Monsanto / TERI Partnership Seeks Development of 'Golden Mustard'

EarthVision Environmental News 12dec00

ST. LOUIS, MO  - With an eye on helping hundreds of thousands of Indian children who suffer from vitamin A deficiencies, Michigan State University (MSU), Monsanto Company and India's not-for-profit Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) are working towards developing a "golden mustard" that will yield cooking oil high in beta-carotene, which our bodies turn into vitamin A. TERI said the enhanced oil will be a big boost to the health status of residents in northern and eastern India, where mustard oil is commonly used for food preparation and cooking. Recent estimates reveal that more than 18 percent of the children in India suffer some level of vitamin A deficiency.

According to the World Health Organization, about 250 million people worldwide suffer from vitamin A deficiency and each year two million children die from it. Health problems associated with vitamin A deficiency include vision impairment, inability to absorb proteins and nutrients, and reduced immune system functions.

Some organizations, such as the Rockefeller Foundation, have said the furor surrounding recent developments in genetic engineering has obscured the possibilities of increasing the nutrient levels of common foods eaten by the world's poor. In addition to augmenting rice or cooking oil with vitamin A, other used might include increasing the iron content of rice. Some two billion people worldwide suffer from anemia, a condition caused by iron deficiency.

"Biotechnology offers tremendous potential to address several of the health and nutritional problems that India faces today. I welcome this partnership that will contribute toward alleviating the deep-seated problem of vitamin A deficiency, especially among women and children. We recognize that multi-party partnership is necessary to take this technology further," Dr. RK Pachauri, Director TERI said.

In addition to technical and financial support from Monsanto, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will also fund the effort through a grant to MSU's Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project. MSU will collaborate with TERI and Monsanto in the adoption and transfer of technology to produce the beta-carotene enhanced oilseed mustard plants.

In March 1999, Monsanto announced it would share at no cost this gene transfer technology, and simultaneously joined into a public and private sector partnership with USAID and the Global Vitamin A Alliance. Monsanto said this current mustard project is part of fulfilling the earlier commitment.