Genetic Modifications to Tobacco May Result in a Solution to World Hunger

Ten years ago, scientists at the University of Illinois thought of the idea to alleviate world hunger by tinkering with photosynthesis in crops. Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, they have made significant progress. Working with tobacco as the test crop, the scientists were able to increase productivity by 20 percent. This is an incredible number considering other agricultural methods only result in a 1 or 2 percent increase. When plants receive excessive sunlight, they activate a mechanism that sheds the extra energy off as heat. The genes that are introduced are to minimize the amount of time the mechanism takes so that the plants can get back to carbohydrate production more quickly.

The scientists and the foundation have no interest in increasing the productivity of tobacco, but it is a fast and easy plant to genetically alter, making it ideal. The plan is to begin doing the same alterations on food crops. They think that crop yields can be improved by certain genetic changes. The head scientist on the work claims that, if all goes well, productivity increases of 50 percent may eventually be achievable. This would completely change the face of the agricultural world. Global hunger would virtually vanish. If this experiment is a success, genetically modified organisms would undoubtedly be essential, squashing the debate over whether or not it is just. This research has not yet proved that the international food supply could increase. The scientists still have a long way to go towards proving their goal, but the work is very promising.

As the global population continues to grow, world hunger is becoming an increasingly troublesome issue. Scientists are testing all sorts of ideas to solve this problem. This study is one of the more intriguing experiments that I have come across. Genetically modified organisms have already proved to be useful in the agriculture industry. If the scientists of this work are able to deliver the same results in food crops, the solution to world hunger may be taking a massive step forward.

Food of the Future

As global warming becomes more and more of a reality, scientists and researchers are seeing how food crops will hold up in future climate conditions in the upcoming decades. Pollutants and heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide are expected to rise, and this could seriously harm the food supply of the planet.

Some of the farming fields trying to mimic growing conditions are those just a few miles from the University of Illinois, where scientists are testing predicted future growing conditions on corn and have been for the past decade or so. Pipes spray extra carbon dioxide and ozone (which is harmful and corrosive on ground level) into the air. Other equipment tries to mimic droughts and heat waves. The results have been troublesome, as the data shows that compared to today’s crops, the crops grown under future climate conditions are extremely deficient in nutrients. Furthermore, even though plants would benefit from an increase in carbon dioxide, the stresses caused by other factors offsets this benefit significantly.

Negative impacts on the food supply in the future are anticipated, and therefore people are trying to work towards solutions. Some solutions suggested by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are changing farming practices and improving the genetic variety of crops. Another solution is reducing ozone, because this seems to have a bigger impact than realized, and would be an easy pollutant to control. Researchers are using modern genetics, agriculture and climate science to create a food supply that will be able to withstand the future climate conditions. 

I find it to be a very good thing that people are already taking steps to improve our future in the face of the global warming crisis, since many seem to want to sit back and wait until it’s too late to do anything. I hope that this problem can be addressed since the world is already undernourished. It seems like a daunting task to make plants undergo a great deal of genetic change in only a couple decades.

Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/science/testing-future-conditions-for-the-food-chain.html