Dec 3, 2010

Glossary

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Golden Rice

Rice enriched with beta-carotene (provitamin A) to alleviate vitamin A deficiency

“Golden Rice” derives its name from the yellowish colour of its kernels, which comes from the beta-carotene (provitamin A) stored in them. To achieve production of beta-carotene in rice kernels, genetic engineering was used to introduce inter alia a gene from maize. This new rice is expected to help alleviate vitamin A deficiency in developing countries where many of the poor rely on rice as the mainstay of their diet. Vitamin A deficiency can lead to blindness and increase the susceptibility to infectious diseases that often are deadly. Studies have shown that the human body is efficient in converting the beta-carotene in Golden Rice into vitamin A and the newest lines of Golden Rice contain sufficient amounts of beta-carotene to prevent vitamin A deficiency.

Golden Rice was developed by research teams under Ingo Potrykus (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) and Peter Beyer (University of Freiburg, Germany). Moreover, the project was supported by companies that provided patented technologies and proprietary materials free of charge. Therefore, Golden Rice can be distributed royalty-free to smallholders who also can save the seed.

Currently, work on Golden Rice is coordinated and continued at the International Rice Research Institute. The first approval is expected for 2012 or 2013 in the Philippines. Other target countries are Bangladesh, India and Indonesia. At the moment, Golden Rice is being bred into local varieties that are popular in those countries.