Genetically Engineered Rice
Agri-business has paved the way for hybrid rice and now, genetically-engineered (GE) rice such as Golden Rice, Bt Rice and Liberty Link
Rice, and has brought about not only the loss of strong and unique local and traditional rice varieties, but their contamination as
well. Agri-business corporations are bent on promoting GE crops as the solution to world hunger, but these crops will make farmers
highly dependent on commercial seeds and chemical farm inputs. GE will only make the problem of world hunger worse. Most GE rice
research is on herbicide tolerance, which is hardly surprising since the dominant seed corporations are also among the top global
pesticide firms.
Empty rice farm houses
There is sufficient evidence to show that biodiversity-based ecological rice agriculture using native rice varieties is sustainable.
Conversely, there is increasing evidence to show GE Rice is potentially unsafe for humans, animals and the environment. Trials with rats
and mice on GE potato have shown results such as abnormal organ development and potentially precancerous cell growth in the digestive
tract while rats fed with GE tomato demonstrated bleeding in the gut. In humans, soy allergies in the UK jumped from 10% to 15% of a
sample group soon after GE soya was introduced in the country and a GE food supplement was linked to incidence of death and illness in
the US. Cotton workers handling GE cotton in India have also reported allergic reactions to handling it.
Genetically Engineered Rice - What Every Consumer Should Know
A short easy-to-understand animation video to raise public awareness on what GE Rice is and the serious risks attached to it. Produced in 2008 by Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP) and National Poison Centre (Universiti Sains Malaysia).
For more information on GE food/crops, read Jeffrey Smith’s book “Genetic
Roulette” by Yes! Books. Fairfield, USA.
Golden Rice
Golden rice has been advertised as the answer to solve the problem of dietary vitamin A deficiency. According to Syngenta, Golden Rice “helps prevent blindness and infection in millions of children” suffering from vitamin-A deficiency. However, a closer look reveals that an adult would need to eat 9kg of cooked rice to satisfy the daily recommended dose!
To read more, please click this link: http://www.purefood.org/corp/gericetoofar.cfm
Hybrid Rice
Hybrid rice varieties are those created by crossing two different parental strains. However the vigour of hybrid rice seeds is at its peak only in the first generation (F1) thus forcing farmers to buy the hybrid seeds for successive growing seasons as the saved seeds from the first cropping are essentially useless.
To learn more about hybrid rice please click: http://www.panap.net/sites/default/files/rs_hybridrice.pdf
