By Prof Colin Campbell, Chief Executive Fields of research that are now more vital than ever Earlier this year, it was announced that the UK Government would be bringing forward a new Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding Bill). Unless you work in the agricultural sector, the significance of this may have prompted a ‘so what? moment for most readers. However, here at the James Hutton Institute, we welcomed news of this Bill. Why? Because it has the potential to make a steady food supply chain a reality in the future, critical in this crisis time of climate change, pandemics, and the rising cost of food production. We are recognised as being world-leaders in this area of science and research; where we study land, soils, water, environment and how this impacts upon, and is affected by, people and communities. We explore different techniques to understand crop growth and apply this knowledge to produce new varieties of crops. We know that this research is needed now more than ever: Scotland is predicted to be getting warmer and wetter, which will mean an increase in pests and diseases, such as potato blight. In other countries, the climate is expected to get hotter and drier and there will be less water available for growing. To reduce our carbon footprint, we need more stringent environmental targets and to reduce our reliance on the use of fertilisers and biocides. We need to grow food closer to home more reliably and using cultivation practises that supports greater biodiversity. Farmers have been crossing and selecting crops since the Stone Age. Most of our research is carried out using such conventional breeding. The problem with this is we rely on trial and error and many growing cycles take over 10 to 15 years. Given the urgency of the climate crises we simply don’t have the time for this. One of the new techniques we use is ‘precision breeding’, also known as gene editing. This technique has been likened to genetic scissors because it can precisely target a specific region on the plant’s DNA without affecting other parts. It can be used to knock out genes which can prevent disease or alter the plant’s metabolism and thus boost the levels of natural healthprotecting chemicals in the plant. The changes in the genetic sequences are done in a precise way so the hard-won gains achieved by conventional breeding are unaffected. Until this announcement of the new Bill, this type of breeding modification was subject to the same regulations as techniques associated with genetic modification (GM) which use less precise techniques and insert DNA sometimes from other species. Crops derived through precision breeding don’t have any DNA from other species inserted into them and are indistinguishable from crops bred conventionally. The benefits will ultimately need to be proven scientifically and consequences assessed, and this can only be done by field trials across a variety of soils and climates to ensure a full evaluation is made. The new Bill will help do this. Researchers in England will now be able to do field trials on such precision bred crops but, the legal position in Scotland remains the same as the EU, and precision breeding remains subject to GM regulations. Time is not on our side, and we need our agricultural sector to be able to grow food locally, consistently, against worsening weather and that benefits everyone. For a country such as Scotland, which has a reputation for high quality food and drink brands built on its natural, high-quality environment; we need to consider how conventional systems, using potentially more chemical inputs, will fare against similar systems from countries that are using precision breeding, and whether this impacts upon the balance of consumer perceptions when it comes to relative environmental benefits. To do that, we need the science to provide evidence which can help people make those decisions and at the James Hutton Institute we will continue to do this. 8 Hutton Highlights The Our Phosphorus Future report is the most comprehensive global analysis of the challenges, and possible solutions, to the phosphorus crisis to date. It has been written by a team of 40 international experts from 17 countries, led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and the University of Edinburgh, and features contributions from researchers at the James Hutton Institute. The report calls on governments across the world to adopt a ‘50, 50, 50’ goal: a 50 per cent reduction in global pollution of phosphorus and a 50 per cent increase in recycling of the nutrient by the year 2050. Such a model would create a food system that would provide enough phosphorus to sustain over four times the current global population, save farmers nearly US $20 billion in annual phosphorus fertiliser costs, and avoid a projected yearly clean-up bill of over US $300 billion to remove phosphorus from polluted water courses. Professor Marc Stutter, a senior researcher at the Environmental and Biochemical Sciences department of the James Hutton Institute and co-author of the report, said: “It is great to see this united voice from such a truly global group of researchers. The recommendations and the opportunity to raise awareness of the broader environmental, resource and societal issues around the nutrient phosphorus come at a critical time for farming internationally. Phosphorus resources are already affecting farmer’s options for fertilisers and will soon ripple through food and fodder prices. “Such a report and current issues should make us more proactive at restructuring the global system of phosphorus usage and reuse and wider the impacts for soils and waters.” For the full Our Phosphorus Future report and videos summarising each chapter, see www.opfglobal.com. Scientists offer solutions to global phosphorus crisis threatening food and water security Phosphorus is an essential but often overlooked resource, which is vital for life on earth, and is extracted from phosphate rock for use in crop fertilisers, livestock feeds and food additives. A major report by scientists warns that global mismanagement of this finite nutrient is causing twin crises, brought into sharp focus with fertiliser prices skyrocketing in recent months. Recommendations in Our Phosphorus Future include: • Integrating livestock and crop production so phosphorus in animal manure is applied to crops, reducing the demand for chemical fertilisers; • Moving towards more sustainable diets, which would reduce the amount of phosphorus needed to grow animal feed; • Reducing global food waste, meaning less demand for crops and animal products, and therefore phosphorus (a recent UNEP report estimated global food waste from households, retail establishments and the food service industry totals 931 million tonnes each year); • Improving wastewater treatment to remove phosphorus from sewage, so it can be reused and does not enter lakes and rivers. December 2022 9 Comments?
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