Impacts of Breeding for Iron-Fortified Rice

Rice, Food of the World

• Rice prevents iron absorption as it is a phytate, and phytates chelate iron. Practically, this means that even in a diet rich in other iron, the rice will prevent most of that iron from being used by the body. In developing nations rice is a staple food; in Southeast Asia it is 50 to 90 percent of the daily diet, with people eating over two pounds of rice every day.

Fortified Rice

• For years agencies have been working on adding more iron into parboiled rice, with great improvements seen in the iron levels of those who eat it. However, a low cost natural selection breeding of rice with higher natural iron content is far more practical. Rice bred to contain more iron could be planted, grown, and harvested by local farmers, rather than involving factories in the production of food fortified with the necessary micronutrients. The rice is not just being bred for higher iron, but to contain more beta carotene and other vitamins. Biofortification, as the process is called, would allow the people of developing countries to take a step toward managing their own nutritional needs. Biofortification has been in research since 1995, and the progress made shows that the iron in rice can be increased by as much as 50 percent.

Impact of Biofortification

• Breeding rice that can naturally add iron to diets of women and children in developing countries is a low cost alternative to iron supplements and mechanical fortification. Studies are already showing that feeding biofortified rice is efficacious. A study done in the Philippines over a nine-month period showed significant improvement in the level of iron present in the subjects blood, proving that the body is absorbing the higher levels of iron in the rice.

Impact of Selective Breeding

• Biofortified rice is selectively bred rather than genetically modified through a mechanical intervention. The process takes longer, but results in cheaper seed that will self-replicate once in the farmers hands, allowing them to save seed to plant again the next year. Genetically modified seed or hybrids must be purchased annually, driving the cost of iron-fortified rice up. Selective breeding is accomplished through testing of rice varietals for the highest in iron and other nutrients, and then successively breeding for more iron. The total increased cost of seed may be as little as one cent per person per year.