Case Study: Golden Rice
Question
Citation
GMOs have a bad reputation for making food and farms unnatural. However, when GMOs have the potential to greatly help massive amounts of people, is it acceptable to use?
Vitamin A Deficiency-Related Disorders (VADD)." The Golden Rice Project. The Golden Rice Project, 2015. Web. 22 May 2015.
Paine, J.A. "Golden Rice: What Is It?" Golden Rice. 2001. Web. 22 May 2015.
Tang, G., Y. Wang, and R.M Russell. "Golden Rice." Greenpeace. 2012. Web. 22 May 2015.
Bill, Lilliston. "MIssing The Story On Golden Rice." Instatute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. 6 Sept. 2013. Web. 22 May 2015. .
Solution
- While farmers might oppose the environmental consequences of Golden Rice, a price must be paid for attempt to help vitamin A deficiency
- Golden Rice is still under debate and is not yet released to grow for the general public
By Keeon Jabbour and Hannah Minsky
Alternatives
An obvious solution would be to simply provide more natural products of vitamin A and vitamin A supplements
-while this approach works in urban areas, small countries like Nepal cannot afford such programs
-large countries like India also cannot afford nationwide vitamin programs
-While donors like UNICEF help, their donations are not enough to keep up with the large demand
Non maleficence
Activists
Justice
Scientists
- Golden rice is a genetically modified strain of rice that contains beta-carotene, which is a provider of vitamin A
- Golden rice is produced intednded to make up for the lack of vitamin A in some parts of the world like:
- many parts of Asia, the Philippines, India, and Indonesia
- Activist see it as an humanitarian opportunity to treat the problem of vitamin A deficiency
most do not make more then $10,000 a year
- Activist can also see it as just another GMO, that can harm the biodiversity of natural rice and other crops
- Scientist fear the effect on other crops, particularly on wild type rice
- Some scientist and nutritionist are concerned with the time and money that has been put into golden rice when the same resources could have been used to provide small farms with other vitamin A rich vegetation such as: carrots, dark leafy greens, and cantaloupe
- To most, Golden Rice proves to be beneficial because it helps the epidemic of malnutrition and world hunger
- To some, Golden Rice proves harmful to the environment and ecosystem because it is a GMO
What is golden Rice?
- While Golden Rice is used to help compensate for vitamin A deficiency, it is a product of the controversial topic of GMOs (genetically modified food) and therefore, is still only under experiment
Autonomy
- The individuals that would be affected by Golden Rice would most likely be positive about the new product because a greater amount of vitamin A would decrease blindness, and help the heart and kidneys function properly
- However, some (like the Asian Farmers Alliance) oppose Golden Rice because what biotech companies will do to their farms, and worry about who will have the power in their own country's food industry
Beneficence
- Golden Rice is planned to be used to help address vitamin A deficiency in third world countries
- Today, there are about 250 million young children that are affected by Vitamin A deficiency
- It is most severe in Southeast Asia and Africa