We need to act now to ensure global food security, and reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions

ABSTRACT

To feed a rapidly growing human population in an era of climate change and increasingly uncertain weather—such as drought and flood—humanity will need crops with increased yields, greater resiliency to extreme weather, and more resistance to disease. Appropriately enough in the Century of Biology, that means turning to genetic tools such as CRISPR.

KEYWORDS:

• CRISPR
• genomic technology
• genomic editing
• food security
• agriculture

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding

The Climate and Sustainable Agriculture Program at the Innovative Genomics Institute at UC-Berkeley is funded by philanthropic donations from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and other anonymous donors. We also receive funding through grants and industry partnerships. Pamela C. Ronald also thanks the Rockefeller Bellagio residency program.

Additional information

Funding

The Climate and Sustainable Agriculture Program at the Innovative Genomics Institute at UC-Berkeley is funded by philanthropic donations from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and other anonymous donors. We also receive funding through grants and industry partnerships. Pamela C. Ronald also thanks the Rockefeller Bellagio residency program.

Notes on contributors

Bradley R. Ringeisen

Bradley R. Ringeisen is the executive director of the Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley. His previous position was at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as the director of the Biological Technologies Office. He is a physical chemist with a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a pioneer in the field of live cell printing, and an experienced administrator of scientific research and product development.

Clarice de Azevedo Souza

Clarice de Azevedo Souza is a senior program manager responsible for the climate and sustainable agriculture research portfolio at the Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley. She is a molecular biologist with expertise in plant genomics, microbial pathogenesis, and plant immunity. She has a PhD from the University of British Columbia and postdoctoral training from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the University of California, Berkeley.

Elizabeth W. Njuguna

Elizabeth W. Njuguna is a climate impact manager at the Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, holding a PhD in Biochemistry and Biotechnology from Ghent University. She combines her expertise in plant molecular biology with her postdoctoral experience in biotechnology policy and regulation to support the climate and agricultural programs of the public impact team

Pamela C. Ronald

Pamela C. Ronald is a distinguished professor at the University of California, Davis and an investigator at the Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley. She studies genes that confer crop stress tolerance. She is co-author of Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food. She is a Wolf Prize in Agriculture & Vinfuture Prize Laureate and an elected member of the US National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.