enriched bananas – GMO SAFETY

News / Scientific debate

Enriched Banana Project

Editorial Posted On June 7, 2016

The third world countries have been facing a high rate of deaths that could have been prevented by adding the common vitamin supplements into the diets of those individuals who are in need. However, this is a huge undertaking that requires a lot of funding and donations. It simply cannot be done right now at the scale that is required in order to save lives. However, there are a couple of alternatives for battling this issue and they include genetically modified foods. In this case, that would be bananas.
Bananas are already hailed as one of the healthiest foods on the planet. They are rich in carbohydrates and therefore, they are a great source of energy. Besides that, bananas contain a number of vitamins and minerals such as potassium, vitamin B6 and manganese. All of these are simply essential when it comes to having a healthy metabolism and a strong body. But what if we could improve the levels of the nutrients in bananas and create the ultimate superfood? Well, with the technology we have today, we actually can.
Vitamin A deficiency is a serious problem in undeveloped countries and a group of researchers who were inspired by golden rice that is still feeding millions of people worldwide, providing them with plenty of energy and nutrients, decided to take a closer look at the ways they could genetically modify bananas. They were successful and managed to add higher levels of vitamin A into a standard banana.
The general plan is to try to cultivate this GMO plant in Uganda and the surrounding countries because the climate there will help the plants grow faster. Plus, this would provide an easier access to genetically modified bananas for everyone in need. The levels of vitamin A in a single banana meet the daily needs and that means you will need to eat just one in order to prevent the vitamin deficiency.
On the other hand, scientists who are working on this project are very aware of the possible backlash this banana might receive from those who are afraid of GMO or oppose modifications. They do point out that this is not a true GMO product – they didn’t introduce any foreign DNA to the banana but simply enriched what was already inside. Sure enough, it was produced in a laboratory, but the structure of the fruit remained the same. The only visible difference is in the color of the banana peel – standard bananas are green or yellow, while enriched bananas are a bit orange.
But just like every genetically modified food, the enriched banana simply have to go through testing and need to get the final approval from the FDA. Since these trials take time, it is unlikely that we will get the answer in the next two years. All in all, the researchers who are a driving force behind this project are hoping that they will be able to start planting these bananas by 2020.
If they deliver just a fraction of the golden rice results, the death rate due to vitamin deficiency will greatly decrease. Golden rice has saved millions of lives all around the globe. Enriched banana is a superb idea that might actually work if they get the green light from the authorities who are governing the food safety, production, and distribution.
Enriched bananas have received plenty of support and public seems to be generally interested in this project. The majority of comments are positive and all we need to do right now is wait and see what FDA has to say. It seems like enriched bananas might be the answer we were looking for to solve this serious problem.

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News

Will Engineering Make Bananas a Super Food?

Editorial Posted On May 6, 2016

Vitamin A is one of the most important nutrients the body requires. While it is easy in developed countries to get enough Vitamin A each day from different sources, in many developing countries like Uganda the toll from Vitamin A deficiency is frighteningly high. As “Genetically Engineered Bananas: Frankenfruit or Life-Saving Miracle?” from Shape magazine states, the numbers equal out to about 2 million deaths each year, and 500,000 cases of irreversible blindness. The article laments the numbers because Vitamin A deficiency is actually easily avoided with a simple supplement each day, but the challenge of developing countries is they cannot manufacture and distribute those supplements to their people. That’s where the idea of the enriched banana comes in.

The goal of the enriched banana project was one much akin to the goal undertaken with golden rice, another staple crop that feeds billions in poorer parts of the world. By increasing the amount of Vitamin A available in bananas, the hope is that the crop can be planted in places like Uganda where it will grow well and thrive, providing an easy means of giving the necessary Vitamin A to the people to protect them from the dangers of Vitamin A deficiency. The article states that only about one banana is needed each day to give that protection, and for billions of people in these areas it can make a life changing impact.

The creators of the enriched banana acknowledge though that while they have beneficial goals, they have a hard fight ahead of them to bring the plan to fruition. People are afraid of genetic modification of food, although the Shape article points out that it would be more correct to label the banana a genetically engineered organism, rather than a gmo. This is because the enriching of the bananas isn’t achieved from inserting a gene into the banana that isn’t naturally there- it’s actually using the existing genetic structure of the banana and just changing how it operates. Some hope the naming difference of geo and gmo might be enough to dodge the controversy that often stalls or outright shuts down the implementation of such foods. The scientists aren’t so sure, and are already prepared for activists to against the video porno gratis, the article points out.

The controversy, while time consuming in developed countries, can pose a bigger danger to people in developed countries. The article reports that golden rice, though also fought against, has managed to save upwards of one million children’s lives per day, and the hope is that the bananas can achieve something similar. Also like the golden rice, the bananas look just a little physically different from regular bananas- whereas regular bananas often look green or yellow on their peels, the enriched bananas have a more orange tinge to their skins.

For now, the enriched banana is set to go through a series of clinical trials so as to see if it meets the rigorous testing standards for toxicity, allergens, side effects, and other categories as set forth by the FDA and other regulatory government bodies. It is hoped that, if the bananas can pass such trials, and if they can survive the scrutiny and protesting that follows the food approval process that they can begin to be distributed around the world by 2020. From there time will tell if the enrichment process of the genetically enriched organism is enough to save the millions in need of Vitamin A each year, or if the project itself wasn’t quite as super as everyone else had believe it was.

Source:
Anderson, C.H. (2016). Genetically Engineered Bananas: Frankenfruit or Life-Saving Miracle? Shape. Retrieved on May 5, 2016 from http://www.shape.com/blogs/fit-foodies/genetically-engineered-bananas-frankenfruit-or-life-saving-miracle

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