Genetically Engineered Bananas

Genetically Engineered Bananas

Gates Foundation Project
One effort to create genetically engineered bananas is funded by the Gates Foundation and is being led by James L. Dale at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. The goal is to create "transgenic Cavendish bananas expressing either increased pro-vitamin A, vitamin E, or iron" and to introduce them to Uganda, where the average person consumes more than 1 kg of bananas each day.

Funding
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation first funded a project with a grant of $3,946,708 to the Queensland University of Technology in July 2005 "to develop bananas with increased micronutrient content." They followed this up with a grant of $4,489,552, also to the Queensland University of Technology, in August 2009 "to improve the nutritional status in Uganda and surrounding countries through the generation of farmer and consumer acceptable edible bananas with significantly increased fruit levels of pro-vitamin A and iron." The total amount in grants equals $8.4 million.

Collaborators
Collaborators include:
 * ProCell, Inc., Maryland, United States
 * National Agricultural Research Organisation, Uganda
 * Africa Harvest, Nairobi, Kenya
 * Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute, KARI, Kampala, Uganda
 * Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute, MARI, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
 * Beyer's Lab, Freiberg, Germany
 * Sayre's Lab, Ohio State University, Ohio, United States

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Gates Foundation
 * Biotechnology
 * Genetically Modified Organisms
 * Second Green Revolution