BIOCASSAVA PLUS RECEIVES REGULATORY APPROVAL IN 2017 -BrosTV
2Cassava is a root vegetable, high in carbohydrates, that forms a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for over half a billion people. It is among the most drought-tolerant crops, able to grow on marginal soils.
However, this vegetable has a number of downsides. With toxins including cyanide, improper preparation can lead to acute intoxication and goiters, or even ataxia and paralysis. It is also a poor source of protein and may cause protein-energy malnutrition, unless consumed as part of a more balanced and varied diet. Two diseases – Cassava Mosaic Disease (affecting the edible leaves) and Brown Streak Disease (which rots and kills the roots) – have caused devastating famines in the past. The latter is especially troublesome in coastal East Africa and around the eastern lakes, where it is the single biggest threat to food security. In addition, cassava has a poor shelf life of only two to three days.
In 2003, Bill Gates announced the "Grand Challenges in Global Health", a $200m effort to address healthcare and extreme poverty in the developing world. The following year, his charity – the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – selected BioCassava Plus, a biotechnology project to improve cassava. With genetic engineering and a range of crop breeding techniques, it would be possible to enrich the protein content, reduce the vegetable's toxicity, fortify it with vitamins A and E, iron and zinc, make it resistant to viruses and extend its shelf life ten-fold.
After more than a decade of research and development, the project would obtain regulatory approval in 2017,* radically improving the health of many millions of people. Although generating controversy, genetic engineering remains a safe and effective method in food, with no cases of illness from over a trillion meals served.*