 Washington,
DC
May 19, 2009
Source:
The Council for
Biotechnology Information
by special CBI guest blogger,
Dr. Nina Fedoroff (photo) - Science and Technology Adviser to
the Secretary of State and to the Administrator of the US Agency
for International Development
Over the past year, the world has
experienced a succession of shocks: a global food crisis,
spiraling energy costs, accelerating climate change and most
recently, a financial meltdown. But even as each crisis sweeps
the previous one out of awareness, it is important to recognize
that the food crisis is neither sudden nor quickly fixed. It has
developed gradually as a result of relentless increases in
demand in the context of a finite natural resource base and
decreasing global investment in agricultural research and
development. At the present rate of growth in population and
affluence, we will need to double the food supply by
mid-century. Yet the amount of land farmed hasn't changed
appreciably in more than half century, nor is it likely to
change substantially over the next half century. And climate
change is expected to decrease yields, even on today's most
productive farm land. Where will the food come from?
Contemporary genetic modification of crop plants is embedded in
a history of plant domestication that transformed plants
profoundly from their wild origins. No crop better illustrates
both the genetic plasticity of plants and the inventiveness of
humans better than the maize (corn) plant. Thousands of years
before science formally entered agriculture in the late 18th
century, early peoples had transformed the hard-seeded teosinte
rachis into the soft-kernelled early maize ear through the
accumulation of a handful of genetic changes that completely
altered the architecture of the plant.
Scientific advances in the understanding of plants' chemical
requirements throughout the 19th century culminated in the
invention of the Haber-Bosch process for synthesis of fertilizer
from atmospheric nitrogen in the early 20th century, removing a
major limitation on the productivity of agriculture. The
rediscovery of Mendel's genetic experiments in the early 20th
century led serendipitously to the development of today's highly
productive maize hybrids, one of humanity's handful of major
cereal grains. The identification of mutant dwarf varieties of
wheat and rice that are highly responsive to fertilization
belied renewed Malthusian predictions at mid-20th century,
giving rise to the Green Revolution.
The late 20th century witnessed a second genetic revolution with
the invention of recombinant DNA technology, the explosion of
genome sequencing, and the development of techniques for the
introduction of individual genes into microorganisms, plants,
and animals. Today, it is possible to modify organisms,
including crop plants, in extremely precise ways, adding just
one or a few genes at a time. Curiously, these latest genetic
modifications, much less profound than those that gave us our
crops to begin with, have come to be viewed as unprecedented and
possibly even dangerous by a largely urban public unfamiliar
with farms and farming, plants and plant breeding.
While contemporary genetic modification (only this kind is
called GM) was readily accepted both in medicine and in the food
and beverage industry, GM crop plants have remained
controversial for more than 25 years. Nonetheless, despite the
controversies, several important crop plants modified to resist
insects and tolerate herbicides have steadily gained acceptance
throughout the world. Today, genetically modified cotton, corn,
soybeans and canola are grown in 25 countries by more than 13
million farmers, 90% of whom are resource-poor farmers with
small holdings. To date, there is no evidence of adverse
effects on either human or animal health, while substantial
environmental benefits have been realized, including decreased
use of pesticides and increased adoption of no-till farming.
Although some countries remain adamantly opposed to the use of
contemporary genetic modification, there is increasing awareness
that these are important tools in the success of global efforts
to lift the last billion out of hunger and poverty through
agricultural intensification and decreased crop loss.
Moreover, molecular modification will be an indispensable tool
in the adaptation of crop plants to changing climatic conditions.
Let's get on with it!
The Council for
Biotechnology Information communicates science-based
information about the benefits and safety of agricultural
biotechnology and its contributions to sustainable development.
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