Golden Rice The Imperiled Birth of a GMO Superfood

About this book

Ordinary white rice is nutrient poor; it consists of carbohydrates and little else. About one million people who subsist on rice become blind or die each year from vitamin A deficiency. Golden Rice, which was developed in the hopes of combatting that problem by a team of European scientists in the late '90s, was genetically modified to provide an essential nutrient that white rice lacks: beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the body. But twenty years later, this potentially sight- and life-saving miracle food still has not reached the populations most in need – and tens of millions of people in India, China, Bangladesh, and throughout South and Southeast Asia have gone blind or have died waiting.

Supporters claim that the twenty-year delay in Golden Rice's introduction is an unconscionable crime against humanity. Critics have countered that the rice is a "hoax", that it is "fool's gold" and "propaganda for the genetic engineering industry". Here, science writer Ed Regis argues that Golden Rice is the world's most controversial, maligned, and misunderstood GMO. Regis tells the story of how the development, growth, and distribution of Golden Rice was delayed and repeatedly derailed by a complex but outdated set of operational guidelines and regulations imposed by the governments and sabotaged by anti-GMO activists in the very nations where the rice is most needed.

Writing in a conversational style, Regis separates hyperbole from facts, overturning the myths, distortions, and urban legends about this uniquely promising superfood. Anyone interested in GMOs, social justice, or world hunger will find Golden Rice a compelling, sad, and maddening true-life science tale.

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1. Child Killer
Chapter 2. Proof of Concept
Chapter 3. GR 0.5 and Beyond
Chapter 4. The Protocol
Chapter 5. What Is a GMO?
Chapter 6. Safe to Eat?
Chapter 7. Golden Rice 2
Chapter 8. Better Than Spinach
Chapter 9. The Mistake
Chapter 10. The "Crime against Humanity"
Chapter 11. The Approvals

Epilogue. The Proactionary Principle
Acknowledgments
Appendix. L'affaire Schubert
Bibliography
Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

Ed Regis is a science writer whose work has appeared in Scientific American, Harper's, Wired, Nature, Discover, and the New York Times, among other publications. He is the author of ten books, including What Is Life? Investigating the Nature of Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology.