Background[edit]
Scientists are genetically modifying rice for several purposes including making rice resistant to herbicides, diseases, and pests, increasing nutritional value, eliminating rice allergies, producing human blood protein, increasing yield; improving tolerance to drought and salinity; and enhancing nitrogen use efficiency.
In 2000, the first two GM rice varieties both with herbicide-resistance, called LLRice60 and LLRice62, were approved in the United States. Later, these and other types of herbicide-resistant GM rice were approved in Canada, Australia, Mexico, and Colombia. However, none of these approvals resulted in commercialization.[3] Reuters reported in 2009 that China had granted biosafety approval to GM rice with pest resistance,[4] but it hasn't been commercialized either. As of December 2012 GM rice had not yet become widely available for production or consumption.[5] A 2013 article calculated that the annual global value of future developments of genetically engineered rice to be US$64 billion. They argued that since rice is a staple crop for a large number of very poor people in the world, this has enormous potential for alleviating hunger, malnutrition and poverty.[6]
Examples[edit]
In order to produce "Roundup Ready rice",[7] Monsanto allowed research into it for one year (2000–2001) but has not developed a variety for market.[8] Bayer’s line of herbicide resistant rice is known as LibertyLink.[9] LibertyLink rice is a transgenic variety of rice resistant to glufosinate (the active chemical in Liberty herbicide).[7] Bayer crop sciences is currently attempting to get their latest variety (LL62) approved for use in the EU. The strain has already been approved for use in the U.S. but is not in large-scale use. A variety of rice known as Clearfield rice has been bred by selection from variations created in environments known to cause accelerated rates of mutations.[10] This variety is selected for resistance to imidazolinone herbicides and since these are bred by traditional breeding techniques are not considered as genetically modified.[10] Clearfield is cross bred with higher yielding varieties to produce an overall hardier plant.[10]