Science  journal Nature published editorials on the need for a second green revolution to eliminate world hunger by 2050 and how overregulation is slowing down a rice variety than can lower the risk of blindness in children, while the production of a biotech crop in India yields advantages for female employment opportunities and earnings.

“Second green revolution” necessary to eliminate world hunger

A second green revolution with a new focus in agricultural research will be needed to provide enough food for the world’s population in 2050, according to an editorial published by science journal Nature on July 28. In order to achieve a Green Revolution, we will need to invest in high-tech seeds and low-tech farming practices.  The editorial was part of Nature’s latest issue where the theme was food and agriculture.

Overregulation delays rice variety key to reducing blindness in children, Nature says

Steve Baragona of Voice of America radio reported on another editorial published in the science journal Nature, about the overregulation of biotech crops and how it has slowed down the release of a variety of rice that could help truncate the leading cause of preventable blindness in children. At least 250,000 children become blind every year as a result of vitamin A deficiency, according to the World Health Organization. To tackle this problem, researchers used genes involved in producing beta carotene, a vitamin A precursor, from other plant species and inserted them into the rice, named Golden Rice for its yellow-orange color.  Listen to the coverage. Read the original editorial.

Biotech crop benefits women’s employment in India

The production of a biotech crop in India yielded substantial benefits in the wages and employment opportunities of rural women, according to a study conducted by the UK’s University of Warwick and Germany’s University of Goettinghen. The crop, biotech cotton, brought about higher income for rural workers as well as more employment, particularly hired female labor.