A blocked GMO rice could have saved 100,000 children. The same tech makes pineapples pink.

abio.substack.com · 890 words · saved by 3 readers

A rice that could prevent childhood blindness and death has been ready for two decades. It still isn't growing anywhere. The same technology is safely used in the U.S. on luxury pineapples.

Every year, vitamin A deficiency blinds 250,000 to 500,000 children. Half of them die within a year of losing their sight. One third of children worldwide are deficient, roughly half of children in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia1. Deficiency weakens the immune system, so children are more likely to die from common infections like diarrhea or measles. Rich countries solved this kind of problem by adding nutrients to staple foods. The United States adds iodine to most salt, and folic acid to flour to prevent birth defects. Rice is a critical staple among the world’s poor, so…

A blocked GMO rice could have saved 100,000 children. The same tech makes pineapples pink.

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