British scientists have developed a new strain of Golden Rice which produces up to 23 times as much beta-carotene (compared to the first variety, announced in 2000), according to an article published in this week's Nature Biotechnology*.

Rice is one of the staple foods of the world's poorest countries, especially in Asia, and up to 500,000 children become blind every year because they lack Vitamin A. At least one-half of these children die within one year. Moreover, children who are Vitamin A deficient (VAD) suffer from compromised immune systems. Golden Rice is one potential way to complement traditional interventions: Beta-carotene is converted by the human body into Vitamin A. The new strain of rice offers even greater potential to alleviate VAD.

However, the rice has not yet been grown in field trials (whether in Asia or elsewhere) - despite being made available for free to the Humanitarian Rice Board by its developers (Syngenta).

Some environmental activists who are ideologically opposed to biotechnology have made the perfect the enemy of the good - saying that even the new strain of Golden Rice "only addresses a very small part of a very big problem".

Yet never have its developers claimed that this technology would solve the entire problem. Such criticisms reveal the true stripes of campaigners; let us hope that they will not be heeded by governments in poor countries.

* Paine et al. (2005) Nature Biotechnology - Improving the nutritional value of Golden Rice (PDF link - for subscribers only)

A 2004 speech by Ingo Potrykus elaborates on these issues.