'A catastrophe': Greenpeace blocks planting of 'lifesaving' Golden Rice

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Sat 25 May 2024 09.00 EDT
Last modified on Sat 25 May 2024 21.30 EDT


Scientists have warned that a court decision to block the growing of the genetically modified (GM) crop Golden Rice in the Philippines could have catastrophic consequences. Tens of thousands of children could die in the wake of the ruling, they argue. The Philippines had become the first country – in 2021 – to approve the commercial cultivation of Golden Rice, which was developed to combat vitamin A deficiency, a major cause of disability and death among children in many parts of the world.

But campaigns by Greenpeace and local farmers last month persuaded the country’s court of appeal to overturn that approval and to revoke this. The groups had argued that Golden Rice had not been shown to be safe and the claim was backed by the court, a decision that was hailed as “a monumental win” by Greenpeace.

Many scientists, however, say there is no evidence that Golden Rice is in any way dangerous. More to the point, they argue that it is a lifesaver.

“The court’s decision is a catastrophe,” said Professor Matin Qaim, of Bonn University, and a member of the Golden Rice Humanitarian Board, which promotes the introduction of the crop. “It goes completely against the science, which has found no evidence of any risk associated with Golden Rice, and will result in thousands and thousands of children dying.”

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/25/greenpeace-blocks-planting-of-lifesaving-golden-rice-philippines

[Blues Heron]

1. Dupe

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016378243

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Your link is not to the LBN forum but to the Editorials & Other Articles forum.

[paleotn]

2. Oh, god. More zealots.

Actual evidence be damned.

Extremists of every kind are going to be the ruin of us all. I read somewhere that we're an intelligent species.

[CousinIT]

5. Problem is that whatever you read about humans being an "intelligent" species...

...was written by a human.

[NickB79]

4. I'm currently growing the first commercially available GM tomatoes in my garden

Purple tomatoes, with more antioxidants than blueberries.

And as soon as they're available, I'll be planting GM American chestnut trees, as the pure American chestnut was almost wiped out by blight fungus.

It's a 40 yr old technology. If it were dangerous, it would be very obvious by now. This is settled science.

[paleotn]

6. It's simply doing what nature, and humans through selective breeding, has done for eons.

Just quicker and far more precise. Can it be used for ill or good? Yes, just like everything else. Genetics are far from set in stone. Your own gets modified by a host of mechanisms, from internal mutations for various reasons to snippets of viral DNA left behind by retroviruses. It's the engine of evolution. Tell anti-GMO folks that their own genome is roughly 8% snippets of retroviral DNA from god knows where, and they'll get more than a little freaky.

[orange jar]

7. +1

I wonder if the anti-GMO people have ever looked up what fruits like bananas, grapes, and various melons used to look like. Surely they still eat and contribute to the production of those.

[LuvLoogie]

8. There's more to the opposition of GM foodstuffs

than whether it's dangerous for consumption. A lot has to do with how the manufacturers enforce patents of their products. It forces out native varieties. People are unable to use the seed from these GM varieties and have to purchase new seed every planting cycle. If one gets GM contamination in their native crops, the manufacturers sue for licensing violation.

Mexican farmers have fought like mad to keep GM corn out of Mexico, and I applaud them. There are about 64 native varieties of corn in Mexico. American GM companies are either trying to force GM corn in to Mexico or patent the native varieties so that native farmers cannot control their own subsistence destiny.

Their are other ways to get vitamin A into to the diet, but industry and corporate agriculture is destroying fisheries and native fruit and vegetable ecosystems for profit and creating dependency on their proprietary markets.

[PatSeg]

10. Thank you

[NickB79]

12. The seed-saving argument is pretty weak in modern agriculture

Mexico, being the native range of ancestral corn, is really an exception, not a good example applicable to other areas.

For the vast majority of the food grown today, hybrid seed is the standard, and using saved seed is something that went out of fashion decades ago. My grandfather switched over to hybrid seed in the 1960's. And once you accept patented hybrid seeds, and the increased yields they bring, you accept having to purchase new seed annually. And those yield increases are substantial. Hybrid vigor is a hell of a thing to see when your cornfields go from 100 bushels per acre to 200 bushels by merely swapping seed varieties.

