by Dan Charles

Order rice in a restaurant， and the server may ask if you want white or brown. Heres another choice which could become available to people in some parts of the world： yellow rice. Its promoters call it golden rice， and its been genetically modified to contain beta carotene. Thats the source of vitamin A. Millions of people in Asia and Africa dont get enough vitamin A， so this rice tests a controversial idea that genetically engineered crops can improve the lives of the poor.

Theres a raging， global debate over genetically modified crops， and golden rice is now caught up in it. But the story of this rice starts long before that debate ever got going. It started with a conversation in 1984.

Gary Toenniessen was in charge of the 2）Rockefeller Foundations biotech program at the time. There were no genetically engineered crops yet. Scientists were just figuring out how to find genes and move them around. But the Rockefeller Foundation thought maybe these techniques could be used to give farmers in poor countries a bigger harvest.

It set up a meeting at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines to talk about it. But a lot of people at this meeting were skeptical. They came to a breeder named Peter Jennings， a kind of legendary figure in these circles.

Toenniessen： And he said yellow 3）endosperm.

Jennings explained that yellow signals the presence of beta-carotene， the source of vitamin A. There are yellow kinds of corn or 4）sorghum， and hed been looking for varieties of rice with naturally yellow grain， too， because regular white rice does not provide this vital nutrient， and its a big problem.

Toenniessen： When children are weaned， theyre often weaned on a rice 5）gruel. And if they dont have any betacarotene or vitamin A during that period， they can be harmed for the rest of their lives.

So the Rockefeller Foundation started a program trying to create， with biotechnology， what Jennings could not find in nature. A global network of scientists at nonprofit research institutes started working on the problem. The first real breakthrough came in 1999. Scientists inserted two genes into rice that switched on production of beta-carotene. A few years later， other researchers created an even better version.

A single bowl of this new golden rice can supply 60 percent of a childs daily requirement of vitamin A.

Toenniessen： Its a great product. And its beautiful. It looks just like 6）saffron rice.

Others， though， do not find it beautiful at all. Consider what happened just a few months ago. Some U.S.-funded researchers published the results of a nutritional study showing that peoples bodies easily absorb the beta-carotene in golden rice. Theyd carried out that study among children in China. The result seemed like great news. But the environmental group Greenpeace immediately called it a scandal.

The Chinese government reacted quickly. It punished three Chinese coauthors of the study， removing them from their jobs. Chinese officials say the researchers didnt get all the approvals they needed. Also， the researchers only told the children and their parents that this was a special kind of rice high in beta-carotene， not that it was genetically modified.

This is where golden rice gets caught up in the bigger argument over genetically engineered crops—specifically， the argument over who benefits from them. Neth Dano， who works in the Philippines for the 7）ETC Group， an advocate on behalf of small farmers， says the main purpose of genetically modifying crops has been profit， not helping people. Neth Dano： A handful of corporations in developed countries have reaped billions of profits from selling genetically modified seeds and their 8）proprietary 9）herbicides.

So this is the real significance of golden rice， she says. It gives biotech companies a chance to say，“See？ Biotechnology is good for the poor.”

Golden rice is not all public relations， Dano says. It is supposed to help people， but she doesnt think it will be a very good way to help them. She thinks it will be more expensive and less effective than traditional nutrition programs. Its mainly going to help the image of biotechnology， she says.

This mixture of motives—technology promotion and 10）humanitarianism—also shows up in the biography of the man whos now leading the golden rice effort.

Gerard Barry spent more than 20 years in St. Louis working for 11）Monsanto， the company that pioneered genetically engineered crops. Ten years ago， Barry left the corporate world and moved to the nonprofit International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. His job is now to shepherd it down the 12）home stretch to the finish line. Part of the job is oldfashioned plant breeding， transferring the beta-carotene genes into rice varieties that farmers like to grow.

But before farmers can get their hands on golden rice， government 13）regulators in each country need to agree that its safe. Barrys network of researchers will apply for approval in the Philippines later this year. After that， theyll do the same in 14）Bangladesh. Barry： And our job is to make sure the people who need it more have access to it and understand the value， and ask for it， ultimately.

