The Golden Rice Methods and Methodology - Essay Example

The Golden Rice Methods and Methodology Table of Contents Abstract 1. Introduction 2. The Golden Rice Methods and Methodology 3. The 2nd generation of Golden Rice 4. Conclusion References Appendices Abstract The increase of human needs for food worldwide – under the influence of the continuous increase of global population - has led researchers worldwide to search for methods that will help towards the increase of food stocks in countries internationally. In the same context, research is made on the potential change of the genes of vegetables and cereals in order to face severe problems of health that cannot be otherwise controlled. Current paper focuses on the examination of genetically modified rice known as ‘Golden Rice’, which has been considered to help towards the prevention of blindness – through the Vitamin A included. The reasons for the creation of the specific type of rice are explored; also the methodology employed by researchers working on this project will be presented. It is proved that despite its prospects, ‘Golden Rice’ has not managed to meet the expectations of its creators; in fact, the benefits of ‘Golden Rice’ were not actually the ones promised by the researchers who developed it. The above fact leads to the assumption that the development of the specific product was not carefully planned; in this way, its appearance in the market was not finally justified – despite the approval and the support of the international community, for instance, the European Commission. 1. Introduction Golden Rice was developed in Europe – under the pressure for improving genes in rice in order to respond to the health needs of people in developing countries – where rice is the food most consumed. In any case, Golden Rice is a genetically modified food; more accurately, Golden Rice is ‘a genetically engineered strain of rice’ (BioEthics Project Education, 2010); it was presented to the public for first time in 2000; since then, the researchers have tried to further develop Golden Rice but it seems that this target is far from being achieved; in fact, through the years, it was proved that Golden Rice could not guarantee the benefits of health that its creators claimed. The pitfalls reported – in regard to the benefits of Golden Rice – have led to the development of a new strain – referring to the 2nd generation of Golden Rice known also as Golden Rice 2 (BioEthics Project Education, 2010). Golden Rice has been created mainly in order to help controlling the deficiency in Vitamin A which has been found to be related with severe health problems of million of people worldwide – leading even to death when the level of deficiency of Vitamin A is high; in accordance with a series of data published by BioEthics Education Project, the number of children who suffer from deficiency in Vitamin A reach the 100-140 million; one of the most common results of deficiency in Vitamin A is the blindness – up to 500,000 children lost their sight every year because they suffer from deficiency in Vitamin A (BioEthics Education Project). Organizations like the GreenPeace stated their opposition to the specific food (product) noting that its potential benefits have not been proved. In a relevant report it is noted that ‘the initial reports did not fully, nor accurately, describe the type of pro-vitamin A present in Golden Rice’ (GreenPeace, 2005); in other words, researchers that developed the Golden Rice did not manage to clearly describe all its ingredients; they also avoided to publish the results of the tests – through which the promoted benefits of the Golden Rice was based. On the other hand, the effects of its main ingredient – Vitamin A – were ignored; even if the needs of humans for Vitamin A are important, the amounts of this Vitamin that are required for the average human can be retrieved through his diet - in accordance with a European Commission’s report (2010). Moreover, the potential absorption of high levels of Vitamin A could lead to opposite results – lead to severe health problems. It is made clear that the development of Golden Rice cannot be justified; alternative methods for supporting people in order to face specific health problems could be identified and suggested. The lack of necessary justification in the specific project is revealed by the fact that Golden Rice has been mainly promoted across Europe and India; in other words, emphasis is given to specific geographic regions probably because it was from the authorities and researchers of those regions that the Project Rice project was supported. 