Agricultural Biotechnology is Helping Farmers Grow Food Sustainably

The Obama Administration has made global food security a top priority in which American agriculture must play a key role.

Biotechnology allows farmers to grow more food on less land using farming practices that are environmentally sustainable. Through biotechnology:

Seeds yield more per acre, plants naturally resist specific insect pests and diseases, and farming techniques improve soil conservation.

Farmers and ranchers can help plants and animals fight diseases and adapt to environmental stress and climate change. We can enhance the nutritional content of foods and improve human health through plant- and animal-produced therapies.

The benefits of biotechnology are especially meaningful at a time when our global population is growing and our demand for food is increasing, especially in developing countries.

“Our strategies must deal with increasing agriculture production. A number of things could help countries increase output including seed technology.” - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, August 5, 2009

"Feeding a world population of 9.1 billion in 2050 will require raising overall food production by 70 percent (nearly 100 percent in developing countries)."
- United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization