Golden Rice
Abstract
Global food security has been and still is a major concern in the world today. Millions of people die each year due to malnutrition and not having any food to eat, mainly in third-world countries. Over the last century, population growth has exploded and outgrown food production in many parts of the world, posing a great threat to the human race. To solve the issue of world famine, humans beings has been redesigning life ever since the domestication of the first plants. One notable example was the Green Revolution; during the last century scientists genetically modified wheat varieties to increase crop yield in countries suffering from famine, such as India, Pakistan, Philippines and more. Although this movement saved nearly a millions of lives, many people today are against implementing genetically modified food items as people are working due to environmental impacts that have occurred in the past and also because they believe we are working against nature.
Today, dietary micronutrient deficiencies, such as vitamin A, are a major cause of mortality impoverished countries. A new movement, called the Golden Rice Project, is working to provide these impoverished countries the vitamins and nutrients they need. The "Golden Rice" is a case of biofortification where rice plants are genetically modified to produce and accumulate vitamin A in their grains, a trait not found in nature. In this paper, I will use The Golden Rice Project as a case study to reflect upon the benefits as well as the environmental implications of this project. I am writing on this because it is a very debatable issue in the sense that the intentions are good, but some of the outcomes are not. I want to explore the pros and cons in implementing this new project and decide if it's a good method of solve famine or not. In writing this paper, I will discuss how the Golden Rice is produced and how this project will help reduce deaths in impoverished countries in Africa. On the other
Global food security has been and still is a major concern in the world today. Millions of people die each year due to malnutrition and not having any food to eat, mainly in third-world countries. Over the last century, population growth has exploded and outgrown food production in many parts of the world, posing a great threat to the human race. To solve the issue of world famine, humans beings has been redesigning life ever since the domestication of the first plants. One notable example was the Green Revolution; during the last century scientists genetically modified wheat varieties to increase crop yield in countries suffering from famine, such as India, Pakistan, Philippines and more. Although this movement saved nearly a millions of lives, many people today are against implementing genetically modified food items as people are working due to environmental impacts that have occurred in the past and also because they believe we are working against nature.
Today, dietary micronutrient deficiencies, such as vitamin A, are a major cause of mortality impoverished countries. A new movement, called the Golden Rice Project, is working to provide these impoverished countries the vitamins and nutrients they need. The "Golden Rice" is a case of biofortification where rice plants are genetically modified to produce and accumulate vitamin A in their grains, a trait not found in nature. In this paper, I will use The Golden Rice Project as a case study to reflect upon the benefits as well as the environmental implications of this project. I am writing on this because it is a very debatable issue in the sense that the intentions are good, but some of the outcomes are not. I want to explore the pros and cons in implementing this new project and decide if it's a good method of solve famine or not. In writing this paper, I will discuss how the Golden Rice is produced and how this project will help reduce deaths in impoverished countries in Africa. On the other