Noted pharmacologist, Forbes blogger and North Carolina Museum of Natural History science communications director David Kroll has a good post in Forbes about the recent controversy regarding “Golden Rice”, a strain of rice genetically engineered to produce beta-carotene, the precursor of vitamin A. This kind of rice might be invaluable in regions with endemic vitamin A deficiency (which causes serious ailments like blindness).
Now I don’t want to take either a strongly pro-GMO or anti-GMO stance here, although I definitely deplore the vandalism of Golden Rice fields described in the article that David links to. As a scientist however I am generally inclined to side with GMOs; to an organic chemist like me, modified sequences of DNA – while not without potential to cause harm – seem much more benign when ingested than decidedly nasty things like dioxins, pyrene and botulism toxin.
Read the full, original story here: “Ok, so you hate GMO’s because they are untested. What about feelbetteramine from the health store?”
Additional resources:
- “GMO labeling proponents now fighting their own labeling legislation on supplements,” Genetic Literacy Project
- “Is It Time For Scientist Activism Against GMO Fear-Mongering?” Forbes
- “From Lynas to Pollan, Agreement that Golden Rice Trials Should Proceed,” New York Times
