The co-developer of Golden Rice, the genetically engineered rice with high levels of vitamin A, has refuted claims that the product is useless.
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Dr. Ingo Potrykus, a Swiss scientist who, along with German scientist Dr. Peter Beyer developed the Golden Rice, said claims made by environmental organizations including Greenpeace were “erroneous and misleading.”
Activists have claimed that Golden Rice does not include enough provitamin A to be beneficial. But Potrykus says that the developers of the rice want to include enough provitamin A to have a clear beneficial effect on vitamin-A deficient people. He added that the activists’ calculations are based on “luxurious recommendations, representing a ‘nice to have’-supply.”
Nutrition experts consulted for the project agree that amounts required for the prevention of severe symptoms of vitamin A deficiency are significantly lower than given by RDA-values, but Potrykus is adamant that the realistic goal should be in the 20 to 40% range of the daily allowance.
Professor C. S. Prakash, director of the Center for Plant Biotechnology Research at Tuskegee University and president of the AgBioWorld Foundation, questioned activists’ reasons for rejecting Golden Rice.
“Critics condemned biotechnology as something that is purely for profit, that is being pursued only in the West, and with no benefits to the consumer. Golden Rice proves them wrong, so they need to discredit it any way they can.”
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