argylesock says… Here are thoughtful words about malnutrition. My fellow blogger Anastasia Bodnar at Genetic Maize talks a lot of sense here but I’ll clarify some of her remarks about biofortification (the last section in her article). Golden Rice is a genetically modified (GM) crop under development. African Biofortified Sorghum is another GM crop under development. However, Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato and Orange Maize were conventionally bred. That is, they were bred without GM. Other conventionally bred, biofortified crops are Yellow Cassava and Iron Rich Pearl Millet. You can follow my tags for more about each of these – more to come as I learn more.
You will never understand violence or nonviolence until you understand the violence to the spirit that happens from watching your children die of malnutrition.
— a peasant in El Salvador (quote from Witness to War)
The recent destruction of Golden Rice trials in the Philippines has me thinking again about how crop genetics, including biotechnology, can help in reducing malnutrition. Greenpeace and others would have us believe that home gardening and supplements are the solution, but unfortunately it’s just not that simple. On the other side, I’ve seen quite a few short posts dismissing the potential of gardens and supplements but haven’t seen anyone go into the details. Let’s examine them thoroughly.
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It’s a really difficult position to be in an area where the local soil is deficient in essential nutrients. The US Midwest soil is deficient in iodine, and goiter was a big problem in the 19th century. The problem was solved when it was required that table salt be fortified with iodine,
Who do you think is in a difficult position like that now?
Parts of Africa, Uganda being one, has the same situation. I didn’t have any particular region in mind, more just an idea that tired overworked soils around the world, and chemically soaked land in the first world are all producing food with lower nutrient content.