Piante geneticamente modificate per l'alimentazione: Problemi, opportunità e prospettive

The scientists that thirty-two years ago produced the first genetically modified (GM) plants were concerned about those who suffer malnutrition and crop losses in the poor areas of the world. Today, GM crops are grown in more than 10% of global cultivated land, to the benefit of agriculture. However, the early promises to deliver nutritionally improved food for everyone are starting to be fulfilled only now. Plant metabolism manipulation to improve the nutritional quality of food requires detailed knowledge of fundamental plant biology and is therefore a slow process. However, political and economical decisions have also hindered the translation of fundamental science into crop improvement by GM technologies. This has especially affected public research, which is not directly profit-driven and is therefore essential for humanitarian goals. Italian scientists have been important actors in the global efforts to develop GM plants to improve agriculture sustainability, but these efforts need to be supported by legislators and society as a whole.