Food Watch Report “Golden lies”- Golden Rice will not improve micronutrients in diet

The Food Watch report highlights incomplete or not available  data  related to bioavailability, there were no animal feeding trials performed, safety assessment is incomplete; there are no data on stability of the carotinoids during storage conditions; there are almost no data published related to possible formation of undesired contents of the plant; spread of the genetic material to other plants is most probable. [1]

Alternatives to Golden Rice to reduce vitamin A insufficiency
In past ten years efficient strategies were initiated to reduce vitamin A deficiency in developing countries. These programs are low-priced and can be run targeted where needed. Golden rice is by no way without alternatives, says  Food Watch report.

Food Watch asks for a new discussion related to Golden Rice. The two digits grants of the field project  may give better results if used for alternative actions, says the report. Download Report

The Golden Rice story [2]
Golden rice is a variety of  rice produced through genetic engineering to biosynthesize beta-carotene, a precursor of pro-vitamin A in the edible parts of rice, the endosperm.

Milling of rice removes the oil-rich aleurone layer of rice grains to avoid  rancidity during storage.  Essential nutrients, such as provitamin A are lost during this procedure leading to vitamin A deficiency,  in at least 26 countries are the  Recombinant DNA technology was used to improve its nutritional value in this respect.

Ingo Potrykus of Switzerland and Peter Beyer of Germany developed the Golden Rice between 1992 and 2000, the year of their first publication. Both scientists signed a deal with AstraZeneca, which, together with Monsanto, agreed to develop the rice for "humanitarian" purposes.
In 2005 Golden Rice 2 was presented. It produces up to 23 times more beta-carotene than the original variety of golden rice, introducing a maize psy in combination with the Erwinia uredovora carotene desaturase (crtI) used to generate the original Golden Rice. [3]

Genetic engineering of Golden Rice [4]
Two beta-carotene biosynthesis genes were used to build  Golden Rice:  psy (phytoene synthase) from daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) and crtl from the soil bacterium Erwinia uredovora
The psy and crt1 genes were fixed to an endosperm-specific promoter, so they are only expressed in the endosperm. The exogenous lyc gene generates geranylgeranyl diphosphate. The bacterial crt1 gene catalyses multiple steps in the synthesis of carotenoids with lycopene which is finally transformed in beta-carotene giving the endosperm a yellow colour.

Anti-GMO activists [5]
Vandana Shiva, an Indian anti-GMO activist says that the causes of nutrients deficiencies are  poverty and loss of biodiversity in food crops. GM crops will aggravated the situation  by obscuring the larger issue of a lack of broad availability of diverse and nutritionally adequate sources of food. 
According to Dr Shiva  to meet the full needs of 750 micrograms of vitamin A from rice, an adult would have to consume 2 kg 272g of rice per day. This implies that one family member would consume the entire family ration of 10 kg. from the PDS in 4 days to meet vitamin A needs through "Golden rice".

Varied diet containing foods rich in beta carotene such as sweet potato, leafy green vegetables and fruit may provide children with sufficient vitamin A, says Friends of the Earth. A statement of UN FAO, signed by 18 African countries, is quoted saying ”we think it will destroy the diversity, the local knowledge and the sustainable agricultural systems that our farmers have developed for millennia, and that it will thus undermine our capacity to feed ourselves.”  [6]

The best way to eliminate vitamin A deficiency and malnutrition is to use existing diversified food crops at farms and in garden. Promoting Golden Rice diverts of a  these efforts, and the introduction of golden rice will further compromise them. Golden rice is merely a marketing event.[7]

[1] Mit Gentechnik gegen Hunger und Armut? Food Watch 18 Jan 2012
http://www.foodwatch.de/kampagnen__themen/gentechnik/golden_rice/index_ger.html

[2] Golden rice. Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice

[3] Ye X, Al-Babili S, Klöti A, Zhang J, Lucca P, Beyer P, Potrykus I. Engineering the provitamin A (beta-carotene) biosynthetic pathway into (carotenoid-free) rice endosperm. Science. 2000 Jan 14;287(5451):303-5
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10634784

[4] Paine JA, Shipton CA, Chaggar S, Howells RM, Kennedy MJ, Vernon G, Wright SY, Hinchliffe E, Adams JL, Silverstone AL, Drake R: Improving the nutritional value of Golden Rice through increased pro-vitamin A content. Nat Biotechnol. 2005 Apr;23(4):482-7.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15793573

[5] The “Golden Rice” Hoax. When Public Relations replace Science. By Dr. Vandana Shiva
http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/GEessays/goldenricehoax.html

[6] The Tarnished Record of Golden Rice. Friends of the Earth.
http://www.foei.org/en/resources/link/gmo/28.html

[7] Grains of delusion: Golden rice seen from the ground: Biothai (Thailand), CEDAC (Cambodia), DRCSC (India), GRAIN, MASIPAG (Philippines), PAN-Indonesia and UBINIG (Bangladesh) | 25 February 2001
http://www.grain.org/article/entries/10-grains-of-delusion-golden-rice-seen-from-the-ground