Designing food for a hotter world
Inside futuristic labs, plants are scanned, stressed and analysed. The aim is to use the results to produce plant strains that can better serve a growing population in a warming world.
Scientists at Wageningen University in the Netherlands are growing tomato saplings under simulated heat and humidity conditions to uncover genetic traits that can make crops resilient to climate change. The researchers can manipulate various factors such as temperature, salinity, and night frost to test the plants' reactions. This research facility, known as the Netherlands Plant Eco-phenotyping Centre (NPEC), functions like a "gym for plants," allowing them to simulate almost any environmental condition on Earth.
As global temperatures rise due to human-induced climate change, traditional farming practices are becoming less reliable, with crops facing increased risks from heat waves, droughts, and floods. The global population is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, intensifying the need for sustainable food production. While the Netherlands is a leader in agricultural innovation, the process of identifying and breeding resilient crop varieties is not without controversy.
Some critics, including Ph.D. candidate Alan Pauls, express concerns about the rapid genetic modifications taking place in the lab and the public's perception of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Despite these concerns, the Dutch government and plant-breeding companies continue to fund the research, with the ultimate goal of accelerating natural evolution to produce food that can withstand the challenges of a changing climate.
Written by urgent.news from DW News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
