Super-bananas may end up with a lack of vitamin A in underdeveloped countries

Genetically modified foods have their pros and cons, being bad in many regions of the globe. However, sometimes these modified foods can surprise by the positive. An Australian University researchers have developed a genetically modified banana type that can be grown in underdeveloped countries in order to put an end to the lack of vitamin A in these locations.

To this end, researchers enriched normal bananas with alpha and beta carotenes, transforming them into super-bananas able to meet the nutritional needs, especially of children.

Every year, more than 650,000 children die due to lack of vitamin a. However, these genetically modified bananas â€" that are being tested in humans in the United States â€" can help prevent many deaths. The lack of vitamin A is responsible for at least 300,000 children blindness annually, which could be easily avoided. However, food shortages in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are preventing many children receive the nutrients needed for the proper functioning of the organism.

In sight, the new bananas are equal to ordinary, with the exception of banana bark that is orange instead of yellow, referred to Inhabitat. The project developed this genetically modified banana is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and was developed at the Queensland University of technology in Australia.

Currently, the bananas are going through a testing phase of six weeks to determine whether they can be used as a good source of nutrition. If the tests are successful, the new super-banana can begin to be cultivated in developing countries in 2020.

This new food, is right, will continue the controversy of GMOs, which clearly we disapprove of. And the reader, what is your opinion on the subject?

Foto:  Konstantin Zamkov / Creative Commons

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