Iran is in the bad books of the internationa.community for allegedly sponsoring terrorism. U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, testifying in a Congressional hearing a couple of weeks ago, branded the country the central banker of terrorism.
President George Bush, in his State of the
Union address in 2002, said Iran along with North Korea and Iraq constituted an Axis of Evil countries that are chief sponsors of global terrorism.
With all bad things that Iran is associated with, many people, including myself, tend to wonder if there's anything good that ca.come out of this oil-rich Muslim country. Certainly, there is!
When lampooning Iran, Western powers always remind the world that they harbor no ill-feelings against the Iranian people, but the Mullahs and Ayatollahs calling the shots in Tehran. I totally agree.
It's a fact that an ordinary Iranian is a.committed as an American, British, French, Japanese, German, Kenyan or Chinese citizen to foster co-operation in all spheres of life including science and technology.
Perhaps, nothing illustrates this better than reports that Iranian scientists have succeeded in proving that consumption of genetically modified (GM) rice will incur no health and environmental risks.
These findings corroborate earlier reports by scientists in Western countries, who have already found GM rice fit for human consumption.
The fact that Iranian scientists can find a point of convergence regarding GM rice a Western innovation shows that in science, hitherto political adversaries can easily overcome their differences. Additionally, the findings show the folly of politicizing science. Science is public goods that must be mutually shared irrespective of one's creed, color or nationality.
The fact that Iranian scientists are able to endorse an innovation with Western roots sends a stark message to anti-biotech activists. Anti-biotech activists must anchor their arguments on verifiable scientific facts. Their words and actions must be driven by th.common good, and th.common good here is to feed the world.
GM rice, as Iranian scientists have already confirmed, is safe for human consumption and poses no danger to the environment.
The GM rice holds great future for developing countries. In March 2005, scientists, under the aegis of the Golden Rice Humanitarian Board, announced that they had developed genetically modified 'golden rice' with the ability to reduce childhood blindness linked to Vitamin A.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), people who live in the developing world are five to ten times more likely to go blind than people who live in highly industrialized countries.
The introduction of GM rice in countries in the developing world, therefore, would be a great boost to the fight against childhood blindness.
James uses hi.communication expertise to create awareness about GM food. To read more about him, go to
gmoafrica.org
