Researchers Study Genetically Modified Rice for Improved Nutrition
For the past several years, we’ve all heard of and read about the work that scientists and researchers have done to genetically modify rice. However, there haven’t been many studies that show the benefits of this modified rice. That’s why I was very interested in reading about a recent study by researchers that tested if genetically engineered rice that has been modified to boost its mineral and vitamin content can actually improve the health of the people who eat them (Iron Biofortified Rice Studies shows Improved Nutrition, CheckBiotech, 11/30/05).
According to news reports, researchers at Cornell University have conducted the first study that demonstrates that conventional plant breeding can affect human nutritional status. In a nine-month, double-blind study, researchers monitored the diets of 192 religious sisters in ten convents in the Philippines who ate biofortified rice, developed by the International Rice Research Institute, found that the iron status of the women who ate the genetically modified, iron-rich rice was 20 percent higher than in women who ate traditional rice.
“Although this sounds like a modest increase, it means that instead of 50 percent of women getting adequate iron, 71 percent of the women who consumed the biofortified rice, while eating a traditional Philippine diet, met the estimated average requirement for iron,” said Professor Jere D. Haas, the Nancy Schlegel Meinig Professor of Maternal and Child Nutrition at Cornell University and the lead author of the study, published in the December 2005 issue of the Journal of Nutrition.
Professor Haas said that the greatest improvements in iron status were in non-anemic women who had the lowest body iron reserves at the beginning of the study and in women who consumed the most rice and, therefore, the most iron from rice.
“The beauty of these findings is that using rice that is bred to be higher in iron has great potential as a sustainable approach to reducing the micronutrient deficiency problems so common in developing countries,” explained Professor Haas.
Current methods to improve iron in diets in developing countries, such as providing dietary supplements and fortifying the food supply, have limitations, according to Professor Haas, or are not sustainable in countries where resources are scarce.
“This study shows that developing new varieties of staple foods, such as rice, maize, wheat, beans, and cassava, by selectively breeding to enhance nutritional qualities nutritional qualities has merit for reducing micronutrient deficiencies in the developing world,” according to Professor Haas.
Now that researchers know that the biofortified rice can actually improve the nutritional status of people who eat it under controlled experimental conditions, Professor Haas said that follow-up studies will not only seek to confirm these findings but also will look at how well the rice is accepted by the general population.
The potential benefits of genetically modified rice have been well documented. We’ve all heard about the development of golden rice to help the millions of children who suffer from Vitamin A deficiency around the world and I’ve even seen similar projects being developed by scientists and researchers at the university I work at. This study by Cornell University researchers proves that genetically modified foods can improve nutrition and health of the individuals who eat them. Studies and tests on other genetically modified products need to be conducted, but the Cornell study is a great step toward the acceptance of such foods by individuals around the world.
