NOTE: Embedded links to sources for this commentary at the link below.
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Withering of Public Capacity to Breed Better Crops
Doug Gurian-Sherman
The Real Scoop, July 17 2009
http://ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/science_and_impacts/science/the-real-scoop/the-real-scoop.html

Have you heard about the new lettuces that are resistant to corky-root disease?  I didn't think so - but is it important? Absolutely! Without the pest and stress fighting traits that breeders have incorporated into our crops over the decades, farm productivity would be a fraction of its current levels.

Traditional plant breeders have improved crops immensely over the years, and continue to deliver new varieties with valuable traits. New disease-resistant and insect-resistant lettuce varieties developed by USDA plant breeders over the last year are just the latest success stories of traditional breedingËœa powerful technology that is all but invisible to most of the public.

Traditional crop breeding has contributed hundreds, maybe thousands, of useful traits over the years to virtually all types of crops, ranging from increased yield to disease and insect resistance to food quality and stress tolerance. The majority of these traits have been developed by public sector breeders. And unlike the limited achievements of genetic engineering, which so far has produced only a few insect and virus resistance genes and herbicide tolerance for a few crops, public breeding successes are rarely accompanied by splashy ad campaigns.

But while public plant and animal breeders are working in relative obscurity, their programs are also losing critical support and funding. These cuts are coming at a time when we will need breeding programs more than ever to help us deal with climate change and feed a growing population.

Of course, even public breeding programs need to be aimed at the broader societal good. Much too often, taxpayers' public breeding dollars have been used to subsidize big agribusinesses, with breeders perfecting nutrient-poor commodity corn for processed foods, tasteless tomatoes for mass machine harvest and long-distance shipping, and chickens that can only survive in CAFOs.

What we really need is breeding targeted at improving agricultural sustainability that will enhance agro-ecological methods like organic and low-external-input systems, as well as satisfying consumers' needs. With proper direction, public breeding can help develop tastier and more productive fruits and vegetables and grains and hardy livestock suited to pasture systems. It can play a major role in reducing the pollution caused by agriculture, and help farmers to confront climate change. It is past time to boost funding for public breeding programs and refocus them to support sustainable farming.