99 for 8 ounces compared to traditional margarine, which sells for $.75 for 8 ounces. It can lower cholesterol by 10% if used as directed but adds 240 calories to the diet. .
There is a slight problem with the Vitamin-A rice however. It is being used in Third World countries as a type of remedy for Vitamin-A Deficiency (VAD). But, an adult would need to eat 9 kilograms of rice a day to get the required intake of Vitamin-A. You cannot cure VAD just by eating rice, and the amount of Vitamin-A it contains is minimal. Vitamin-A rice does not have much of purpose, as does most genetically engineered food.
Though not as important as creating healthier food, tastier foods are also being created. On May 18, 1994, the Flavr Savr tomato became the first biogenetically engineered food to be evaluated and approved by the FDA. Traditional tomatoes must be picked when green to maintain their firmness during transportation and the later sprayed with ethylene, a natural ripening agent. But Flavr Savr tomatoes were created to have firmer skin, allowing them to ripen on the vine longer thus producing a better tasting tomato. But in 1997 the tomato was pulled from the market because Calgene, the creators of the Flavr Savr could no longer afford transportation methods of the tomatoes. .
Along with healthier and tastier foods, faster growing foods are also being produced. Fish are being genetically engineered to grow eight times faster than normal rate. A/F Protein, a Massachusetts based company that owns fish hatcheries is getting ready for large-scale production of fast growing trout and Atlantic salmon. So far, genetic keys to rapid growth have been found for 11 species of commercially used fish, including shrimp. Scientists are hoping that the fish will be able to live in colder water, as well as fight off diseases better than natural fish, but so far they have only made developments in the growth rate.
