一種新的“黃金大米”將很快在孟加拉國(guó)種植

一種新的“黃金大米”將很快在孟加拉國(guó)種植

Golden rice: It sounds like something far too valuable to eat, or maybe like some mythical food consumed by the gods. But it could soon make its way into the world's food supply by the year 2021, reports Science Magazine.

黃金大米:聽起來(lái)好像是太貴重而不能吃的東西，或者可能是神吃的神秘食物。但據(jù)《科學(xué)》雜志報(bào)道，到2021年，它可能很快就會(huì)進(jìn)入世界糧食供應(yīng)市場(chǎng)。

Grains of golden rice compared to white rice. (Photo: International Rice Research Institute/CC by 2.0)

Golden rice was actually first developed back in the 1990s by German scientists who were looking for inventive ways to reduce rates of vitamin A (beta carotene) deficiency, which continues to be a major nutritional concern throughout the developing world. The beta carotene that this rice is infused with, which comes from the maize genome, is actually what gives it that distinctive golden color. Developing it was filled with noble intent, but as with all genetically modified crops, it also has its fair share of critics.

事實(shí)上，黃金大米最早是在上世紀(jì)90年代由德國(guó)科學(xué)家開發(fā)出來(lái)的，當(dāng)時(shí)他們正在尋找創(chuàng)新的方法來(lái)降低維生素A(-胡蘿卜素)缺乏癥的發(fā)病率，而維生素A缺乏癥在整個(gè)發(fā)展中國(guó)家仍然是一個(gè)主要的營(yíng)養(yǎng)問(wèn)題。這種大米中含有來(lái)自玉米基因組的-胡蘿卜素，正是它賦予了大米獨(dú)特的金色。開發(fā)它充滿了崇高的意圖，但就像所有轉(zhuǎn)基因作物一樣，它也遭到了不少批評(píng)。

Those critics warn that genetic modification is an unnecessary and potentially dangerous way of solving malnutrition around the world. Until now, those voices have prevented golden rice from being cultivated anywhere, but that's about to change. Bangladesh is now poised to become the first country to approve golden rice for planting, which means we could soon see it flooding the market, especially across Asia where rice consumption and vitamin A deficiency are both prolific.

這些批評(píng)人士警告說(shuō)，基因改造是解決全世界營(yíng)養(yǎng)不良問(wèn)題的一種不必要的、有潛在危險(xiǎn)的方法。到目前為止，這些聲音阻止了黃金大米在任何地方的種植，但這種情況即將改變。孟加拉國(guó)現(xiàn)在有望成為第一個(gè)批準(zhǔn)種植黃金大米的國(guó)家，這意味著我們可能很快就會(huì)看到黃金大米充斥市場(chǎng)，尤其是在大米消費(fèi)和維生素A缺乏癥都很嚴(yán)重的亞洲。

"It is really important to say we got this over the line," said Johnathan Napier, a plant biotechnologist at Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, United Kingdom.

英國(guó)哈彭登羅瑟斯特德研究所的植物生物技術(shù)專家喬納森·納皮爾說(shuō):“說(shuō)我們做到了這一點(diǎn)真的很重要。”

While golden rice has already been approved for consumption by regulators in some key markets in the developed world, including within the United States, there haven't been any plans to actually cultivate the crop, which is why you can't find it at the supermarket. Bangladesh might be a better market for growing and distributing the crop, however, because vitamin A deficiency there remains a major concern, where it affects about 21% of children.

盡管包括美國(guó)在內(nèi)的發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家一些主要市場(chǎng)的監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)已經(jīng)批準(zhǔn)了黃金大米的消費(fèi)，但還沒(méi)有任何實(shí)際種植黃金大米的計(jì)劃，這就是為什么你在超市找不到黃金大米的原因。不過(guò)，孟加拉國(guó)可能是種植和分配這種作物的更好市場(chǎng)，因?yàn)樵搰?guó)仍存在維生素a缺乏癥這一主要問(wèn)題，該國(guó)約有21%的兒童受到維生素a缺乏癥的影響。

Despite panic from critics, early testing of golden rice has been promising. For instance, researchers at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) found no new farming challenges with the crop and no significant differences in quality, with the exception that golden rice was more nutritious than traditional varieties. Officials are still running projections about the environmental impacts of this crop, such as its potential to become an invasive weed, but if those results are also encouraging, then golden rice will have received all the approval it needs to move forward with planting.

盡管受到了批評(píng)人士的恐慌，但黃金大米的早期試驗(yàn)還是很有希望的。例如，孟加拉國(guó)水稻研究所(BRRI)的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，除了黃金大米比傳統(tǒng)品種更有營(yíng)養(yǎng)外，這種作物沒(méi)有新的農(nóng)業(yè)挑戰(zhàn)，在質(zhì)量上也沒(méi)有顯著差異。官員們?nèi)栽趯?duì)這種作物的環(huán)境影響進(jìn)行預(yù)測(cè)，比如它有可能成為一種入侵性雜草，但如果這些結(jié)果也令人鼓舞，那么黃金大米將獲得推進(jìn)種植所需的所有批準(zhǔn)。

Whether or not there will be a voracious market for the crop remains to be seen. It will need to gain the public's trust, and it's uncertain whether golden rice will offer a better nutritional bang for the buck compared to other sources of vitamin A, such as other vegetables where it occurs naturally. Still, it's a major step forward for proponents of genetic modification, such as scientists at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is an important part of the funding arm of this movement.

這種作物是否會(huì)有一個(gè)巨大的市場(chǎng)還有待觀察。黃金大米需要獲得公眾的信任，而且目前還不確定黃金大米是否會(huì)比其他來(lái)源的維生素a提供更好的營(yíng)養(yǎng)，比如其他天然來(lái)源的蔬菜。盡管如此，這對(duì)基因改造的支持者來(lái)說(shuō)還是向前邁出了一大步，比如比爾和梅琳達(dá)·蓋茨基金會(huì)的科學(xué)家，該基金會(huì)是這場(chǎng)運(yùn)動(dòng)的一個(gè)重要資助機(jī)構(gòu)。

If golden rice does prove to be successful in Bangladesh, then it could open the flood gates for GM crops worldwide. Additional varieties are already in development, such as varieties better adapted to other seasons or locations.

如果黃金大米在孟加拉國(guó)被證明是成功的，那么它將為全世界的轉(zhuǎn)基因作物打開大門。其他品種已經(jīng)在開發(fā)中，例如更適合其他季節(jié)或地點(diǎn)的品種。

"It would be great to see it approved," said Napier. "It's been a long time coming."

納皮爾說(shuō):“如果能得到批準(zhǔn)，那就太好了。”“這是一個(gè)漫長(zhǎng)的過(guò)程。”