Rockefeller Foundation to Fund Golden Rice’s Regulatory Approval Effort

(October 27, 2008) Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin announced that the Foundation will provide funding to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for shepherding the genetically modified Golden Rice through the national regulatory approval processes in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The announcement, made during the 2008 World Food Prize’s "Borlaug Dialogue" Symposium in Iowa, USA, will help take this variety of biofortified rice one step closer to commercialisation. The Rockefeller Foundation has supported the research, development and testing of Golden Rice from its beginnings in the early 1990s.

In her keynote address, Rodin said, "Golden Rice promises to alleviate the suffering of malnourished children and the debilitating effects of beta-carotene and vitamin A deficiencies – blindness and measles – in particular."

See also on GMO Compass:

• Golden Rice works well

Further information:

• Judith Rodin's Laureate Keynote Address at The World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue