has long supported the use of GMOs, and its members have lamented that they already feel tired repeating that these are safe to consumers and can benefit farmers (see "NAST: Golden Rice, Bt eggplant safe to eat, beneficial to farmers").
As respected academics and agricultural researchers in the Philippines put it, the recent court’s ruling is “A legal victory for militant group Greenpeace, a regrettable loss for Filipinos”(see philstar global ("Scientist hit CA ruling vs Bt eggplant GMO") .
While activists opposing GMO crops celebrated the ruling, many outlets have been critical of this scientifically baseless decision, see for example The Economist (“The Philippines bans some genetically modified foods”) and New Scientist ("Genetically modified golden rice may yet succeed in the Philippines").
"We remain confident that the Courts decision will be overturned."
On 3 May 2024, the journal Science published the following text about this case:
Philippine court blocks GM rice BIOTECHNOLOGY | In a setback for genetically modified (GM) crops, a Philippine court of appeals has revoked a permit allowing farmers to grow rice for consumption that had been genetically modified to produce vitamin A. The fortified Golden Rice targets vitamin A deficiency, which is common in developing countries and can cause blindness and impair disease resistance. In 2021, the Philippines became the first country to allow commercial cultivation of the GM crop, capping a decades-long quest by its developers. But responding to a petition brought by a farmers’ group, Greenpeace Philippines, and others, the court found no consensus on its safety for human health and the environment. Its decision last month also blocks the commercialization of GM eggplant that resists insects. The government can ask the court to reconsider —although a reversal is considered unlikely— and can also appeal to the nation’s Supreme Court.
Informing the general public
The Golden Rice Project
Value added rice. Except for the colour—which we hope will become increasingly attractive to many people over time—the only difference between common rice and Golden Rice is that the latter produces and accumulates provitamin A (β-carotene) in the grain.
There is plenty of information spread over the Golden Rice web site. On this page you will find some compiled, downloadable, and relevant documents.
- Elliott M (2017) Agriculture and food security: fifth anniversary. Agriculture & Food Security 6: 58, doi:10.1186/s40066-017-0137-1
- Dubock A (2017) An overview of agriculture, nutrition and fortification, supplementation and biofortification: Golden Rice as an example for enhancing micronutrient intake. Agriculture & Food Security, 6(1), 59.
- Dubock A (2017) Golden Rice: instructions for use. Agriculture & Food Security, 6(1), 60.
- Bollinedi H, Krishnan SGK Prabhu KV, Singh NK, Mishra S, Khurana JP, Singh AK (2017) Molecular and Functional Characterization of GR2-R1 Event Based Backcross Derived Lines of Golden Rice in the Genetic Background of a Mega Rice Variety Swarna. PLoS ONE 12: e0169600, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0169600.
- Dubock, A. (2016) Comments by Adrian Dubock, Executive Secretary, Golden Rice Humanitarian Board concerning: "Disembedding grain: Golden Rice, The Green Revolution, and heirloom seeds in the Philippines." GD Stone & D Glover Published 16 April 2016. In Agriculture and Human Values, The Journal of the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society, 33(1). Genetic Literacy Project, 30 June 2016.
- Golden Rice flyer by the Golden Rice Humanitarian Board.
- Dr Adrian Dubock: "The present status of Golden Rice" (2014) in the Journal of Huazhong Agricultural University
- Dr Adrian Dubock: "The politics of Golden Rice" (2014) in GM Crops & Food
- Prof Ingo Potrykus: "From the Concept of Totipotency to Biofortified Cereals" (2015) in Annual Reviews of Plant Biology
- Flugblatt: Kurze Zusammenfassung über Golden Rice
- Dr Adrian Dubock, Golden Rice Project Manager, interviewed by the Brazilian Council of Biotechnology Information (CIB)
- Qaim M und AJ Stein (2009) Biologische Anreicherung: Wirksamkeit und Wirtschaftlichkeit. Ernährungs Umschau 56: 274-280.
- Al-Babili S, Beyer P (2005) Golden Rice — Five years on the road — five years to go? Trends in Plant Science 10:565-573.
- Schaub P, Al-Babili S, Beyer P (2005) Why is Golden Rice golden (yellow) and not red. Plant
Physiology 138:441-450.
- Proceedings of the Bertebos Conference 2008 with the theme "Golden Rice and other Biofortified food Crops for Developing Countries — potential and challenges", held in Falkenberg, Sweden, on 8-9 September 2008.
- Presentation by Prof Ingo Potrykus at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, March 2005 «Golden Rice, vitamin A and blindness — Public responsibility and failure»
- Presentation by Prof Ingo Potrykus at BioVision, Lyon, April 2005 «Is GMO regulation costing lives »
- Presentation by Dr Adrian Dubock at the ICABR Conference in Ravello, Italy, July 2005. «Golden Rice — the Partitioning of Influence» and the corresponding slides to the presentation.
- World Bank paper by Anderson K, Jackson LA, Pohl Nielsen C «Genetically Modified Rice Adoption: Implications for Welfare and Poverty Alleviation». World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3380, August 2004.
- Article by Mayer JE, Beyer P, Potrykus I. 2005. «The Golden Rice Project» , describing some of the history, progress and difficulties of the project to date.
- Compilation: Literature on Golden Rice and provitamin A, by Klaus Ammann.
The author is pleased to provide you complimentary one-time access to his Annual Reviews article, by clicking the link above, for your own personal use. Any further/multiple distribution, publication, or commercial usage of this copyrighted material requires submission of a permissison request addressed to the Copyright Clearance Center (http://www.copyright.com/)."
