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"Super Bananas" May Save Millions of Lives In Africa

Posted by samzenpus on from the a-banana-a-day dept.

schwit1 (797399) writes "A super-enriched genetically engineered banana will soon go through its first human trial, which will test its effect on vitamin A levels, Australian researchers said Monday. The project plans to have the special banana varieties — enriched with alpha and beta carotene which the body converts to vitamin A — growing in Uganda by 2020. The bananas are now being sent to the United States, and it is expected that the six-week trial measuring how well they lift vitamin A levels in humans will begin soon."

1 of 396 comments (clear)

  1. Re:And hippies will protest it by AnOnyxMouseCoward · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Ahem. Have you been to McDonald's and then tried to compare the cheapest offerings at McD's with fruits and vegetables, calories/$-wise?

    So I've been shopping at Wal-mart for a bit. Tomatoes run you 0.99-1.49/lb. Cucumbers are roughly a buck. Gala apples, 1.49/lb. Do you know how many apples is a pound of apples? About 2.5 of the "normal" sized gala. Let's say 3. Do you know how many calories is 3 apples? About 300.

    How long does it take to make beans and rice? What's the cost of electricity/gas? And salt? I don't know, I'm asking. I think it's negligible, but not everyone thinks so.

    I have a McD right next to the Walmart. Do you know how much is a McChicken? $1. A McDouble? $1. How many calories is in a McDouble? 390. 360 in a McChicken. For 66% of the price of my 3 apples, I can have a higher calorie intake, at a taste that's _made_ to cater to human taste buds. I also do not need to cook anything, or spend any time on thinking about my food. It's delivered warm into my hands. For a dollar. It's far cheaper and easier eating at McDonald's, if all I care about is having a full stomach. It's not healthy, but then again being healthy probably comes second to not feeling hungry, if we're talking about the poorest segment of the population. And that, that's the problem. It's healthier eating from raw vegetables and other ingredients, but it's not cheaper and not simpler, so it's hard to incentivize a poor, uneducated population to do so.