2. The Golden Rice Methods and Methodology The production of Golden Rice is part of the genetic engineering, the scientific sector that focuses on the isolation, modification and development of genes; these processes are developed transgenic technology. Golden Rice has been produced using the above technology. The methodology of the production of Golden Rice could be therefore described as follows: at a first level, ‘the gene of interest is isolated from the tens of thousands of other genes in the genome of a gene-donor species’ (ActionBioScience Organization, 2010); then the above gene is ‘altered so it can function effectively in a host organism’ (ActionBioScience Organization, 2010); the final phase of the specific process includes the following activity: the gene that has been isolated and altered is combined with other genes and all of them are inserted in an organism – also known as a transgenic organism (ActionBioScience Organization, 2010). Golden Rice in its initial form was developed in 1999; certain details have been published in regard to the process followed for its creation; in this context, the creation of Golden Rice can be described as follows: ‘daffodil and bacterial genes coding for an enzyme involved in the synthesis of beta-carotene (a precursor of Vitamin A) were inserted into the rice genome’ (BioEthics Education Project, 2010). The process regarding the creation of Golden Rice may be differentiated – in case of different priorities; this fact is analyzed in a relevant report published by the European Commission (2010); in accordance with the above report the creation of the Golden Rice may be developed through the following phases/ steps: a) genes that are necessary in building the beta – carotene enzymes are isolated, b) the genes are transformed – being ready for the creation of beta carotene – referring to the beta carotene synthesis pathway c) transformed rice plants are analyzed – at this phase the quality of the plants is examined; its future performance is also evaluated – as possible (European Commission, 2010) The Golden Rice Organization (2010) provides a simpler explanation on the methodology of creation of Golden Rice; ‘rice plants synthesise β-carotene in vegetative tissues but not in the grain’ (Golden Rice Organization, 2010); in this context, Golden Rice can be produced by simply adding two genes: ‘phytoene synthase (psy) and phytoene desaturase (crt I)’ (Golden Rice Organization, 2010). The above process is analytically presented in the Graph 1 – Appendix section. In regard to the above, the above issues emerge: a) are the criteria used for chosen the genes that will be inserted into a transgenic organism standardized? In other words, the ruled used for the choice of genes that will altered and inserted in transgenic organisms – food, clothing and so on – are always the same or they are likely to be differentiated in accordance with the sector in which the processing of genes refers? b) How the creation of the Golden Rice strain is controlled and supervised in the context of the international community? No reference is made to a specific organization or Commission/ Board having the specific responsibility – referring to the reports published by international organizations, c) the regulatory framework referring to the specific activity is quite weak; in fact, no specific legal text has been developed in regard to the various phases of Golden Rice creation; nor its entrance in the market is not effectively monitored; d) an additional problem would be the following one: even if the rules of genetic engineering on which the creation of Golden Rice is based are clear still there would be always the chance of alteration/ modification of these rules – again such initiatives are not prohibited or controlled by appropriate legislative texts, e) Golden Rice has been introduced in order to support health of people worldwide – in the context described above; however, in case that this target is not achieved which would be the consequences for the creators of Golden Rice? If problems of health were caused by the specific product who would be responsible to compensate the consumers that suffered the relevant damage? 3. The 2nd generation of Golden Rice As noted above, Golden Rice 2 has been created in order to cover the weaknesses/ failure of Golden Rice 1; one of the key differences between the two strains is the fact that Golden Rice includes about ’23 times more beta-carotene’ (BioEthics Education Project, 2010). Golden Rice 2 has been considered as valuable in order to identify the potential production of beta-carotene through the specific plants – i.e. for estimating the productivity of these plants in beta-carotene; the specific Vitamin is important for human health; however, its potential correlation with rice would be reviewed; at this point, the following issue needs to be highlighted: the level of beta-carotene included in Golden Rice 2 has not been sufficiently tested; additional tests should be developed aiming to ensure that Golden Rice 2 can offer the benefits that its creators claim; its effects on human health should be also reviewed – making sure that no adverse effects can result because of the consumption of Golden Rise 2 – if such case exists. The various effects of Golden Rise 2 are analyzed in a report published by the European Molecular Biology Organization (2009); in the relevant report it is noted that Golden Rise 2 – as all the other genetically modified crops – have significant economic effects on the countries in which this strain is used; in fact, it is noted that through these crops poverty is reduced – the revenues for local farmers that use this strain can be high. However, the health effects of Golden Rice 2 should not be ignored; in the research developed in the context of the above report it was proved that Golden Rice could help towards the limitation of diseases caused because of Vitamin A deficiency up to 50% (European Molecular Biology Organization). 