Water and genetics

While it seems a stretch to connect the increasing use of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and the increasing scarcity of water, two stories reported in the media over the weekend offer a window into the convergence.   Ag giant Simplot in Idaho is getting ready to grow a new variety of potato which while using only genes present in potatoes will suppress the ones that produce black spots after bruising.  This will enable the suppliers of Mickey Ds to avoid the cuts they receive for bruised spuds.  A Canadian company is planning to release a genetically modified apple which won't turn brown after peeling and cutting.  That may be a harder sell, as many apple producers oppose this modification since it will make most varieties obsolete overnight as processers scramble to get supplies of this miracle.  The other big story, which many of us in the agriculture business have seen coming is the decimation of the Ogallala aquifer.  This is the huge pool of underground water which sustains agricultural activity and society in general in a huge swath of the American heartland.  As the water disappears, there will be increased pressure on science to come up with more exotic genetic solutions for plants to grow virtually without irrigation in increasingly hostile conditions.  The temptations to use genetic material from other sources will become overwhelming when the payoff for truly drought proof corn will be worth billions.  I don't know where it will all end, but the chances are it will not be a good outcome for us or the planet.