31 Critical Questions in Agricultural Biotechnology

For grains and oilseed crops, increasing food production most often means the ability to produce better yields under the same conditions or, more generally, the ability to better resist weeds, insects and diseases. Many important improvements have been achieved by ordinary breeding, but it is a slow process. Given the rate at which the demand for food is likely to increase in future years, substantial productivity enhancements will still need to be made. In conjunction with other methods, GE can help agronomists make the productivity gains necessary to supply enough food at reasonable prices. It is thus not the only way, but it could in the future become the most efficient and economical way.