An estimated one million people—mostly children—die annually from vitamin-A deficiency: Golden rice could reverse that

See ‘Golden Rice’ Review: Against the Grain by Hugo Restall. He is a former editor of The Wall Street Journal Asia’s editorial page. Excerpts:

"Every year an estimated one million people, mostly children, die, and another half a million more lose their eyesight, from vitamin-A deficiency. Golden rice—with its yellow grains rich in beta carotene, which the human body turns into vitamin A—could virtually eliminate this problem in countries where rice is the staple food."

"Defenders of golden rice, meanwhile, hold environmentalists responsible for impeding the project. In 2013, for instance, vandals in the Philippines destroyed a site where an important test crop was ready to be harvested. Given the number of lives at stake, some have accused the activists of mass murder and sought to bring them to trial for crimes against humanity."

Other genetically modified crops, including those developed by companies with deep pockets, have taken a similarly long and expensive path to the dining table. And green activists didn’t slow down golden rice by much, at least not directly. The real villain, according to Mr. Regis, is the overly restrictive regulation of all genetically modified organisms world-wide, which delayed the progress of golden rice by more than 10 years.

Most countries’ treatment of genetically modified organisms is based on the “precautionary principle,” which requires that all hypothetical risks be addressed before development can proceed. The level of risk and the potential benefits are not weighed in the decision. Such an approach would stymie innovation in any field, but its effect on the breeding of new organisms is particularly harmful.

The insertion of individual, well-understood genes into an existing crop is safer than traditional methods of genetic manipulation such as cross-breeding. The definition of what constitutes genetic modification, moreover, is arbitrary and many of the restrictions imposed on it are perverse. Take, for instance, the Rio Red grapefruit, which, as Mr. Regis tells us, is “a genetically modified mutant fruit plant five times over,” including genetic manipulation via “repeated doses of thermal neutron radiation.” Yet the Rio Red “is nowhere regarded as a GMO, nor is it labeled, regulated, or sold as such.”"

"One of the many rules regulating the development of golden rice stipulated that, once scientists chose a particular prototype to pursue, all previous research materials had to be destroyed “to minimize the risk that seeds of those strains previously experimented with but subsequently rejected for further development work would somehow make their way onto farmlands and contaminate crops.” This forced the team to start from scratch with each new prototype. The pursuit of a single prototype at a time, instead of several simultaneously, was itself also driven by regulatory restrictions."

"in 2001, after Greenpeace International’s genetic-engineering campaign coordinator, Benedikt Haerlin, admitted that golden rice “posed a moral dilemma” for his organization given the claims that the grain could save lives, he quickly recanted and closed ranks against the project. This is ironic considering that the environment also benefits from genetically modified crops, which can reduce the area of land under cultivation as well as the use of fertilizer and pesticide."

"“there have been no major or minor GMO disasters, mini-catastrophes, or indeed any documented instances of human health being compromised by the consumption of genetically modified foods.” The precision of inserting individual genes means the risk of allergic reactions or other harm is significantly reduced compared to traditional techniques."