Golden Rice | Vitamin A Supplements

Rice (Oryza sativa) is one of the most important cereal crops and Golden rice is a variety of rice (Oryza sativa) produced through genetic engineering to biosynthesize beta-carotene. It is intended to produce a fortified food to be grown and consumed in areas with a shortage of dietary vitamin A, a deficiency which each year is estimated to kill a big amount of children under the age of 5 and cause of an additional case of irreversible childhood blindness. GR technology is based on the simple principle that rice plants possess the whole machinery to synthesis of β-carotene. It is a public-sector product designed as an additional intervention for VAD (vitamin A deficiency).

Idea of Golden Rice first discussed at international conference at IRRI in Philippines in 1984. Then in 1999 Team of scientists, including Ingo Potrykus, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, successfully genetically engineer rice to produce carotenoids, precursors to Vitamin-A. It has a designed multi-gene biochemical pathway that produces beta-carotene in its genome, a compound that, when metabolized by humans, becomes vitamin A.

            The color of this rice that contains beta carotene is the only difference from the white rice and its test is the same as like as white variety. Consumers will need to become used to eating Golden rice regularly for being it effective. Golden rice is important for the developing countries and it could contribute to a reduction of chronic health problems caused by vitamin A deficiency (VAD). It was created by adding two genes –

1. One is psy that is phytoene synthase derived from daffodils.
2. Another is crtl that is carotene desaturated derived from soil bacterium.

Golden rice has completed its third positive food safety evaluation and is approved from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that is FDA. It could enhance national welfare and can help to reduce poverty in the countries willing to adopt it by boosting its national GDP suggests some farmers to yield genetically modified crops which can increase the household income of these farmers. Through national and international public sector research institutions Golden Rice is being introduced into public and made available by government institutions, free of charge, to resource-poor farmers. It is safe to eat and has been judged by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

            Since 20 years Golden rice was created and has not been made available to those for whom it was desired. Various people who are at a risk in every year due to vitamin A deficiency and it was basically ready for use in 2002. But yet it is not used because of its expensiveness. The production, maintaining, and distributing cost of Golden Rice is too expensive for the developing countries because it is not used. For this reason developing countries often choose the alternative way to solve the vitamin A deficiency problem. In this present era the genetically engineered rice that is Golden rice is not practically available in the market place.

One of the most conveniences of Golden rice is that it can be used in areas where vitamin A deficiency is very common, so it can be helpful for preventing blindness. There are also disadvantages. There are beta carotene levels that may not be high enough in golden rice to make a difference. Vitamin A deficiency can have multiple adverse health effects, such as dryness of the eye, which can lead to blindness if untreated, a reduction in the reaction of the immune system, and a rise in the risk of infection severity and mortality.

Golden rice also has an environmental effects , causing pollution of GM rice if it is released into the atmosphere and impacting indigenous, natural and organic growers, which is extremely dangerous for growers.  They will eventually lose their markets , especially export markets, creating negative impacts on rural livelihoods. It also raises human health threats and can compromise food , nutrition and financial stability.

                Golden rice has been a lightning rod in the battle over genetically modified crops but simply has not been successful in test plots of the rice breeding institutes in the Philippines, where the leading research is being done because of its high price. And also has the ethical problems. Study of Golden rice shows that it violated the ethical rules. Since its breaks the rules of ethics it hearts the rural people. In the reality, violating ethics rules the farmer cannot be continued with the modified rice.