Ankit Aga’s opinions about golden rice are problematic (“Golden rice isn’t ready yet”, Aug.5). ‘Golden Rice 2’ (GR2) is now the preferred variety as it contains 20 times more beta-carotene than ‘Golden Rice 1’. There are multiple strains of GR2 even though it was developed by 2005. Mr. Aga’s assertion that there is essentially no opposition to GR research whatsoever seems to contradict reports of vandazlism against golden rice field trials in the Philippines, as highlighted on the International Rice Research Institute’s blog site. This factor has contributed to the delay. The Chinese study cited by the writer, although of a small sample size and retracted because of ethical reasons, nevertheless demonstrated that bioavailability of beta-carotene from golden rice is good in children, and is quite safe. His claim that poor people, particularly in India, won’t be able to avail of enough fats in their diet to absorb beta-carotene in GR is a red herring. Most poor people in India are able to afford cooking oil, which is the primary source of dietary fat. Better designed studies to further test golden rice do need to be conducted, but continued opposition to genetically modified organisms, abetted by organisations that are driven by misplaced ideology, has made it difficult to do so.
S. Dutt,Kolkata
