Can Genetic Engineering Mitigate California's Drought?

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STANFORD, CA Water is in increasingly short supply in many parts of the United States. Here in California, where most of the state is experiencing extreme drought, 2013 was the driest year on record, and we have had no relief during what should be the height of the rainy season. Moreover, theres no end in sight: The Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Serviceforecaststhat the drought will persist or intensify at least through April.

Reservoir levels are dropping, the snow pack is almost nonexistent, and many communities have already imposed restrictions on water usage. In the city of Santa Cruz, for example, restaurants can no longer serve drinking water unless diners specifically request it; Marin County residents have been asked not to clean their cars or to do so only at eco-friendly car washes; and there are limitations on watering lawns in towns in Mendocino County.

But it is the states premier industry farming that will feel the pinch most. In an average year, farmers use 80 percent of the water used by people and businesses, according to the Department of Water Resources.

During a January 19 press conference at which he declared a water emergency, Governor Jerry Brown said of the drought, This is not a partisan adversary. This is Mother Nature. We have to get on natures side and not abuse the resources that we have.

Drought may not be partisan, but it does raise critical issues of governance, public policyand how best to use the states natural resources. It also offers an example of the Law of Unintended Consequences: Ironically, Santa Cruz, Mendocino and Marin counties all of which boast politically correct, far-left politics are among the local jurisdictions that have banned a key technology that could conserve huge amounts of water.

The technology is genetic engineering performed with modern molecular techniques, sometimes referred to as genetic modification (GM) or gene-splicing, which enables plant breeders to make old crop plants do spectacular new things, including conserve water. In the United States and about 30 other countries, farmers are using genetically engineered crop varieties to produce higher yields, with lower inputs and reduced impact on the environment.

Even with R&D being hampered by resistance from activists and discouraged by governmental over-regulation, genetically engineered crop varieties are slowly but surely trickling out of the development pipeline in many parts of the world. Cumulatively, over 3.7 billion acres of them have been cultivated by more than 17 million farmers in 30 countries during the past 15 years without disrupting a single ecosystem or causing so much as a tummy ache in a consumer.

Most of these new varieties are designed to be resistant to herbicides, so that farmers can adopt more environment-friendly no-till farming practices and more benign herbicides; or to be resistant to pests and diseases that ravage crops. Others possess improved nutritional quality. But the greatest boon of all both to food security and to the environment in the long term will likely be the ability of new crop varieties to tolerate periods of drought and other water-related stresses. Where water is unavailable for irrigation, the development of crop varieties able to grow under conditions of low moisture or temporary drought could both boost yields and lengthen the time that farmland is productive.

Even where irrigation is feasible, plants that use water more efficiently are needed. Because irrigation for agriculture accounts for roughly 70 percent of the worlds fresh water consumption, the introduction of plants that grow with less water would allow much of it to be freed up for other uses. Especially during drought conditions, even a small percentage reduction in the use of water for irrigation could result in huge benefits.

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Can Genetic Engineering Mitigate California's Drought?