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RE: Genetically modified food can save lives and golden rice is a perfect example

in #steemstem7 years ago

These are facts about yields in India please tell the whole and updated story. Many people have also questioned the corporations motives for trying to get into the country via golden rice in order to monopolize the rice industry. A type of trojan horse if you will. I think your post is great because as a community on steemit we can come together and discuss things in a civilized manner. As oppsosed to facebook and IG where people get super hostile over GMOs.

https://www.independentsciencenews.org/health/goodbye-golden-rice-gm-trait-leads-to-drastic-yield-loss/

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Thanks for sharing the link. It primarily references a paper that discusses low growth levels of a particular derived line of golden rice. Its true that some of the backcrossed strains of golden rice have low growth. However, strains with acceptable growth levels have been found (http://irri.org/golden-rice/faqs/there-have-been-reports-that-golden-rice-field-trials-resulted-in-stunted-plants-and-reduced-grain-yield-is-this-true). Although corporate motives are an issue when discussing some GMOS, I don't think they're applicable to this discussion as golden rice isn't poised to make a lot of money and is free to most farmers in low income countries.

Free rice in my opinion is the worst thing you could do for any country. Look at Haiti. They want to grow thier own rice but cant compete with the free rice that is donated to them by the united states therefore maintaining them in poverty and fully dependent on the US for survival. Also like I said there was been some speculation that even though it seems like golden rice is not for profit it can be used as a trojan horse for companies like syngenta to come in to India and monopolize the rice industry. What are your thoughts on what Vandana Shiva has written about Golden Rice? Is she way off base or is there some truth to what she says? What do you think about the effect the pesticides have on the human body? They are integrated in the genes of the seed are they not?

This article isn’t about pesticides or international economics. It’s just about a GMO that can save lives. When I say “free” I mean that farmers can grow it freely, not that it’s donated.

As to the Trojan horse theory, I think it’s more likely that golden rice will save lives than it being part of some worldwide GMO conspiracy.