A very interesting letter from Michael Hansen, Ph.D., Senior Scientist at Consumers Union. He explains why the GMO "golden rice" is still not available to the people it was supposed to help, and in conclusion he suggests a better way to fight malnutrition: " After seeing the Philippine data on vitamin A deficiency levels over time, I simply asked how many millions have been spent on GR with nothing to show for it so far, while other methods, e.g. supplementation and food fortification, have been shown to work, but got no real response from the other side. The ultimate answer is to realize that vitamin A deficiency is a symptom of poverty - someone who is so poor they can only afford rice and virtually nothing else - and that rather than treat the symptom, one should treat the cause - poverty. Also, food diversification via sustainable agriculture and land reform are the longer-term answers since many local crops foods have high β-carotene levels." Michael Hansen, Ph.D. Senior Scientist Consumers Union
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 12:27:03 +0000
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