4. Conclusion Golden Rice was created in order to help towards the limitation of Vitamin A deficiency – at least, this was the initial target, a target that continues to exist until today; the examination of the figures referring to Vitamin A deficiency worldwide – as these figures are presented in the introductory section – has led to the following assumption: Golden Rice failed to meet its targets and remained just a promise (Foundation for Biotechnology Awareness Education, 2010); Despite the creation of Golden Rice 2, the level of performance of Golden Rice strains remains low. Moreover, it should be noted that Golden Rice – in its initial and its latest form – is not the only source of Vitamin A and beta carotene; for this reason, in case that the relevant schemes (genetically modified crops) are proved problematic, then it will be quite possible that alternative initiatives are developed (Lorch, 2001). The failure of Golden Rice to achieve the targets set by its creators is highlighted in a study published by the Institute of Science and Society (2010); in the above study, Golden Rice is characterized as ‘a useless application’ (Institute of Science and Society, 2010); similar assumptions are included in the report published by the Third World Network (2005). It is made clear that Golden Rice does not particularly support human health. On the other hand, because all people around the world have the right to have equal access to scientific advancements (Article 27, Universal Declaration of Human Rights) the consumption of Golden Rice could not be prohibited; rather, specific rules should be developed in regard to its consumption – these rules should be clear to all people that are interested in buying the firm’s products. Under the above terms, the development of a personal view on the issue under discussion would be necessary: EU has financially supported Golden Rice Project; it is therefore a scheme related with the European Union even if independent rules are also developed in regard to certain schemes. From the issues and the events analyzed above, it is made clear that the creation of Golden Rice cannot be characterized as justified; rather, it has been related with the local needs and culture; farmers and poor in developing countries – where such crops are developed are likely to be financially supported for their initiatives; moreover, the research institutions involved in the process – referring to the EU and India, two areas that have been involved in the research limitations, in regard to the funding of the relevant projects. The efficiency of golden rice should be examined and evaluated using specific criteria: a) the necessity of the specific corps within a particular period of time, b) genetically modified strains need to be checked before their disposal in the market, c) the performance of the Golden Rice crops in regard to the production of beta-carotene would be also reviewed. Additional tests should be developed for checking the effects of Golden Rice on human health. Up today, Golden Rice remains an alternatively food for those who suffer from Vitamin A deficiency; Golden Rice 2 was introduced in order to decrease the time required for the development of the crops. In the long term, the usefulness of the Golden Rice strain could be limited but still no standard rules exist in regard to the provision or the management of such failures. References ActionBioScience Organization (2010) Ethical Issues in Genetic Engineering and Transgenics, [Web], available at http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/glenn.html BioEthics Education Project (2010) Genetically Modified Crops, [Web] available at http://www.beep.ac.uk/content/409.0.html European Commission, Agriculture (2010) New rice strikes gold [Web], available at http://ec.europa.eu/research/agriculture/projects_showcase04_en.htm European Molecular Biology Organization (2009) Economic consequences of Golden Rice and other genetically modified crops, [Web], available at http://www.embo.org/policy-and-society/science-society/conferences/2009/programme/economic-consequences-of-golden-rice.html Foundation for Biotechnology Awareness and Education (FBAE) (2010) Tough Lessons from Golden Rice, [Web] available at http://fbae.org/2009/FBAE/website/news_tough-lessons-from-golden-rice.html Lorch, A. (2001) Golden Rice - Is this the way to solve malnutrition? [Web] available at http://www.ifrik.org/golden-rice-way-solve-malnutrition Golden Rice Organization (2010) The science behind Golden Rice, [Web], available at http://goldenrice.org/Content2-How/how1_sci.html GreenPeace (2005) Golden Rice: All glitter, no gold, [Web], available at http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/failures-of-golden-rice/ Institute of Science in Society (2010) The 'Golden Rice' - An Exercise in How Not to Do Science, [Web], available at http://www.i-sis.org.uk/rice.php New Scientist (2005) New 'golden rice' carries far more vitamin, [Web], available at http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7196--new-golden-rice-carries-far-more-vitamin.html The Golden Rice Project (2010) Golden Rice is part of the solution, [Web], available at http://www.goldenrice.org/ Third World Network (2010) Re: golden rice: all that glitters is not gold, [Web] available at http://www.twnside.org.sg/title2/service179.htm Appendices Figure 1- Creation of Golden Rice – procedure (Source: Golden Rice Organization, available at http://goldenrice.org/Content2-How/how1_sci.html) Read More