THE GOLDEN RICE ENIGMA!-WHAT IS THE TRUTH?

Can GM foods solve world hunger? This is a question posed by many people concerned with the possibility of mass starvation in a few years to come because of inadequate food production to feed the ever growing population all over the world. No doubt GM foods have some advantages when it comes to preventing food losses through better strains of plants with built-in pest resistance but whether saving of food through such intervention is adequate to augment the food supply is questionable. In one of the well publicized achievement by the private GM food developers while creating the so called Golden Rice, it is claimed ( or bragged) that mass cultivation of this version of rice would prevent vision loss in poor countries due to inadequate intake of vitamin A in daily diets. Can any one take this claim seriously if the following commentary truly reflects the ground reality vis-a-vis cultivation of Golden Rice?

"For one thing, we've learned that golden rice will not grow in the kinds of soil that it must to be of value to the world's hungry. To grow properly, it requires heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides -- expensive inputs unaffordable to the very people that the variety is supposed to help. And we've also learned that golden rice requires large amounts of water -- water that might not be available in precisely those areas where Vitamin A deficiency is a problem, and where farmers cannot afford costly irrigation projects. And one more thing -- it turns out that golden rice doesn't work, even in theory. Malnourished people are not able to absorb Vitamin A in this form. And even if they could, they'd have to eat an awful lot of the stuff. An 11-year-old boy would have to eat 27 bowls of golden rice a day in order to satisfy his minimum requirement for the vitamin".

Is it not criminal to claim that Golden Rice would solve the wide scale prevalence of blindness due to vitamin deficiency in many developing countries while such assertions fly in the face of truth? The multi billion dollar GM food industry is built on a science that is not sound enough but it has been able to brow beat one country in this Universe, viz the US to permit GM versions of crops and ingredients in processed foods with no mandatory "front of the pack"labeling requirement. In contrast most countries raise very inconvenient questions regarding long term safety of such foods and the environmental impact posed by large scale cultivation of GM crops. World must unite to fight this aggressive trait on the part of "profit at any cost" GM lobby to prevent a catastrophe of Himalayan proportion waiting to happen!

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

THE CUP THAT "CHEERS"-CONCERNS FOR FUTURE

Almost 30% jump in tea prices in the global market is raising alarms regarding the future repercussions, such run away price situation can have on the future of this important beverage crop. Present ruling price of about $ 3.18 per kg of black tea is considered too tempting for many planters to either start new gardens or expand the existing ones with great expectations regarding windfall profits in the coming years. It is true that there is a marginal demand-supply gap to day due to many reasons and expanding the area may not be a wise option to deal with this situation. New gardens are likely to create a surplus once they start producing tea in about three years' time.

"While India has pledged not to expand its tea areas beyond what is required for replanting and rehabilitation, there is concern that producers elsewhere could plant more in an attempt to capitalise on the high prices or protect against future crop failures. The result could be too much tea once new tea bushes reach maturity in three years' time, which might lead to a price crash"

It is to the credit of India that it has pledged not to expand the area, anticipating the undesirable consequences of a production glut that can imperil the economics of tea industry. Consumption of tea is becoming popular because of its refreshing effect on the consumer and the plethora of antioxidants present in them capable of neutralizing oxy-radicals responsible for cellular damage.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com