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More Nations Open To Bioengineered Crops

Posted on: Monday, 1 December 2008, 09:30 CST

Food demand is forecasted to increase by half by 2030, sparking many nations to use genetic engineering to boost harvests and protect precious crops from insects and other damage.

And after years of debate, China is now ready to tip that scale in favor of genetically modified crops.

In a mountainous place like Yunnan, and in many other parts of the developing world, such genetic engineering advantages can tip the balance between hunger and a decent living.

Zeng Yawen's outdoor laboratory in the terraced hills of southern China is a trove of genetic potential - rice that thrives in unusually cool temperatures, high altitudes or in dry soil; rice rich in calcium, vitamins or iron.

"See these plants? They can tolerate the cold," Zeng says as he walks through a checkerboard of test fields sown with different rice varieties.

"We can extract the cold-tolerant gene from this plant and use it in a genetically manipulated variety to improve its cold tolerance," he added.

The U.N. estimates that surging costs, population growth, and drought and other setbacks linked to global climate change are pressuring world food supplies, while soaring prices on the street have triggered riots and raised the number of people going hungry to more than 923 million.

Now, genetically modified food restrictions in Europe, Africa and Asia are loosening. Meanwhile, they are pushing ahead faster with their own research, despite lingering questions over the safety of such technology.

C.S. Prakash, a professor of plant molecular genetics at Alabama's Tuskegee University, said influential voices around the world are calling for a re-examination of the GM debate.

"Biotechnology provides such tools to help address food sustainability issues."

Experts believe genetic manipulation to insert desirable genes or accelerate changes traditionally achieved through crossbreeding can help make crops resistant to insects and disease or enable them to tolerate herbicides. Livestock similarly can be altered by inserting a gene from one animal into the DNA of another.

Now that the gains from the first "green revolution" are tapering off, many researchers believe such methods are essential for a second in the mid-20th century.

Bioengineered crops are widely grown in Canada, Argentina and the U.S., where nearly all soybeans, most cotton and a growing proportion of corn are designed for tolerance to herbicides or resistance to insects. A virus-resistant GM variety of papaya is commercially grown in Hawaii and China.

Robert Zeigler, director of the International Rice Research Institute, said biotechnology is bound to play an important role in the agriculture of the future.

“Such crops bring tremendous power and advantages to producers and consumers,” he said, noting the potential savings from reduced use of farm chemicals and of fuel for the tractors to spread them.

China's leaders delayed the long-expected commercialization of GM grains for years, but in July they endorsed a 13-year, $2.9 billion program to promote use of genetically altered crops and livestock. Zeigler said Beijing is on the verge of releasing an insect-resistant rice variety.

"I strongly advocate making great efforts to pursue transgenic engineering. The recent food shortages around the world have further strengthened that belief," said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

Worldwide cultivation of bioengineered crops has expanded by over 10 percent a year for a decade, although by 2007 it still had reached only 282 million acres, an area about the size of Cuba, in 22 countries.

An ambitious program in Vietnam is being pushed ahead to develop commercial GM crops to reduce reliance on imports. In May, South Korea, which already imports GM soybeans, began importing bioengineered corn to help bridge shortfalls of conventional corn after China began limiting its exports.

Brazil's National Biosafety Commission approved two new varieties of genetically modified corn seeds last month, after giving the green light two years ago for GM varieties of soybeans. India has followed China's example, tripling acreage of GM cotton, the only bioengineered crop it allows.

Several African governments have sometimes rejected food aid shipments containing GM grains, but South African scientists have completed field tests of a potato developed to fend off tuber moths. They also recently approved trials of sorghum genetically enhanced to improve the digestibility and nutritional content of the coarse grain, which thrives in arid soils.

There is a growing pressure on many European countries to open their markets to GM products. Many among the EU's 27 member nations remain wary and, backed by consumers opposed to what some call "Franken-foods," are fighting to keep genetically altered crops out of their fields and supermarkets.

But even in China, despite its hefty investments in the research, few are familiar with genetic modification. And many of those who have heard of it remain cautious.

Zheng Wencai, a retired architect in Kunming believes it's impossible to know if it's harmful to the body. "There is still a global debate on this. So basically, I don't use it."

China allows farmers to grow GM varieties of papayas, green peppers and tomatoes, along with several nonfood crops. But genetically modified rice and wheat are still in field tests.

Test facilities are kept under high security, both to prevent contamination of non-GM crops and to protect the country's own GM technology.

"In general, the government has a very positive view toward GM technology and its products," says Lu Baorong, a member of the National Biosafety Committee.

"Since China is a big country and we have so many people to feed, to have our own technology and guarantee food security is very important," Lu said.

Widespread cultivation of such crops will ultimately depend on work done at IRRI and by researchers like Zeng, who have spent years painstakingly searching for traits that might unlock the secrets to future abundance.

“Genetic engineering is just one of many strategies, including irrigation and soil improvements and better farm management, needed to increase productivity to ensure future generations will have enough to eat,” Zeng said.

"Without all these, it will be very hard to boost output further. There will be breakthroughs, but it will be very hard," he said.

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On the Net:

• Tuskegee University
• International Rice Research Institute

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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