Golden Rice project brief 

Revised  February 2012 (306 Kb)

Photos

More Golden Rice photos on Flickr

• Why is Golden Rice needed in the Philippines since vitamin A deficiency is already decreasing?
• Why focus on rice to address vitamin A deficiency?
• How much Golden Rice would you need to eat to prevent vitamin A deficiency?
• Why is Golden Rice needed if there are other ways to address vitamin A deficiency?
• Why do we need Golden Rice that is genetically modified? Couldn't we use traditional breeding methods instead?

Availability 

• When will Golden Rice be available to farmers and consumers?
• Will Golden Rice be more expensive than regular rice?
• Will people eat Golden Rice? What does it taste like?
• Why has it taken this long to develop Golden Rice?
• In which countries will Golden Rice be available?

Safety

• Why are human nutrition studies on Golden Rice necessary? What have they shown?
• What impact will Golden Rice have on biodiversity in the places where it is grown? Will it endanger wild rice varieites?
• What food safety assessments have been done for Golden Rice?
• Is Golden Rice safe?
• Why are field tests necessary?
• Can you overdose on vitamin A from eating a lot of Golden Rice?
• Does Golden Rice contain daffodil genes?

The Golden Rice Project / Others

• What impact will Golden Rice have on organic agriculture?
• What is the status of the Golden Rice project in the Philippines and Bangladesh?
• Are private companies involved in the Golden Rice project? 
   

Resources

Here are links to key research studies and other resources on Golden Rice:

• Tang, G., Y. Hu, S. Yin, Y. Wang, G. Dallal, M. Grusak, and R. Russell. 2012. Beta carotene in Golden Rice is as good as beta carotene in oil at providing vitamin A to children. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 96(3)658–664.
• Black RE et al. 2008. Maternal and child undernutrition: global and regional exposures and health consequences. The Lancet 371(9608):253.
• Paine JA et al. 2005. Improving the nutritional value of Golden Rice through increased pro-vitamin A content. Nature Biotechnology 23:482–487.
• Tang G, Qin J, Dolnikowski GG, Russel RM, Grusak MA. 2009. Golden Rice is an effective source of vitamin A. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 89:1776–83.
• West KP, Klemm RDW, Sommer A. 2010. Vitamin A saves lives, sound policy, sound science [Commentary]. World Nutrition 1(5):211-229.
• Whitcher JP, Srinivasan M, Upadhyay MP. 2001. Corneal blindness: a global perspective. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 79(3):217.
• World Health Organization Global Database on Vitamin A Deficiency. 2009. Global prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in populations at risk, 1995–2005. Geneva: WHO.
• Xudong Y et al. 2000. Engineering the provitamin A (ß-carotene) biosynthetic pathway into (carotenoid-free) rice endosperm. Science 287(5451):303–305.
• Barry G. 2011. Golden Rice - fighting vitamin A deficiency in the Philippines and Bangladesh. Powerpoint presentation presented during the seminar Leveraging Agriculture to Improve Human Nutrition: Prospects for Golden Rice organized by the International Food Policy Research Institute held on 14 April 2011. Washington, DC. [Watch video on www.youtube.com]

Links

Golden Rice information from others:
 

• Philippine Rice Research Institute
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Golden Rice Humanitarian Board
• Helen Keller International

Related IRRI links 

• High nutrient rice
• Genetically modified (GM) rice research at IRRI