Davis, California
May 27, 2008
Source:
University of California, Davis
Genetic engineering, combined with organic farming, may well be
the best way to resolve the need for increased global food
production, while minimizing environmental impact, suggest
husband-and-wife agricultural experts at the University of
California, Davis.
In their new book, "Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics,
and the Future of Food," Pamela Ronald and Raoul Adamchak assert
that genetically engineered, organically grown crops offer a
one-two punch for boosting food production in an environmentally
conscious way. The husband and wife point out that the process
of genetic engineering can contribute to the development of
improved seeds that organic farmers can use.
By the year 2050, the number of people on Earth is expected to
increase from the current 6.7 billion to 9.2 billion, according
to a 2007 report by the United Nation's Population Division.
"Any effective approach to feeding the world in an ecologically
sustainable manner will require a combination of best practices
and technologies," said Adamchak, an organic farmer and manager
of UC Davis' organic student farm. "Biotechnology offers the
opportunity to find out how plants work at the molecular level.
"While it is important that we carefully evaluate each new
genetically engineered crop on a case-by-case basis to assess
nutritional, ecological or social consequences," he added, "it
is equally important that we not ignore the potential that this
technology offers for reducing fertilizers and pesticides in the
environment."
Adamchak holds a master's degree in international agricultural
development and has farmed organically for 20 years. He
currently directs the Market Garden at the UC Davis Student
Farm.
Ronald, a professor of plant pathology and an expert on rice
genetics, maintains that today's debate about agricultural
biotechnology, or genetic engineering, and organic farming need
not be so polarized.
"Unnecessarily pitting GE and organic farming against each other
only prevents the transformative changes needed on our farms,"
Ronald said. "Without the use of genetically engineered seed,
the impact of ecologically oriented farming practices will
likely remain small.
Despite tremendous growth in the last 15 years, organic farming
is still less than 3 percent of all U.S. agriculture.
"Genetic engineering enables us to introduce critically
important traits into crop plants -- traits such as resistance
to disease and insects or tolerance for environmental stresses
like flood, droughts, cold, heat and salty water and soils," she
said. "It has been very difficult to develop these traits in
crops through conventional breeding."
"Tomorrow's Table" was written for consumers, farmers and
policymakers who want to make food choices and policy that will
support ecologically responsible farming practices. It is also
for consumers who want accurate information about genetically
engineered crops and their potential impacts on human health and
the environment.
The 232-page book, published by Oxford University Press,
chronicles one year in the lives of the Ronald-Adamchak family.
The authors explore the use of GE in agriculture and the
concerns expressed by consumers through dialogue with friends
and family. They discuss the contents of their own largely
organic pantry, what they choose to feed their children, and how
over the last 10 years of their marriage, they have developed a
specific criteria for the use of GE in agriculture. |
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