Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think

by Peter H. Diamandis

This is not to say there aren’t interesting non-GE techniques of seed optimization in development. The Kansas-based Land Institute is attempting to turn annual food crops like wheat and corn into perennials. The results could be fantastic. Natural ecosystems are far better than human-managed agricultural systems at converting sunlight into living tissue. Perennials— and mainly polyculture perennials (meaning a mixture of perennials growing side by side)—anchor those ecosystems. These plants have long roots and diverse architectures, making them weather tolerant, pest resistant, disease resistant, and able to produce more biomass per acre than human agriculture without requiring any fossil fuel inputs or degrading the soil and water. The issue is one of time. The Land Institute expects it to take another twenty-five years until these perennials are profitable and productive. Biocrops, meanwhile, are here today.