Climate Adaptation
Making Seeds to Withstand Climate Change Is Getting Harder
Negotiations to strengthen an international treaty to develop hardier crops fell apart this month.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
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Global hunger and malnutrition are on the rise, as are temperatures and water shortages. Humanity must adapt crops to the changing climate by breeding hardier plants, but political and commercial interests continue to stymie those efforts.
Sharing seeds is critical to the global food system. To develop new varieties of crops that can thrive in a warmer, wetter or drier world, researchers must screen a wide range of plant materials to find key traits, like drought- and pest-tolerance.