Golden rice was the same thing, wasn't it?
Designed for third world countries with actual issues of underconsumption of Beta-Carotine, it got regulated away by first world countries who went "ew icky GMO"
this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2024
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To be technical it was first world companies exploiting the uneducated in those 3rd world countries into asking for suppressive regulations, which their lawmakers then abided by.
Look up Greenpeace actions against Golden Rice. It's an example of how misplaced ideology literally kills millions of people.
Oh they have also have made GMO rice with folic acid.
The actual point of the GMO crops is that it's patentable. The local farmers objected because Monsanto, yes, that Monsanto, was going to charge them fucking royalties.
Now, Monsanto did, at one point, offer to let researchers develop GMO crops without paying their fees.
https://www.science.org/content/article/monsanto-waives-fees-golden-rice
And for some of their actual perspectives:
FYI in the U.S. you can get a utility patent on any variety. Its not specific to the GMO. Patents differ from regular PVP (plant variety protection) in that they restrict others using it in breeding efforts.
The major difference is varieties are not patentable in the EU but GMO are.
Of course the varieties were intended for countries that do not enforce U.S. or E.U. intellectual property laws anyways. So it was not possible for Monsanto to collect royalties on golden rice in the target market.
That announcement was them trying to put a positive marketing spin on it. "Oh we won't attempt to seek royalties on a product in countries we can't collect royalties in..."
Also last time i checked, golden rice had lower yields than other varieties so it still needs years of breeding to be competitive. And needless to say, the real solution to these nutrition problems is economic development, which won't happen with propietary crops.
Classic tech bro solutions without understanding the real problem.
Yet, malnutrition is prevalent, particularly among children and women. This is not simply because of the absence of an important nutrient or vitamin. It is caused by the “lack of access to sufficient, nutritious and safe food” due to poverty, and changing food production and consumption patterns (p. 27, UN FAO, 2017).
quoted from the grain.org article you postes.
And still no-one will eat it unless it’s hidden in a burger or fajita.
Does it taste good?
I feel like that is a bit part of the article missing
This is a really big point actually. When I'm growing salad greens, you have to stop giving them nutrients about a week before harvest, so the plant can burn through those saved up nutrients, otherwise it straight up tastes like metal/vitamins.
¯_(ツ)_/¯people say the same thing about growing cannabis but at least with weed it's just bro science and has no scientific evidence.
weed
Devil's lettuce*
If it tastes like lettuce, just throw any combination of oil, salt and bit of sweet and you're good to go
Does any lettuce taste good? It all tastes like wet grass to me. At least spinach has flavor.
Tbh I unironically like most lettuce in the right context
Crunchy freshness
30 x 0 = 0 At least with iceberg lettuce it feels like there's nothing. Got to add arugula and spinach to the salads for benefits.
Was my thought too, but it has a lot of vitamins in tiny amounts that could make the effort worthwhile.