It will be the final test of that 30-year-old brainstorm， the idea that genetically altered rice really could be a cheap， self-multiplying source of a vital nutrient.

在餐館里點(diǎn)米飯，服務(wù)員或許會(huì)問(wèn)你是要白米還是糙米。而在世界上一些地方，人們可能又多一個(gè)選擇——黃米。其倡導(dǎo)者稱之為“黃金大米”，這種米經(jīng)過(guò)基因改造，含有β-胡蘿卜素，也就是維生素A的來(lái)源。在亞洲和非洲，數(shù)以百萬(wàn)計(jì)的人維生素A攝取不足，因此這種大米是對(duì)以下?tīng)?zhēng)議性話題的一次檢驗(yàn)：轉(zhuǎn)基因農(nóng)作物可以改善窮人的生活。

對(duì)于轉(zhuǎn)基因作物，全球一直存在著激烈的爭(zhēng)論。如今黃金大米也卷入其中。但黃金大米的故事起源卻遠(yuǎn)早于這場(chǎng)爭(zhēng)論興起之時(shí)。這個(gè)故事始于1984年的一次對(duì)話。

加里·托尼森當(dāng)時(shí)是洛克斐勒基金會(huì)生物科技項(xiàng)目的負(fù)責(zé)人。那時(shí)轉(zhuǎn)基因作物還沒(méi)有出現(xiàn)?？茖W(xué)家們才剛剛找出方法，辨別基因并且對(duì)其進(jìn)行轉(zhuǎn)移。但洛克斐勒基金會(huì)認(rèn)為或許這些技術(shù)可以用來(lái)為貧困國(guó)家的農(nóng)民帶來(lái)高產(chǎn)。

洛克斐勒基金會(huì)在位于菲律賓的國(guó)際大米研究所組織了一場(chǎng)會(huì)議來(lái)討論這個(gè)議題。但大多數(shù)與會(huì)者都持懷疑態(tài)度。他們向一名叫彼得·詹寧斯的育種專家尋求意見(jiàn)，此人是相關(guān)技術(shù)領(lǐng)域的一個(gè)傳奇人物。

托尼森：他提到黃色胚乳。

詹寧斯解釋說(shuō)，黃色意味著β-胡蘿卜素的存在，它是維生素A的來(lái)源?，F(xiàn)時(shí)有黃色品種的玉米或者高粱，他一直在尋找一種自然攜帶黃色谷穗的米類品種，因?yàn)橐话愕陌酌撞⒉惶峁┻@種重要的營(yíng)養(yǎng)成分，這是個(gè)大問(wèn)題。

托尼森：當(dāng)嬰幼兒斷奶后，他們通常會(huì)被喂食米粥。如果這個(gè)時(shí)期他們沒(méi)有攝取β-胡蘿卜素或者維生素A，這可能會(huì)對(duì)他們?nèi)蘸蟮某砷L(zhǎng)造成損害。

于是，洛克斐勒基金會(huì)展開(kāi)了一個(gè)項(xiàng)目，嘗試用生物科技創(chuàng)造出詹寧斯在自然界中無(wú)法找到的大米。全球非盈利研究機(jī)構(gòu)的科學(xué)家們開(kāi)始致力于研究這個(gè)課題。第一個(gè)真正的突破出現(xiàn)在1999年。那時(shí)，科學(xué)家們將兩個(gè)基因植入大米當(dāng)中，促成β-胡蘿卜素的產(chǎn)生。幾年后，其他研究人員創(chuàng)造出了一個(gè)更好的版本。

一碗這種新型的黃金大米就能提供一個(gè)兒童日常所需維生素A的60%。

托尼森：這是一種了不起的產(chǎn)品。很美，看上去就像是金黃色的稻米。

然而其他人卻一點(diǎn)兒也不這么認(rèn)為?；叵胍幌聨讉€(gè)月前發(fā)生的事吧。當(dāng)時(shí)一些獲美國(guó)資助的研究人員公布了一項(xiàng)營(yíng)養(yǎng)研究的結(jié)果，其顯示人體能從黃金大米中輕易地吸收β-胡蘿卜素。他們將這項(xiàng)研究放在中國(guó)兒童身上進(jìn)行。這個(gè)研究結(jié)果看起來(lái)是件大新聞。但環(huán)保組織“綠色和平”立刻稱之為丑聞。

