What is the goal now for Golden rice?
Well, first of all, you need to recognize that the first product was really just a proof of concept, and Professor Potrykus and Peter Beyer have continued their research in order to produce a product that really can be distributed to farmers. So what they’ve tried to do is remove some of the materials that were introduced along with these genes for research purposes, for example, an antibiotic resistance gene existed in the original material. They’ve now eliminated that. Also, the newest version of golden rice has only two genes added to it. It still functions. It still produces beta-carotene. So, from a research standpoint they are producing a better product. In the Philippines and in a couple of other Asian countries, they are field-testing the materials that are being produced in Switzerland. What kind of testing is being done in local countries? In the Philippines and in India there are collaborating scientists who are now, first of all, field testing these materials, making sure t
