Genetically modified rice in China benefits farmers' health, study finds ( udy showed that the farmers applied the...)

Genetically modified rice in China benefits farmers' health, study finds

udy showed that the farmers applied the same types of pesticides, regardless of what type of rice they were growing. However, the farmers growing the genetically modified rice strains applied pesticides less than once per season, while farmers growing conventional rice varieties applied pesticides 3.7 times per season.

Measured on a per hectare (2.471 acres) basis, the quantity and cost of pesticides applied to the conventional rice was 8 to 10 times as high as that applied to the insect-resistant genetically modified rice.

In short, use of the genetically modified rice enabled the farmers to reduce pesticide use by 15 pounds per acre, an 80-percent reduction when compared with pesticide use by farmers using conventional rice varieties.

Rice yields

The survey data also showed that there was a difference in yields between the genetically modified and non-genetically modified rice varieties. Yields of the genetically modified Xianyou 63 variety were 9 percent higher than those of conventional rice varieties. Yields of the genetically modified Youming 86 were not significantly different from those of conventional varieties, however researchers note that there were relatively few observations of this variety because it was grown in only one village by comparatively few farm households.

Pesticide related illnesses

Because there is a high incidence of pesticide-related illness in households of developing countries, including China, the researchers were interested in tracking the health effects of insect-resistant genetically modified rice. They asked farm family members if they experienced any headaches, nausea, skin irritation, digestive discomfort or other health problems during or after spraying pesticides on their farms. If so, the researchers asked them if they had visited a doctor, gone home to recover or taken other actions to deal with the symptoms. If they had, it was recorded as a case of pesticide-induced illness.
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Source:Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

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( udy showed that the farmers applied the...)Genetically modified rice in China benefits farmers' health, study finds