The Pros And Cons Of Golden Rice

818 Words4 Pages
Golden Rice “Man is what he eats,” wrote Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach in an essay titled “Concerning Spiritualism and Materialism” (Martin). By this he meant that the “food one eats has a bearing on one's state of mind and health” (Martin). Food is vital for our body since it is the only way to consume all the necessary fuels and nutrients for our body. Proper nutrition requires a diversity of food, however in certain countries people get sick due to the lack of diversity of nutrients. As a result, scientists have developed the Genetically Engineered (GE) or Genetically Modified (GM) Foods. These are “organisms whose genome has been engineered in the laboratory in order to favor the expression of desired physiological traits or the production of…show more content…
The opposition argues, “[Golden Rice] it might not even be effective in combating VAD because there is not enough Vitamin A in it to make a difference or because of the effects of cooking and storage.”(Baggot 29) Their argue being real since an average recommended daily intake of vitamin A is of 750 ug per day and 100 gram of rice would only provide 4.4 percent from the total amount. (Shiva 15) On the other hand, in early 2005 in an article published on “Nature Biotechnology” have been revealed a new version of rice called “Golden Rice 2.” The new rice has 23 times more beta-carotene (vitamin-A) than the rice produced in 2000. Being that, scientists have shown that 75 grams of Golden Rice 2 contains 50 percent of the daily recommended intake of vitamin A. (Paine 482-485). But even so, Greenpeace still does not accept the idea of GM rice, considering that “Genetically engineered golden rice is simply the wrong tool to tackle VAD.” (Cotter 4) Alexander Stein from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany estimated that golden rice could have a major health impact in developing countries. Therefore not only Golden Rice 2 could have a big impact but also Golden Rice since even half of the recommended amount of vitamin A could prevent VAD. (Enserink 468-471) Justus Wesseler claim that Golden Rice is “far better” than spinach when is about providing vitamin A and for a 6-8 years old child would be sufficient a daily intake of 60 grams of rice to prevent the VAD. (Wesseler
Show More
Related

  • The Pros And Cons Of Organic Foods

    1321 Words  | 6 Pages

    What is better, organic food or genetically modified organisms (hereafter referred to as GMO’s)? Despite the popularity, GMO’s have been picking up pace because of their versatile properties, the disadvantages supersede the advantages and even though organic food production/cultivating isn't without its downsides, it is proven to be less detrimental to human health and the environment in the long term. In this paper, I will compare and contrast the drawbacks and benefits of using both purely organic

    Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of Golden Rice

Open Document