All the points you bring up were made moot by simple hybrids years before GM crops were even invented.

[LuvLoogie]

13. Genetic Modification is not Hybridization

Those are different things. GM crops have a foreign gene introduced into the organism, while hybrids are intermixing of the existing genes within the species.

Golden Rice is genetically modified. It is not a bred hybrid.

You also make no acknowledgement of the predatory practices of the agricultural GM corporations. These practices are well documented.

It's not just food crops they try to proprietize. They do it with natural medicines as well.

Maybe the Philippino farmers have seen examples of this behavior and don't want to subject themselves to it.

[NickB79]

17. Doesn't matter. You can't save non-GM hybrid seeds

That's my point. Commercial farmers stopped seed saving years before GM was even a thing due to hybrid seeds.

Also, I have a degree in biochemistry and grew up on a farm. I'm well aware how GM tech works.

[LuvLoogie]

19. Seed saving is still practiced in the Philippines.

And it is increasing. And organic farmers of native varieties don't want to risk contamination. There is no mechanism to prevent it or to even monitor it.

[NickB79]

21. Really, you sure about that?

https://www.ecns.cn/m/business/2024-04-23/detail-ihczvctz4227451.shtml

Hybrid rice is rapidly taking over the Asian markets, due to extremely high yield. The Philippines is a leading hybrid seed producer. Seed saving is declining in Asia.

Ding said that a cooperation agreement has been reached to expand the Malaysian market. The company plans to export 300 to 500 tons of rice seeds this year and 1,000 tons next year. The export volume is scheduled to reach 3,000 tons in three years, earning more than $10 million.

In the Philippines, the export volume of hybrid rice seeds has reached 10,000 tons a year, generating earnings of $30 million, he added.

[EndlessWire]

16. Yeah

I think the politics of the GM crops is troubling. It's like they're saying, "Use our product or tens of thousands of children will die." But, nobody is talking about planting more native crops and supplying Vitamin A in another way to prevent food insecurity.

It seems to me that I remember from long ago this bit about getting sued because a GM crop seeds itself into other crops, without any intent or theft by the native crop farmer. This would turn into control of the food by a corporation. That doesn't sound right or fair. So, I think there are two parts to this issue. One, are the GM crops safe? Two, even if they are, who gets to finally own all the crops in some hapless country? If they are attempting to control food resources through international copyrights, or whatever, then I am against that. That would be reason enough to deny the crop. There has to be some kind of political or legal safeguard against seeding all of a country's food crops with GM controlled products.

We prohibit the importation of all kinds of critters into stranger areas in order to protect native species. I see no difference here except there is money to be made from GM crops, and not so much from frogs, lizards, birds, and such. Ornamental horticulture can also be restricted. Quite a lot of damage has been caused by people who imported things not native to the areas.

If lack of Vitamin A is such a problem, then the UN World Food Program should get on it. Vitamin A is not a mystery.

[Bayard]

9. If I was a starving kid,

I don't think I'd worry about the genetics of my food.

[LuvLoogie]

20. There is no lack of rice in the Philippines.

[LudwigPastorius]

11. If only Rockefeller Jr. hadn't funded Nazi eugenics experiments,...

his dad's foundation might not be getting the "suspicion by association" in its development of Golden Rice.

It takes a long time for people to forget that kind of thing.

[Jose Garcia]

14. Environmental extremists believe that fewer humans is better for the environment

Less food, less people.

[LeftInTX]

15. We have the Sierra Club here. They paired with the GOP to control water rights and divert water to private property.

Environmentalists can often be "one issue" without regard to the big picture.

[Aussie105]

18. People don't realize that

commercially grown cereal crops are the most genetically modified foodstuffs people eat.

Compare wild wheat and wild rice to the current grown commercial crops. Corn, as well.

Adding a gene to rice so it makes Vitamin A is a good idea. Only thickheads would ride it as an anti-GM bandwagon.

Any of these people insulin dependent diabetics? Don't tell them their insulin comes from genetically modified bacteria!

Seriously, some people!