All that glitters is not Golden Rice

AS MARKETING gimmicks go, the name Golden Rice should have been a runaway success. Instead, widespread protests are being staged against the imminent introduction of this genetically modified (GM) rice in Bangladesh as well as in the Philippines, Indonesia and India because it poses risks to consumer health and threatens farmers' rights to their livelihood.

Bangladesh is expected to take a decision by Nov 15 on the public release of the Golden Rice, which claims to be the world's first Vitamin-A enriched rice variety. The Philippines, Indonesia and India have done limited field tests but have not moved ahead yet.

Twenty years after it was created, no country in Asia has authorised the sale of the rice. In August this year, the Stop Golden Rice Network (SGRN, a group of more than 30 organisations in South and South-east Asia) wrote to the Golden Rice Project Leaders in Bangladesh and the Philippines, declaring that they were worried about the impact of the rice be…