Court in Philippines bans cultivation of ‘Golden Rice’ aimed at helping tackle vitamin deficiency

A court in the Philippines has sided with green campaigners and banned a genetically modified rice variety that the government hoped would help fight vitamin A deficiency – the leading cause of childhood blindness in poorer countries.

Three years ago, the rice-dependent nation became the first to approve commercial cultivation of so-called Golden Rice, which unlike conventional rice varieties produces beta-carotene in the grain. The body uses beta-carotene to make vitamin A.

But the government approval was challenged by small-scale farmers and environmentalists, and an appeals court ruled on April 17 to revoke the rice variety’s biosafety permit, meaning it can no longer be cultivated commercially.

The ruling – which was based on a writ of nature, essentially the constitutional right to a healthy environment - could increase resistance to Golden Rice in Bangladesh, where anti-GMO activists are protesting plans by the government to grant approval to the variety's use.

Here's what you need to know:

What is Golden Rice

In a move aimed at fighting child malnutrition, the Philippine Agriculture Ministry approved in 2021 the commercial propagation of the GMO variety and started distributing seeds to farmers in some parts of the Southeast Asian country.

Due to its content of beta-carotene, a yellow-orange plant pigment, Golden Rice can double the vitamin A intake of children in the...

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