March 4, 2011 | Robert Puro

An article in The Economist entitled ‘Doing more with less’ examines the feasibility of growing food on a grander scale in the coming years to accommodate a growing population that according to the UN is poised to grow by 2.5 billion people over the next 40 years.  The article focuses on three core areas of agriculture that will have to be addressed in order for agricultural production to keep up with world food demand.  These core areas include: “narrowing the gap between the worst and best producers;” implementing Western-style livestock breeding programs in the developing world; and most importantly increasing the use of agricultural technologies and GMO to increase yields.  The article argues that the development of “marker-assisted breeding,” the genetic marking, selection, and modification of plants, has the potential to increase overall food business yield gains by 1.5% – 2% a year, or enough to keep up with the projected 1.5% yearly growth in food demand that is expected over the next 40 years.