The first book to tell the shocking story of Golden Rice, a
genetically modified grain that provides essential Vitamin A and
can save lives in developing countries-if only they were allowed to
grow it. 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a complex but outdated set of operational guidelines and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.
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