Plant Manager: Arcadia Biosciences CEO Eric Rey, with genetically modified rice plants that thrive with far less fertilizer. | photograph by Dustin Aksland
Skittishness about genetically modified crops, especially in Europe and Asia, could deep-six Arcadia's plan. Doug Gurian-Sherman, a senior scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists' Food and Environment Program, repeats a common worry about GM crops -- that a rogue super-rice plant could run rampant and throw nearby ecosystems off balance.
But Rey remains convinced that the eventual payoffs, both economic and environmental, will make the struggle worthwhile. He claims nitrogen-efficient crops will eventually reduce global greenhouse-gas emissions by 15%. "If that's the reward, I'm sorry, but I don't buy the objections," he says. "You have to balance the possible risks against the very clear benefits. Where can you get the most emissions reductions for the least money spent? No question, it's in agriculture." What do those risks matter, he figures, when you have a chance to do more for the planet than all hybrid cars, green roofs, and solar panels combined?
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