http://archives.foodsafety.ksu.edu/agnet/2003/8-2003/agnet_august_4.htm#SAVING

 

SAVING THE WORLD THROUGH AGRICULTURE
August 4, 2003
Life Sciences Network
http://www.lifesciencesnetwork.com/news-detail.asp?newsID=4413

In the 1760s, the average height of recruits to the Scandinavian Army was
1.59m. Scandinavians then, as now, were considered to be tall, writes
Jacqueline Rowarth in the New Zealand Herald.
It gives me personal satisfaction to know I am nearly 4cm taller than the
average Scandinavian Army recruit in the 1760s, but greater satisfaction to
learn that the average recruit in 1983 was 1.79m.
Good nutrition has made the difference.
>From 1960 to 2000, the world population doubled, but because of the Green
Revolution, food supply rose 270 percent. This resulted in a 30 percent or
more increase in per capita food consumption.
It also halved the real price of basic food commodities such as rice. Food
became more plentiful and cheaper, benefiting the poor.
This was achieved with only a 7 percent increase in land under cultivation.
Grain area, which provides two-thirds of the world's food, increased only 4
percent.
Although the Green Revolution has been blamed for increasing use of water
and fertilisers, the rise is associated with increased harvested yield.
A United Nations report published this year shows that because of the
greater efficiency of Green Revolution crops, the water used to produce the
world's food crops has remained constant.
Given this, why aren't farmers and agricultural researchers regarded as
saviours?
In the words of the University of Houston's Professor Tom DeGregori,
speaking at the Primary Resource Forum last month: "A boundless sense of
wonder and curiosity has led scientists to ask many questions of why and how
and what next? It is out of this spirit of questioning that the active,
problem solving human mind has expanded the scope of human understanding,
created science and technology and in the process made a better life for all
of us.
"This advancing knowledge has led to dramatic reductions in disease and
death, provided better food and nutrition for a growing population and
expanded and improved all aspects of human life."
The recent controversial development in agricultural science is based on the
discovery of the structure of DNA in the 1950s, followed by a greatly
improved understanding of the process of inheritance. This enabled desirable
characteristics expressed by a gene or a small group of genes from any
organism to be specifically transferred to another organism.
This is done under precisely controlled conditions, and involves repeated
evaluation to ensure the gene has transferred successfully and stably,
produces the desired trait and that there are no unintended effects on plant
growth or quality.
The gene transfer process is under question, although it is far more precise
than in other accepted procedures. It also permits desirable, but previously
impossible, traits to be included in plants. Pest resistance is one trait,
enhanced Vitamin A is another.
Half a million children a year in less-developed countries become blind
through Vitamin A deficiency.
Conventional plant breeding has not provided a cure. In contrast, genetic
engineering has produced yellow rice with an enhanced Vitamin A precursor
level through the introduction of genes from the daffodil and a bacterium.
Where rice is the staple diet, this new quality should contribute to
eradicating this blindness.
The precautionary principle states that when an activity threatens the
environment or human health, precautionary measures should be taken even if
some cause and effect relationships are not fully established.
It does not say, if in doubt, don't do it.
We are right to question advances, but we must weigh the pros and cons.
For DeGregori, the economics speak for themselves - as do the lives.
Agriculture supports more people at a better level of nutrition than ever
before. By producing more from a given land area, flora and fauna are
protected, as well as the land itself.
Agriculturalists are saving the world.