What Role Can GM Agriculture Play in Reducing the Detrimental Effects of Climate Change?

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The detremental effects of climatic changes are major threat to agriculture. GM agriculture have the potential to withstand these threats. Genes such as choline oxidase and osmotin are having the potential to provide resistance to plants against these abiotic stress. The accumulation of these proteins in stroma region give sturdyness to plants against harsh environmental conditions.

- Abinav Kumar Singh, India

If we will develop the regional trangenic crop then it will help to our farmers. Because everybody is moving towards cities if we are developing the technique which is helpful for farmers then we can make our country strong in this field.

- Chhatrapal Patel, Bangalore

GM plants will gives best products if there is no change in environment and nutrients.

- Fazli Subhan, Pakistan

Detrimental Climatic changes are challenging mankind against health and wealth. So crop modelling and transformation within plant community to utilize the Co2 more than normal levels utilised in photosynthesis and other green house gases towards a better climatic environment.

- Silvas, India

The Editor responds:

We fully agree with your point about improving plant canopy structure to increase light interception. Indeed many research and breeding programmes already take this aspect into account, mainly because improving canopy structure often increases yield as well. Our company does take canopy structure into account in our breeding programmes. We are also doing research on the use of crops for production of biofuels, another way to alleviate the problems of carbon emissions and climate change way we and the generations after us live.

I, like everyone else, wonder what climate change will make to the way we and the generations after us live. GM food could play a huge part in our foods...no doubt science and Monsanto will work together to come up with solutions on our changing planet.

- Tony McManus, Scotland

Climate change we are told is the biggest challenge facing mankind, I dont think we have any chance of controlling carbon dioxide levels from rising. So the only way is to develop trees, plants exc. to use more CO2. If you could do this by genetically modifying them not only would it be very profitable but give your industry the best PR it could get. Im just a layman not a scientist and probably barking up the wrong tree (excuse the pun) but sometimes silly ideas can change the world.

- Stephen Rushworth, Cornwall, UK

The Editor responds:

Thank you. In our view, you are certainly not barking up the wrong tree. It's also refreshing for a layman (as you describe yourself) to voice his opinion. Scientists in the public sector in Scotland have already been looking at this subject along the lines of your idea. Indeed The Independent on Sunday newspaper ran a characteristic "GM tree" story at the end of April this year http://www.checkbiotech.org/blocks/dsp_document.cfm?doc_id=12692

One can only assume that the location of these trees was not advertised because anti-GM activists would have ripped them up, exactly as they did the GM poplar trees planted in Bracknell (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1999/07/13/ngm13.html) and university GM apple trees in Derby which were also destroyed by protesters.

A pity this Economist article which described the first informal results form the Scottish trees project wasn't used by the IoS instead of activist press releases. http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3535741

I am a student of biotechnology and recently I read about Golden Rice (Rice with Vit-A). Then my doubt is what I want to ask you, what is the right quantity of Vit-A required for our body and is it not harmful if it exceeds required quantity? I will be waiting for your reply.

- Ali Pinjari, Andhra Prakesh, India

The Editor responds:

We normally do not post unrelated issues to the discussion topic, but this question about Golden Rice has been asked before and warrants an answer.

You are quite right to question the amount of Vitamin A that should be consumed, since like many essential nutrients and vitamins, adverse effects can result from excess Vitamin A.

On the other hand, the 'Golden Rice', developed at the University of Geneva and not a Monsanto product, works in a different way. It produces a large amount of beta-carotene, which is the precursor to Vitamin A. The human body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A sufficient to its needs, and unlike Vitamin A, excess beta-carotene is not toxic within a very large range.

On the contrary, beta carotene has other beneficial effects, such as acting as a free radical scavenger, preventing harmful oxidation processes in the body, which have been associated with certain diseases.

For information on food and health, see the British Nutrition Foundation: http://www.nutrition.org.uk

For other information on beta carotene and Vitamin A try the following links http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsSupplements/BetaCarotenecs.html http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/carotene/beta-carotene_home.html http://www.gettingwell.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/bet_0032.shtml http://www.goldenrice.org/