Golden Rice Distributed to Developing Nations

Golden Rice Distributed to Developing Nations

LONDON--Two biotech companies have reached an agreement with the inventors of a genetically modified type of rice to donate seed to farmers in poor nations. The vitamin A-enriched grain, known as "Golden Rice," has been touted by the Anglo-Swedish firm AstraZeneca as a major contribution to the health of millions in developing countries. The Golden Rice contains three genes rich in beta-carotene and carotenoids, which is said to prevent blindness caused by vitamin deficiencies. One of the rice's two inventors, Ingo Potrykus with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology's Institute for Plant Sciences, said that up to 80 developing nations have been approached across Asia, Africa and Latin America and that all have welcomed the prospect of receiving the seeds.

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