Karl Haro von Mogel from Biofortified recently posted a video interview with Dr. Robert McDonald, Vanguard Scientist at the Nature Conservancy from the 2009 BIO Conference. 

When asked about his thoughts on the potential for biotechnology to contribute to sustainable agriculture Dr. McDonald said, “if there is scientific evidence that biotech crops are helpful we are going to support that.”

In particular, Karl asked Dr. McDonald about crops that may be engineered to have a trait known as nitrogen-use efficiency and how that may lead to a decrease in fertilizer use and runoff. 

“Certainly nutrient  runoff is one of the big issues we worry about, and in principal, any technology, whether it’s biotechnology or improved management practices that can reduce runoff from a site is a positive.”

Footage of the entire interview can be found on Karl’s site. Dr. Robert McDonald was also the author of a CBI Guest Blog.