Baking&Snack - July 2011 - 12

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EDITORIAL

(continued from Page 10) The consequences of this lag are obvious in yield trends and acreage. It will be a long time before wheat catches up with competitive crops. For 2010, varieties of corn modified by biotechnology accounted for 86% of the national acreage and in soybeans and cotton for 93% each. Approaching 100% does not mean a ceiling has been reached since biotechnologists at work in agriculture have proven their continuing success in boosting yields. Knowing that biotechnologists have been able to produce varieties of corn and soybeans suited for specific end uses, such as healthier oils and grains designed for end uses such as milling or fuel processing, whets the hopes of millers and bakers for advances in wheat that will realize similar outcomes. Once the technical difficulties of making changes in the genetics of wheat are realized, it becomes understandable why research is first focused on crop improvements, both in yields as well as in lowering production costs. The latter will likely be based on a two-pronged effort that combines economy in use of chemical herbicides as well as significant gains in protecting the environment. It is only after the path to significant yield gains has been found that scientists working with wheat will turn to the task of improving milling as well as for making gains in nutritional contributions and baking quality. Considering the impressive

advances made in biotechnology in recent years, it is far from fantasy to imagine how this science will add value to this crop at every level. Instead of the fears and scorn that opponents of modified crops find delight in shouting, it is delightful to dream of the benefits for humankind promised by the application of this technology. Yet that one obstacle based on imagined fear must be overcome, even with the great promise of modified wheat. This requires extensive planning along with education of the public in a highly focused effort designed to show that biotechnology and genetic modification have caused no problems in the health or well-being of people and have been, if anything, a positive for ensuring the sustainability of land. The objections and barriers standing in wheat’s way are largely due to the admittedly clumsy way in which these changes were made in other crops. All sectors of the wheat-based foods industry appear ready to face up to the task at hand by being sure unacceptable negatives and risks are avoided in carrying out an industrywide effort in behalf of scientific progress that offers so very much. — Morton Sosland, editor in chief, Sosland Publishing msosland@sosland.com For more on biotech wheat, see Page 24.

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Baking&Snack - July 2011

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