Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academics

Distinguished Lecture Series

Title: Plant Biotechnology GM Crops in Context

Christopher Leaver, Ph.D.
Sibthorpian Professor of Plant Science
Oxford University

Tuesday, April 5, 2005 7:30 p.m.
Auditorium, Annenberg Presidential Conference Center
Texas A&M University

Abstract

The world population tripled during the last century to 6 billion. The increase in world food production required to sustain this dramatic increase was broadly met by the skills of plant breeders and farmers, coupled with mechanisation and technological innovation by the agrochemical industry. The agricultural yield has been a per capita increase, over and above the increase in population and this remains as one of the major technological achievements of the last century. However some 800 million people, primarily in the developing world, are poor and do not have access to sufficient food to meet there needs at least in part because of because of poverty and unemployment. Forty thousand people die every day from malnutrition with over half being children under the age of 5 in developing countries. In addition to lack of food, deficiencies in micronutrients such as vitamins and iron, leading to illness and death, are widespread.

In the next 50 years the earth's population is likely to grow, at a rate of about 70 million per year, to 9 billion with the vast majority of the 3 billion increase occurring in the developing countries of South East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. It is estimated that more than 50% of the developing world's population will live in urban areas with the associated problems of production, distribution and stability of food products. The problem of feeding all these people is even more acute because of the uneven distribution of croplands. For example China has a quarter of the world's population but only 7 percent of the world's farmland. During this period the population of the developed world will remain relatively static but there will be dramatic increase (as much as six fold) in the number of people aged 60 years and over.

The increasing economic prosperity in many parts of the world will lead to a demand for dietary upgrading, a higher standard of living and an associated lowering of the birth rate. To meet this demand we must double-to-triple the sustainable production of food on, essentially, the same area of land in the face of decreasing water supplies and with respect to the environment (which means decreasing the use of chemical fertilizers, weed killers and pesticides).

During the last few decades the world has seen a revolution in our understanding of how all living organisms function at the molecular, biochemical and physiological level, culminating in the publication of the complete genome sequence (genetic blueprint') of a range of organisms ranging from viruses to man. This information provides a vital resource to address many of the challenges facing man in combating disease, improving health and well-being and enhancing food supply.

An integral part of this revolution was the development of plant genetic modification (GM) which allows the transfer of genes from one plant species to another or from other organisms such as bacteria. I shall give examples of how this technology is being applied in world agriculture, and also discuss potential future applications in all areas of crop improvement. These include increasing yield and quality of the harvested product for food and non-food use; engineering and increasing resistance to pests, weeds and disease-causing organisms which currently reduce yields by an average of some 40 per cent despite the extensive use of agrochemical sprays, and creating crops which are more resistant to drought and increased salinity.

Our improved understanding of the complex metabolic pathways operating in plants also means that we should be able to use transgenic plants as biorefineries to produce high value pharmaceuticals, vitamins, vaccines, carbohydrates, and lipid-based polymers for non-food use and as raw materials for the chemical industry. A realization of this potential could go some considerable way to reducing our dependence upon fossil fuels such as petroleum and natural gas and would have the added advantage of depending upon a renewable energy source the sun and involve the use of more environmentally benign materials which result in the production of less toxic waste.

GM crops are not the magic bullet that will feed the world nor eliminate poverty because these problems are socio-political. However the application of plant biotechnology together with plant breeding and improved agricultural practice may provide solutions to some of the challenges I outlined. As with many new technologies, people are keen to embrace many of the benefits but are concerned about the potential risks. The manner of introduction of these new technologies has led to widespread loss of community confidence, which has been exploited by non-representative groups and activists for their own political ends. However, if we are to satisfy the environmental concerns associated with modern high input agriculture and the threat of global warming, and still feed the increasing world population in a sustainable and nutritious manner, we must assume responsibility for fully evaluating this technology for future generations.

About the Speaker

Christopher Leaver is the Sibthorpian Professor of Plant Science and Head of the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom . He earned a bachelor's degree in botany and a Ph.D. degree in plan physiology and molecular biology from Imperial College , London . He has held academic positions at Purdue University , and the University of Edinburgh and is Visiting Professor to the University of Western Australia .

Professor Leaver was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1986, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1987, a member of Academia Europaea in 1988, and a member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation in 1982. He has served on its Council and was Chairman 1996-97. In the 2000 New Year's Honours, he was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to plant sciences.

Professor Leaver's research interests concern the molecular, biochemical and cellular basis of plant development, the regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and programmed cell death in plants (for further information see www.plants.ox.ac.uk ). He has a strong interest in the public understanding of science and has been actively involved in the current debate on genetically modified crops in the United Kingdom and Europe.

He is involved in a variety of activities with a range of national and international learned societies. He serves on the Councils of the Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council and the John Innes Centre.

In the past, he has been involved with various activities of government, Research Council and the Royal Society, regarding the allocation of science funding, the communication of science to the public and developing science policy.