Hay fever-fighting rice to be part of Japan's economic stimulus

Japan is set to financially support the development of a genetically modified rice that can alleviate hay fever symptoms when consumed as part of economic stimulus measures being drawn up, government sources said Thursday.

Abenomask 2.0 pork barrel corporate welfare.

Because Abenomask 1.0 was such a stunning success in addressing a health crisis.

Cedars provide a whole mini-economy that will be hard to ever give up. Genetically modified rice, eh? For decades in Japan the idea of consuming GMOs has been treated as anathema.

Better than accelerating the cutting down hundreds of thousands of cedar trees which is the current plan.

GM rice? Something else to avoid.

Big Pharma is not everyone's best friend, but they do some excellent anti-histamine tablets, sprays and eye drops. No need to muck about with Frankenrice.

On my last visit I was told I no longer needed a Yakkan Shoumei (now apparently a Yunyu Kakunin-sho) to bring them into Japan. But double check, as regulations change a lot.

What a great idea (NOT!!)!

Couldn't they come up with anything better?

More wasting time and money!

Someone's getting a nice fat brown envelope in exchange for funneling our tax revenue to this little bit of alchemy.

GM rice? Something else to avoid.

The plan is not to sell it as rice but as a medical intervention against hay fever, it would be terribly easy to avoid it just by not going to a doctor for a prescription for it.

Someone's getting a nice fat brown envelope in exchange for funneling our tax revenue to this little bit of alchemy.

What scientific arguments do you have against the technology? This is not exactly something new for allergies.

Better than accelerating the cutting down hundreds of thousands of cedar trees which is the current plan.

It depends on what they do afterwards. If they'd restore the diverse native forests that were deliberately obliterated for these cedar monoculture plantation eyesores then I am fine with it.

I kind of doubt it will be successful, but I'll keep an open mind and try it when it eventually becomes available. I do applaud them for trying to find solutions to this problem. Hay fever in Japan is actually worse than Covid or the Flu for me. And the duration of it is unbearable. It's hard to be productive or even get anything done in the Spring. Then as soon as it's over, everywhere is a sweat lodge.

More stupid pork barrel politics. I hope they label the new Frankenreis so it can be avoided.

Maybe after about 200 years of experience mucking about with the DNA of ornamental plants I will trust that humanity has what it takes to properly and responsibly experiment with the DNA of our food. Definitely not before will I have such confidence...if ever.

Maybe after about 200 years of experience mucking about with the DNA of ornamental plants I will trust that humanity has what it takes to properly and responsibly experiment with the DNA of our food.

You seem embarrasingly unaware that your ancestors have been 'mucking about' with your food DNA for about 20,000 years, long before they even knew what DNA was.

Did you think that wild Jersey cows roamed the earth at some point?

I get hay fever, it’s horrid.

You seem embarrasingly unaware that your ancestors have been 'mucking about' with your food DNA for about 20,000 years, long before they even knew what DNA was.

OMG. This is about the most "try hard" attempt at deflection ever.

Crossbreeding is a very, Very, VERY from cry from taking the DNA of an unrelated species and splicing it directly into another, such as was used to make glowing monkeys using jellyfish DNA.

Crossbeeding is a limited process of slow experimentation which means it is controllable. I have never heard of crossbreeds invading anything like GMO corn has erased the purity of all other corn varieties in the world in just a couple decades.

Also, you cannot own a crossbreed species via patent. The day is coming when all our food will literally be under the complete corporate control of a few men. You won't even be able to obtain fertile seeds without their consent, so good luck if the system ever collapses. I hope you know what trees contain edible cambium because that is what you will be reduced to.

I don't think it's a matter of what the genetics of rice are...

I've heard that the reason for the increase in cedar trees is that the old telephone poles were made of cedar trees, so they planted a lot of them as backup. I don't know if this is true or not, but cedar trees are easy to grow and were probably planted all over Japan to be used as lumber.

The problem is that cheap wood from overseas has begun to enter Japan. And there is currently no industry that uses cedar wood.

Because no one cuts down cedar trees, the number of hay fever patients is only increasing. And pharmaceutical companies make huge profits from therapeutic drugs. At the expense of the Japanese people.

If you are thinking about countermeasures, cut the cedar!

Think of an industry that uses cedar!

I get hay fever, it’s horrid.

Try putting some turmeric (organic Japanese is good and safe) with fresh ground black pepper on some of your food everyday. This reduces swelling in the sinuses (the pepper is for absorption).

Also have a few capers everyday. This reduces runny nose.

You may also be sure to eat lots of anti-allergens such as peanuts, eggs, ginger and wasabi (which you better get whole wasabi and prepare yourself cause the pastes sold in stores is horseradish not wasabi).

For itchy eyes I can only suggest flushing with saline, which is cheap to buy generic, but its only helpful and no cure at all. Toughing it out will be necessary but, doable when you can breath and sleep at night if your stuffy and runny nose is cured.

So, you may not need the pharaceutical solutions and no one needs the myriad of issues GMO will cause.

potentially serious allergic symptoms

Who said anything about potentially serious allergy symptoms?

There is no need to be so rude and "appeal to authority". I never claimed to be a doctor. Everyone can make their own decisions.

Alternatively visit an actual doctor for medical advice.

How about two? Or is a second opinion also anathema to you?

"itchy eyes" and "stuffy nose" and doesn't recommend to "tough it out".

What do you think hay fever typically is? A death sentence?

Also, if you think doctors never recommend patients tough some things out, all of yours might be quacks and salesmen. Life is not always easy and doctors can't always magically make it so.