information IRRI has presented to FDA, we have no further questions concerning human or animal food derived from GR2E rice at this time." This marks the fourth national health organisation to approve the use of golden rice in 2018, joining Australia, Canada and New Zealand who issued their assessments earlier in the year. In December 2021, an opinion piece in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America called on regulators to "allow Golden Rice to save lives", which the authors say has been delayed due to "fear and false accusations", leading to estimated 266'000 lives lost per year due to vitamin A deficiency. Protests On August 8, 2013, an experimental plot of Golden Rice being developed by IRRI and DA-PhilRice in Camarines Sur province of the Philippines was uprooted by protesters. British author Mark Lynas reported in Slate that the vandalism was carried out by a group of activists led by Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) (unofficial translation: Farmers' Movement of the Philippines). Distribution A recommendation was made that golden rice be distributed free to subsistence farmers. Free licenses for developing countries were granted quickly due to the positive publicity that golden rice received, particularly in Time magazine in July 2000. Monsanto Company was one of the companies to grant free licences for related patents owned by the company. The cutoff between humanitarian and commercial use was set at US$10,000. Therefore, as long as a farmer or subsequent user of golden rice genetics would not make more than $10,000 per year, no royalties would need to be paid. In addition, farmers would be permitted to keep and replant seed. See also References External links The Philippines Rice Research Institute – Golden Rice Questions and Answers Genetically modified organisms in agriculture Rice varieties pt:Arroz#Arroz dourado