With advent of climate change, the global temperatures are soaring at an astounding rate. Not only are people affected by this increasing temperature, but also crops, the main source of our food, have been on the receiving end. Most crops do not have the capabilities to adjust accordingly to the increasing and many of them wither and die. However, the field of genetic engineering is about to change this. Scholars and scientists in the field have been carrying out extensive research and are on the verge of making new discoveries that will aid plants to adapt to tomorrow’s warmer climate. This essay, therefore, presents a review of an article that examines the genetic engineering of drought-resistant crops.
The article was authored by Max Weiser a prolific contributor of the science column at VOX.
The article introduces us to Roger Deal a biochemistry assistant professor at Emory University. Deal is focused on understanding how the Medicago truncatula (a crop known to quickly respond to climate change) recovers fast from drought and is able to grow as environmental conditions become conducive (Weiser par. 1). Deal is trying to find the genetic material that helps the Medicago truncatula to quickly adapt, and see if this material can be transferred to other plants. Other genetically modified crops in the market include DroughtGard which was poorly received in the United States and a hybrid of soybean developed by Deborah Chan, an Argentinian professor. Chan’s soybean hybrid, though not tested in real-world use, offers great promise as it is capable of increasing its productivity by 14 percent during harsh climatic conditions. Other similar experiments are being conducted at the University of California-Berkeley, University of Cape Town, South Africa, Israel Institute of Technology and the University of California-Davis (Weiser par. 4).
However, these experiments have been met with much criticism with many scientists worrying that the genetically modified crops could alter the ecosystem. Other scientists claim that a lot of funding is being directed to genetic engineering at the expense of other solutions such as conventional crossbreeding, which offer similar if not better results (Weiser par. 6). In spite of these criticisms Weiser concludes his article by applauding genetic engineering and stating that the field will be an additional tool that will help humans counter the effects of climate change (Weiser par. 8).
Work Cited
Weiser, Matt. "Can Genetic Engineering Help Crops Adapt To A Warmer World? These Scientists Hope So.". Vox. N.p., 2016. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.
