Archive for May, 2008

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Super-Rice

May 19, 2008

Rice as global food.

It is a fact that there is an ongoing World Food Crisis and it seems that there is no easy way to fix this problem. Good news though, a team of researchers are putting a Genomics project to hasten the modern rice genetics. On a simpler note, it is a search for strains of rice that have traits like higher yields, desease resistance and a wider range of nutrients. The project advocates the pursuit of Super Hybrids. Rice is the main staple food for more than half the world’s population. The world’s population has increased precipitously and its an underlying fact that rice production can hardly keep up. This project if not antagonized by inevitable constraints could definitely make a difference in the long run. But what about the rest of us who are in great doubt, are we willing to embrace this change if time and technology permit it. Some of us if not most of us still prefer to eat food with insect bites than those without blemishes. The biggest question is can it really help end the world hunger or is it just a commercial move to make someone famous and opulent within the realm of technology and poverty. Is this purely just scientific manipulation or are they really eager to end this problem.