Husaini Amjad M, Sohail Muhammad
Genome Engineering Lab, Division of Plant Biotechnology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar, India.
Department of Biochemistry, St Hilda's College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Front Plant Sci. 2018 Apr 10;9:423. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2018.00423. eCollection 2018.
The challenges of sustainable food production without damaging the environment for a growing human population have increased considerably. The current agricultural practices involving chemical fertilizers and even organic farming are not sustainable in the long run and can have deleterious effects on the environment. Thus, new, innovative solutions need to be identified and propagated for tackling this. Among such innovations, that can complement conventional as well as organic farming methods, are genetic modification (GM) and aquaculture. Yet, GM technologies often face resistance from civil groups owing to an 'unknown' fear, akin to Frankenstein's monster. How real is this fear? Our discussion rests on basic questions like, why can't 'organics' include GM crops that do not require chemical inputs for cultivation, and can GM crops like Golden rice qualify to be 'organic' if cultivated through organic practices? Do we need to rethink organic agriculture in the context of the present and future challenges of 21st century?
在不破坏环境的前提下，为不断增长的人口提供可持续粮食生产面临的挑战已大幅增加。目前涉及化肥的农业实践，甚至有机农业，从长远来看都是不可持续的，并且会对环境产生有害影响。因此，需要找到并推广新的创新解决方案来应对这一问题。在这些创新中，能够补充传统农业和有机农业方法的是基因改造（GM）和水产养殖。然而，由于一种类似于科学怪人般的“未知”恐惧，转基因技术常常遭到民间团体的抵制。这种恐惧有多真实？我们的讨论基于一些基本问题，比如，为什么“有机”不能包括那些种植过程中不需要化学投入的转基因作物？如果通过有机方式种植，像黄金大米这样的转基因作物能否被认定为“有机”？在21世纪当前和未来的挑战背景下，我们是否需要重新思考有机农业？
