Can Genetically Modified Crops Feed the World?

Humans have been genetically modifying crops for millenia the old-fashioned way—selective breeding. But new techniques that insert foreign genetic material, say bacterial genes to produce insecticide in a corn plant, have raised health and environmental concerns. And that has prompted European countries, most recently Germany, to ban genetically modified, or GM, crops.

Proponents argue that GM crops can help feed the world. And given ever increasing demands for food, animal feed, fiber and now even biofuels, the world needs all the help it can get.

Unfortunately, it looks like GM corn and soybeans won't help, after all.

A study from the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that genetically engineered crops do not produce larger harvests. Crop yield increases in recent years have almost entirely been due to improved farming or traditional plant breeding, despite more than 3,000 field trials of GM crops.

Of course, farmers have typically planted, say, GM corn, because it can tolerate high doses of weed-killer. And the Biotechnology Industry Organization argues that GM crops can boost yields in developing countries where there are limited resources for pesticides.

But it appears that, to date, traditional plant breeding boosts crop yields better than genetic modification. Those old farmers were on to something.

转基因农作物能给世界提供足够多的粮食吗？

人类以选择性培育的传统方式对农作物进行基因改良已经有几千年历史了。新的转基因技术能把外界的基因物质，比如细菌基因植入到玉米中，从而产生杀虫剂。这种方式引起了健康和环境方面的关注。这促使欧洲国家——最近主要是德国——禁止转基因农作物（GM）。
 
支持者称转基因农作物能帮助解决世界粮食问题。考虑到世界对食物、动物饲料以及生物燃料日益增加的需求，这个世界需要所有它能得到的一切帮助。
 
不幸的是，好像转基因的玉米和大豆根本就起不到作用。
 
来自“担忧的科学家联盟”（Union of Concerned Scientists）的一份研究表明，转基因农作物不能获得更高的产量。虽然对转基因农作物进行了3000多次的室外试验，但是近几年农作物产量的提高大部分完全是归因于改进的农业技术或者传统的植物培育。

当然，农场主们也经常种植一些转基因的农作物，比如玉米，因为这些农作物耐得住高剂量的除草剂。“生物科技工业组织” (Biotechnology Industry Organization)称转基因农作物在缺乏杀虫剂的发展中国家能提高产量。

但是到目前为止，似乎传统的植物培育技术比转基因技术更能提高农作物产量。还是那些农场主老手们有解决问题的办法。

Vocabulary:

Millennium: 千年，复数为Millennia
Breed: 繁殖
Insecticide: 杀虫剂
Proponent: 支持者
Tolerate: 忍受
Boost: 提高
Pesticide: 杀虫剂