This chapter addresses the crop-plant traits that primarily benefit farmers and the food production and processing industry. Genetically engineered (GE) crops were introduced in the mid-1990s and have been extensively planted in many developed and developing countries by millions of farmers. Herbicide-tolerant genes make GE plants tolerant of herbicides that were already in use when the GE crops hit the market, while insect-resistant GE crops rely on the effects of Cry proteins, encoded by Bt genes, on insect larvae. The chapter then looks at nitrogen assimilation and phosphate starvation tolerance. It also considers pod shatter-resistant canola, genetically engineered forest trees, and hybrid seed production.
Chapter
Introduced Traits That Benefit Farmers and Industry
Maarten J. Chrispeels and Eliot M. Herman
Chapter
The Human Population and Its Food Supply in the 21st Century
Maarten J. Chrispeels and Hanya E. Chrispeels
This chapter discusses the past, present, and future of the human population and its relationship to food production. In the past, the uncertainties of food production too often have led to food insecurity, and the future holds further uncertainties posed by climate change. Rapid urbanization in developing countries is changing where vegetables are grown and how they are made available to consumers. The depopulation of the land means that farming will have to become more efficient and less labour intensive. There is agreement among agricultural scientists that the way forward is to increase the productivity of farmland everywhere and to do this sustainably, reducing the impact of agriculture on the environment. The chapter then looks at how government policies play pivotal roles in global food production, as well as the importance of agricultural research and biotechnology.
Chapter
A Changing Global Food System
One Hundred Centuries of Agriculture
H. Maelor Davies and Paul Gepts
This chapter examines the changes that have occurred in farming over the past 10,000 years and which continue today. Agriculture and food play an important role in the economic systems of all countries and regions. Indeed, crop and animal domestication — integral to the practices of farming — were essential for the development of human civilizations. Agricultural systems in different regions of the world differ in their productivity, and in the modern world, scientific and technological discoveries are responsible for many of those differences. Whereas modern science-driven agriculture is highly productive, especially in developed countries, a billion smallholder farmers in developing countries are confined to small farms where productivity is low and where they produce just enough food to supply themselves with the bare essentials of life.
Chapter
Converting Solar Energy into Crop Production
Donald R. Ort, Rebecca A. Slattery, and Stephen P. Long
This chapter focuses on photosynthesis, which is the basis of all life on Earth. Crop plant growth and development are limited by photosynthesis, and so an understanding of the basic chemistry of this process is important to food production. Indeed, increasing food production may depend in part on our ability to make the biochemical processes of photosynthesis more efficient. The chapter begins by looking at how photosynthetic membranes convert light energy to chemical energy. In photosynthetic carbon metabolism, chemical energy is used to convert CO2 to carbohydrates. The chapter then considers how sucrose and other polysaccharides are exported to heterotrophic plant organs to provide energy for growth and storage. It also studies photoprotection and explores abiotic environmental factors which can limit photosynthetic efficiency and crop productivity.
