Miracle Rice
Rice is staple food in Asia. In the 1950s, Asia faced foodshortage and an impending famine. If you have relatives that livedin Asia during the ’50s and ’60s, they may tell you that due to therice shortage, many starved and those who were lucky had tosupplement their diet with other crops, such as barley.
In 1962, an organization focused on research and developmentof rice called International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)developed a high-yielding variety of rice by crossing the two typesof rice from Indonesia and China. The result was ground breaking.The new variety called IR8 (India Rice 8) increased its yield asmuch as 10 times the traditional variety of rice.
By the early 1970s, many rice farmers in India, thePhilippines, and Vietnam switched to cultivating IR8 rice, makingthese countries into major rice exporters, preventing a mass faminein Asia, and saving millions of lives.
1. Is the IR8 rice variety considered a genetically modifiedorganism (GMO)? Why or Why not? Support your answer with research.
2. Although IR8 was widely cultivated in Asia in the ’70s, itis no longer produced in the 21st century. Identify one problemsassociated with mass cultivation of IR8 and explain itsenvironmental impact.
3. Is it possible to consume non-GMO wheat, corn, canola, soy,sugar, or papaya in Canada? Choose one of the listed food items anddiscuss the impact of biotechnological research on its currentavailability in our country.
each question has to do with the miricle rice topic. this isall the information i was given. Some of the question requiresresearch. please type answer do not take picture of answer.
