 Hello, my name is Gerard Barry, and I work here at the International Rice Research Institute in Las Baños in the Philippines, and I lead the work here at Erie on a product called Golden Rice. Golden Rice, as you see some varieties here of the product in front of you, is a rice that now produces beta-carotene, the compound we associate with orange color, hence the grains of rice inside now instead of being white, and now a beautiful yellow orange color because of this beta-carotene. Vitamin deficiency is a huge problem around the world. Unfortunately, it's a problem associated with poor diets, and this is not poor diets out of choice. We're talking about situations where people do not have the access to a diverse diet. They cannot afford to buy more nutrition fruits and vegetables and meats, or they're not available at the right time of the year. So the problem is that we end up with many, many millions of people who suffer from vitamin A deficiency because of deficiencies in their diet. The lack of vitamin A in the diet results in tissue damage, which first shows up as blindness. However, those other tissues are also destroyed. It affects the immune system. So unfortunately, it also leads to increased susceptibility to diseases and to death. We now know that one cup of golden rice in the daily diet could provide about 50% of the vitamin A needs of rice consumers. Helen Keller International is one of the most famous and most reputable health and nutrition NGOs in the world. We are incredibly excited that they've joined us in this project. What Helen Keller International will do is that they will take golden rice after it's been approved by the regulatory bodies in the countries and will conduct the research to determine that if a consumer eats golden rice as part of their regular diet, does it change their likelihood of becoming vitamin A deficient or actually does it change, does it improve vitamin A status for someone who already is vitamin A deficient? Golden rice has been an exciting idea and research project for many of us. This product now has the potential to reduce the suffering of women and children and save lives.