OIf we want to understand where the rejection of new methods of genetic engineering comes from, we have to look far back. Germany, Austria and France in particular have always had a shared relationship with genetic engineering methods. Littered with prejudices and fears nurtured for decades, especially by environmental organizations and elements of the Green Party. To this day, the influence of Greenpeace, among others, has ensured that the so-called golden rice, a variety that was developed in the 1990s and to which provitamin A was added by genetic engineering, is not not cultivated or only in limited quantities. extent.
More recently, Greenpeace intervened in the spring in the Philippines, which decided in 2022 to launch mass production after years of protests from Western environmental organizations and disruption of field trials. According to the specialized magazine “Transgen”, they take advantage of a passage that individuals can also take to court if they see their health threatened. The toll of this blockade is bitter: according to estimates by the World Health Organization, between 250,000 and 500,000 people die each year. Children, especially in Asian countries, are going blind or suffering from severe developmental disabilities and dying due to vitamin A deficiency. At least some of the children can be saved from this fate, so there is hope.
