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Article: "Visionary" carrots take root. (hybrid very high in beta carotene distributed to vitamin-A-poor countries)
- Article from:
- The Saturday Evening Post
- Article date:
- July 1, 1989
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 Saturday Evening Post Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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"Eat your carrots," many a mother has admonished her child. "They're good for your eyes."
Mom was-and is-right. They are. Shortly after the discovery of vitamin A in 1913, scientists determined that carrots were a good source of the vitamin. Later they learned that lack of vitamin A was the major cause of night blindness, damage to eye tissues, blindness, and even death, particularly in children.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 500,000 children around the world become partially or totally blind every year because of vitamin A deficiency. The problem is particularly acute where rice, which contains no vitamin A, is a dietary ...