中國(guó)政府也迅速作出反應(yīng)。三位參與撰寫(xiě)該研究報(bào)告的科學(xué)家受到懲處，被辭退。中國(guó)官員表示，這些研究人員并沒(méi)有獲得所需的所有相關(guān)批準(zhǔn)。不光如此，他們只是告知這些兒童及其家長(zhǎng)，這是一種富含β-胡蘿卜素的特種大米，但并沒(méi)有說(shuō)明是經(jīng)過(guò)基因改造。

這就是黃金大米牽涉到這場(chǎng)更大的針對(duì)轉(zhuǎn)基因作物的論戰(zhàn)當(dāng)中的原因——特別是，這場(chǎng)論戰(zhàn)的焦點(diǎn)是誰(shuí)

從中得益。內(nèi)斯·達(dá)諾是菲律賓ETC小組（一個(gè)代表小農(nóng)戶的組織）的一名工作人員，她認(rèn)為轉(zhuǎn)基因作物的主要目的是盈利，而非幫助他人。

內(nèi)斯·達(dá)諾：不少發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家的企業(yè)已經(jīng)從售賣轉(zhuǎn)基因種子和其專屬的除草劑中獲得了幾十億的利潤(rùn)。

所以這就是黃金大米的真正意義所在，她說(shuō)道。它給了生物科技公司一個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)這么說(shuō)：“看到了吧？生物科技對(duì)窮人是有利的?！?/p>

黃金大米的問(wèn)題并非全在于公關(guān)形象上，達(dá)諾說(shuō)。它的本意應(yīng)該是助人，但她認(rèn)為其并非是一種助人的絕佳方式。她認(rèn)為黃金大米比起傳統(tǒng)的營(yíng)養(yǎng)計(jì)劃花費(fèi)會(huì)更昂貴，更低效。她認(rèn)為，黃金大米主要是用來(lái)提升生物科技的形象而已。

將技術(shù)促進(jìn)和人性關(guān)懷這兩種動(dòng)機(jī)結(jié)合起來(lái)，也被寫(xiě)進(jìn)了杰勒德·巴里的傳記之中。他現(xiàn)在是推動(dòng)黃金大米的領(lǐng)軍人物。

杰勒德·巴里在圣路易斯的孟山都公司工作了二十多年。該公司是轉(zhuǎn)基因作物的先驅(qū)。十年前，巴里離開(kāi)私人機(jī)構(gòu)，轉(zhuǎn)投菲律賓的非盈利機(jī)構(gòu)——國(guó)際大米研究所。他如今的工作是保駕護(hù)航，將黃金大米引入最后的沖刺階段。他工作的其中一部分是傳統(tǒng)的植物培育，將β-胡蘿卜素基因轉(zhuǎn)移到農(nóng)民樂(lè)于種植的稻米品種當(dāng)中。

但在農(nóng)民可以拿到這些黃金大米之前，各國(guó)的政府管理機(jī)構(gòu)需要認(rèn)同其安全性。巴里的研究人員會(huì)在今年晚些時(shí)候向菲律賓提交批準(zhǔn)申請(qǐng)。之后，他們會(huì)在孟加拉提交同樣的申請(qǐng)。巴里：我們的工作是確保那些更有需要的人能夠獲得黃金大米，并且明白其價(jià)值，最終主動(dòng)索取。

這將是這場(chǎng)歷時(shí)三十年的頭腦風(fēng)暴的最后試驗(yàn)。其理念是，轉(zhuǎn)基因大米確實(shí)會(huì)是某些重要營(yíng)養(yǎng)成分的一種廉價(jià)而可持續(xù)的來(lái)源。