Rice Is the Primary Nutrient Source for About One-Third of Humanity-Approximately

question 38

Multiple Choice

Rice is the primary nutrient source for about one-third of humanity-approximately 2 billion people worldwide. One major disease of this crop, called rice blight, is caused by a bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae . This disease causes the rice plant to turn yellow and wilt and can affect up to 50 percent of the crop. Wild forms of rice have a natural resistance to the Xanthomonas bacterium, but these wild forms are not usable as crop plants. Scientists have developed a blight-resistant strain, using genetic engineering. Strains of blight-resistant rice have been grown successfully in several countries. A farmer chooses not to grow the disease-resistant rice, even though all of his neighbors are doing so. Is this the correct choice?

• A) No, at least half of his crop will fail.
• B) Yes, some GMOs may have unknown side effects.
• C) Yes, this is a bioethical choice that must be decided by each individual.
• D) No, science has demonstrated that there are no long-term implications for using GMOs.

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