From the Green Revolution to the Gene Revolution

Nobel Peace Prize winner says biotechnology can help produce more food on existing land. Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug originally intended to pursue a career in forestry, but shifted gears to plant pathology after hearing an invigorating speech titled, "These Shifty Little Enemies That Destroy Our Food Crops." Seventy years after enrolling at the University of Minnesota, the man who triggered The Green Revolution — which dramatically increased crop yields through the use of improved seeds and modern farming techniques — said his career change had more of an impact on forestry than he ever could have imagined. "I've had the privilege of saving habitat — preserving more wildlife species from extinction — than had I stayed in forestry," said Borlaug in an Oct. 10, 2003, speech at the University of Minnesota titled "From the Green Revolution to the Gene Revolution: Our 21st Century Challenge." He said the dramatic increases in crop productivity on existing cropland over the past 50 years saved 2.7 billion acres of land from coming under the plow — an area slightly larger than the entire United States. And he predicted that what the Green Revolution did for the 20th century, the coming gene revolution can do for the 21st century — increase production with more environmentally friendly farming techniques to feed a growing, more affluent global population. "We need to have better technology to increase the yields even in those areas where yields are already high," said Borlaug whose work in developing a high-yielding variety of wheat is credited with saving the lives of about 1 billion people. While most attention is typically focused on the humanitarian benefits of The Green Revolution — which triggered a more than threefold increase in rice and wheat production in the developing countries of Asia between 1961 and 2000 — Borlaug said the environmental benefits of habitat preservation and more efficient farming can't be overlooked. Environmentally friendly farming techniques such as conservation tillage — which has been on the rise with the introduction of biotech crops — have led to an increase in wildlife on the farm in northeastern Iowa farm where Borlaug was born in 1914. Not since his grandfather was a boy have wild turkeys been seen on the family farm. "But they're back now," he said. Borlaug said science and technology — specifically biotechnology — have a lot to offer the world as it faces the challenge of feeding a global population that will exceed 10 billion people by 2050. About 80 million more people are being born each year, and irrigated agriculture, which accounts for 70 percent of global water use and 40 percent of world food production, is expected to increase nearly 20 percent by 2030 (123 million acres) — placing even more strain on the environment. No-till farming, which helps preserve soil moisture, and new varieties of biotech crops in development that require less water, can help ease the growing pressure on the world's limited resources, said Borlaug. He added that 85 percent of the future growth in food production must come from lands already in production. That may seem like a daunting challenge, but dramatic increases in food production have been achieved before. In 1950, world cereal production was at 650 million metric tons. In 2000, production was at 1,900 million metric tons — a nearly threefold increase with only a slight expansion in cropland to grow the additional food, said Borlaug. The only areas in the world left for significant cropland expansion are the Brazilian Cerrados — where grain production has increased 35 percent between 1995-96 and 2000–01 — and in sub-Saharan Africa. Borlaug also added that the crop gains on Brazil's highly acidic soils wouldn't have been possible without the adoption of modern farming practices — specifically, the addition of lime, phosphorous, potassium and other inputs to make the soil more productive. That's why he said it's pure folly to presume that enough food can be grown to feed the world using organic growing methods. "Let me clarify once and for all: I have always said that if you used all of the organic fertilizers that are available, don't try to give the impression that you can produce all the food for 6.2 billion people. This is to mislead the world," he said. He said that increased fertilizer use in the developing countries of Asia — from 2 million metric tons in 1961 to 70 million metric tons in 2000 — played an important role in achieving the Green Revolution's productivity gains. In the past 20 years, Borlaug has shifted his focus to Africa, where the "soils are so poor weeds won't even grow." He has teamed up with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Japanese financier Ryoichi Sasakawa to help extend the benefits of the Green Revolution to sub-Saharan Africa. The gains made possible by the Green Revolution largely bypassed southern Africa — primarily because the region is too dry for its high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice, which thrived in the irrigated plots in the tropics. In addition, the Green Revolution did not focus on yams, cassava, sorghum and cowpeas — among the staple crops in Africa. He said biotechnology could go a long way toward improving lives on the African continent, which has been plagued by war and strife. Where only 8 percent of countries with the lowest levels of hunger are mired in conflict, 50 percent of the countries with the highest levels of hunger are embroiled in civil conflict. "You can't build peace on empty stomachs," he said, quoting John Boyd Orr, a fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the first director general of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization. Borlaug said one of his "fondest dreams" would be to transfer the gene that makes rice resistant to rust diseases into wheat, corn and sorghum to help developing world farmers. These crops are all descendants of the same cereal grain millions of years ago and share similar genetic blueprints. But for biotechnology to help improve lives in Africa, Borlaug said there needs to more education about agriculture and the benefits science has to offer a growing world. "Each succeeding generation knows less and less about the land," he said, calling the "precautionary principle" — the European precept for blocking biotech foods on the grounds that their long-term impact on safety isn't known — a "search for unobtainable perfection." An entire career could pass before all the answers come in about the impact of a newly developed crop, he said. Meanwhile, millions of people would forgo the benefits of a crop like his high-yielding variety of wheat. "So when you young people listen to this term — the precautionary principle — make sure you put the gene for common sense back into the debate," he said. "Source":[ http://www.whybiotech.com/index.asp?id=4075].

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