The Plant and Agricultural Biotechnology Revolution: Where Do We Go from Here?

Abstract

In a world where population growth is outstripping food supply agricultural- and especially plant-biotechnology, needs to be swiftly implemented in all walks of life. The world population is expected to reach 7 billion within 25 years, over 10 billion in the year 2050, while agricultural production is growing at the slower rate of about 1.8% annually. All human beings depend on agriculture that produce food of the appropriate quality at the required quantities. Since this can no longer be achieved by traditional methods alone, breeding through plant biotechnology is a necessity. In the long run the massive and immediate implementation of plant and agricultural biotechnology is more highly crucial than that of medical biotechnology, since more people worldwide die from famine and diseases related to malnutrition than from “modern”, western diseases. With “Disaster Management” becoming a central issue in modem sociology research and curricula, food and food product shortages are the ultimate disaster. However, unlike most natural disasters, this is one that we can prepare for and even prevent.