How does the seed industry help put food on the table? скачать в хорошем качестве

How does the seed industry help put food on the table?

Nutritious fruits and vegetables begin with a single seed. Also, a high-quality seed starts with research and development in the seed industry. These days, most people want to eat healthier food and know how to find it. For example, many consumers are aware that olive oil is high in oleic acid and low in trans-fat. But it’s also more expensive. For price sensitive consumers, vegetable oil from soybeans is a common substitute, but is often seen as less healthy. Now let’s imagine a seed company plans to develop a high oleic, low trans-fat vegetable oil made from soybeans. First, they start a new breeding program. They analyse hundreds of thousands of soybean plants over several years. Rigorous testing and selection results in a handful of special plants that produce soybeans that are rich in oleic acid but contain close to zero trans-fat. Second, they test these plants on a larger scale. They multiply those special plants through repeated cycles of planting and harvesting to produce millions of seeds. This quantity is needed to test growing conditions in multiple locations. Finally, they scale up for commercial production. Billions of special seeds are produced and distributed to farmers all over the world who want to plant soybeans to produce high oleic, low trans-fat vegetable oil. From start to finish, this entire process typically takes between seven to twelve years. Wow!!!