Scientists see a natural place for 'rewilded' plants in organic farming
Thursday, May 28, 2015 - 11:00
in Mathematics & Economics
One of the key elements of organic agriculture, as defined by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), is that it rejects unpredictable technologies, such as genetic engineering. But what if adding a gene from undomesticated plants to bring back a natural trait isn't unpredictable, argue Danish scientists, ethicists, and legal experts in a review published May 28 in Trends in Plant Science. They present a case for using precise genetic engineering technologies to "rewild" crops in a way that would make organic farming more efficient, and thus more profitable.