Source: CropLife International Plant Science Post – July 2016

In 2013 Dr. Marc Van Montagu won the World Food Prize for his breakthrough achievements in founding, developing, and applying modern agricultural biotechnology.

During the 1960s, along with his fellow researcher Jeff Schell, Dr. Van Montagu showed how a plant bacterium could be used as a tool to insert genes from another organism into plant cells. That made it possible to develop crops with favorable traits, such as those resistant to disease and insects.      Click to see the video.

Source: CropLife International Plant Science Post – July 2016

Semi-dwarf wheat is the dominant variety of wheat grown today, accounting for about 99 percent of global wheat acreage. It was developed in Mexico in the mid-1940s-50s by Dr. Norman Borlaug, geneticist, plant pathologist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, as a way to increase wheat yields and make the country more self-sufficient in food production. Continue reading…

About 40 percent of apples are wasted globally, largely due to superficial bruising from physical impact, not spoilage. Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. (OSF), the company behind Arctic^® apples, hopes to reduce that number. These fruits have been genetically modified not to brown when bruised from jostling or when exposed flesh comes into contact with air. In consumer research, the company found that the majority of apple eaters find browning to be a deterrent to consumption. But when told about Arctic^® apples, 62 percent of consumers said they would be likely to buy it. That’s why a small team of orchardists and scientists created the world’s first biotech, non-browning apples. Neal Carter, OSF president and founder, tells us more. Continue reading…

Source: CropLife International

Five videos from the UN Food and Agricultural Organization show the magnitude of global food loss and waste. Check it all out at CropLife International’s post (Click here).