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Genetically modified rice crucial in drought battle
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by Babel-Fish | July 25, 2009 at 03:48 am
190 views | 14 Recommendations | 5 comments
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MANILA, July 22, 2009 (AFP) - Genetic modification may be the only viable way to produce sufficient quantities of rice in the future as drought, climate change, and dwindling acreage impact yields, experts said in a new report.
Rice is the staple food of around three billion people and the main challenge facing producers is how to raise yields of the water-dependent crop as 70 percent of the world's food-growing areas turn increasingly parched, said the International Rice Research Institute in its latest quarterly magazine.
Biotechnology, the process of modifying the genes of an organism to produce new products, is becoming an increasingly important tool for the Philippines-based institute as it tackles the impact of climate change, IRRI said in its "Rice Today" publication.
Seems genetic modification is thought to be okay here in the Philippines? I must be eating this stuff can't see any side effects other than this third eye, lol
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (5)
at 05:54 on July 25th, 2009
When India in the 1950s and 60s was undergoing starvation due to droughts, an American scientist developed a hardier strain of genetically modified plants, mostly corn, higher yields, less water, less soil required to triple output at harvest time. This staved off starvation for indias population and make India a breadbasket for neighbouring countries. Due to the prosperity India experienced a population explosion, requiring more pesticides and genetically modified food to feed the ever growing masses.
Unfortunately because of the massive population due to prosperity from growing genetically modified crops, cancer and the environmental damage has increased exponentially, Though this invented initially saved millions from starvation, it may now cost million of lives in India, as their health care and increased medical cost of care for cancers and other diseases is woefully inadequate to handle the host of genetic diseases brought on by this miracle of genetically modified crops. Lets hope the Philippines learn from this and control their population explosion, or at least have the medical facilities to handle future generations who may require medical care when cancers start showing up in children.
A double edged sword, live now, their countries environment and future generations die sooner.
at 18:34 on July 25th, 2009
Perhaps the fact I cut down on my rice intake was a good idea, we eat a lot of rice here in the Philippines much is imported from other Asian nations.
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label gmos (not verified)at 06:49 on August 3rd, 2009
The program is called Navdanya and is led by Dr. Vandana Shiva
at 18:35 on July 25th, 2009
yep I agree and Pepsi rots teeth