Genetic Engineering of Plants

In much of the Third World, hunger is pervasive. In many developing nations, farmers still struggle to extract an adequate food supply from marginal soils, and world food production must somehow double in the next 40 years to meet the expected rise in demand. To sustain agricultural productivity, farmers worldwide will need new technologies, especially new plant varieties adapted to harsh conditions. Throughout the agricultural community, there is an increasing awareness that genetic engineering may provide some of the solutions. Recombinant DNA and the other genetic engineering techniques, developed in animals in the early 1970s, have only recently been applied to plant research. Yet already, they have yielded a wealth of information about the basic structure and function of plant cells -- information that can be channeled into more effective breeding strategies. And eventually, it may be possible to manipulate plant genes in the laboratory to improve plants and perhaps create new ones. On May 23-24, 1983, plant scientists and science policymakers from government, private companies, and universities met at the National Academy of Sciences for a convocation on the genetic engineering of plants. During the convocation, the researchers described some of the ways genetic engineering may be used to address agricultural problems. Policymakers delineated and debated the changes in research funding and training necessary to realize this potential. Various speakers urged new collaborative efforts among basic scientists and plant breeders. And all spoke of a new era in agricultural research. This book summarizes those discussions. It is intended to serve as an introduction and guide for those who wish to follow the development of this promising new technology.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.