In honor of Earth Day 2009, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) highlighted ten ways agricultural biotechnology is helping to save the planet by creating renewable energy sources and reducing agriculture’s environmental footprint. 

 Sharon Bomer, the executive vice president of the Food and Agriculture Section at BIO is quoted:

“The cultivation of food and crops affects everyone on the planet; not just by bringing food to their plates, but also ensuring that we’re doing it in the most environmentally friendly way possible to encourage the best use of our limited resource. Through farming practices like no-till agriculture and crops that can thrive even on marginal land, biotechnology is helping to feed and fuel the world in a much more sustainable manner.”

Some of the ways ag biotech is helping:

• Biofuel from cellulose generates eight to 10 times as much net energy as is required for its production. (Biotechnology Industry Organization. “New Biotech Tools for a Cleaner Environment.”)
• Biotech is developing drought-resistant crops, enabling agricultural production to withstand adverse growing conditions. Researchers recently tested cutting-edge biotech plants by subjecting them to drought conditions of 70% less water than normal. They survived with almost no loss in yield. (Council for Biotechnology Information. “The Search for ‘More Crop Per Drop.”)
• Pest-resistant biotech crops have reduced global pesticide applications by 630 million pounds. (Biotechnology Industry Organization.)
• Biotech crops can be grown using no-till farming, which increases soil retention of carbon two or three times that of standard farming practices, causing less emissions of the harmful greenhouse gas. (Biotechnology Industry Organization.)
• By reducing the need for energy intensive tilling, biotech crops have decreased fuel consumption on farms by 551 million gallons. (Biotechnology Industry Organization, PG Economics Ltd.)
• Processing just 30 percent of U.S. corn stover into biofuels would reduce net U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 90 to 150 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent each year, enough to offset the CO2 emissions of 10 typical coal-fired power plants. (Biotechnology Industry Organization. “Achieving Sustainable Production of Agriculture Biomass for Biorefinery Feedstock.”)