Golden Rice has hit the headlines again: the biotechnology industry has been slammed for overdoing its public relations about the benefits of Golden Rice just when the first samples of this rice arrived in Asia from Europe for further research and development.

But what do local organisations and farmers really think about the whole idea of genetically engineered Vitamin A rice? A new report produced jointly by BIOTHAI (Thailand), CEDAC (Cambodia), DRSC  (India), MASIPAG (Philippines), PAN-Indonesia (Indonesia) and UBINIG (Bangladesh) and GRAIN shows that, on the ground, people are not enthusiastic about this new technology. Indeed, "Öat the end of the day, the main agenda for golden rice is not malnutrition but garnering greater support and acceptance for genetic engineeringÖ

Golden Rice is merely a marketing event". This report "Grains of Delusion: Golden Rice seen from the Ground" situates Golden Rice, in the context of where it is intended to land: farmer's fields in Asia.

The report first examines the promises: the benefits for the consumer and the farmer; the benefits of the public-private collaboration; and the benefits of the "free" license agreements. To make these promises has been easy, but even at this stage they reveal serious flaws. In reality, malnutrition stems from poverty - which Golden Rice cannot address. Furthermore, evidence shows that Golden Rice will have little effect on reducing vitamin A deficiency, providing at most 20% of an adult's vitamin A requirements. In addition, one of the biggest problems with Golden Rice is the hidden agenda behind it. Significantly, the Philippine-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has been called on to "continue to campaign for genetic engineering as a legitimate breeders' tool, using the "golden" rice as a flagship" by its technical advisors. With the arrival of Golden Rice in the Philippines, IRRI is now set to fine-tune the rice for Asian conditions.

This report shows that local alternatives do exist. But will they survive the onslaught of genetic engineering?

"While many doubt the ability of golden rice to eliminate vitamin A deficiency, the machinery is being set in motion to promote a GE strategy at the expense of more relevant approaches. The best chance of success in fighting vitamin A deficiency and malnutrition is to better use the inexpensive and nutritious foods already available, and in diversifying food production systems in the fields and in the household. The euphoria created by the Green Revolution greatly stifled research to develop and promote these efforts, and the introduction of golden rice will further compromise them. The promoters of golden rice say that they do not want to deprive the poor of the right to choose and the potential to benefit from golden rice. But the poor, and especially poor farmers, have long been deprived of the right to choose their means of production and survival. Golden rice is not going to change that, and nor will any other corporately-pushed GE crop."

The full report is hosted online at www.grain.org. For more information contact:
BIOTHAI:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Tel (66-2) 952 73 71
CEDAC:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Tel (855-23) 880 916
DRCSC: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Tel (91-33) 442 7311
MASIPAG: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Tel (63-49) 536 55 49
PAN Indonesia: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Tel (62-21) 829 65 45
UBINIG: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Tel (88-2) 811 14 65

Neil Sorensen Program Assistant for International Programs Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy  2105 First Avenue South    Minneapolis, MN 55404 USA Tel: (612) 870-3412    Fax: (612) 870-4846    Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   http://www.iatp.org    http://www.wtowatch.org  http://www.sustain.org/biotech      http://www.gefoodalert.org