Opinion: Allow Golden Rice to save lives

 Felicia Wu et al.; PNAS December 21, 2021 118 (51) e2120901118

Figure: Widespread consumption of the genetically modified rice variety known as Golden Rice offers a potent and cost-effective strategy to combat vitamin A deficiency. Image credit: International Rice Research Institute; photo licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) has killed millions of children in less-developed countries for at least the last three decades—roughly 2 million annually in the early 1990s alone (1⇓⇓–4). Although the number is declining, it was estimated to be 266,200 (4) at the start of the millennium.

The consumption of the genetically modified rice variety known as Golden Rice (GR) offers a potent and cost-effective strategy to combat VAD. But this innovation has been cast aside owing to fear or false accusations, resulting in numerous lives needlessly lost (1⇓–3). With the recent exception of the Philippines, governments have not approved the cultivation of GR (5). We believe it should be broadly approved and given the opportunity to save and improve lives.

See https://www.pnas.org/content/118/51/e2120901118