What is the UCS prescription for substantially reducing the threat of nitrogen pollution?
No Sure Fix shows that the prospects for GE NUE crops are uncertain, and even if they are successful, they will not adequately address the challenges of nitrogen pollution. Therefore, UCS advocates the use of a spectrum of ecological and breeding approaches. So far, traditional breeding shows the most promise for improving the NUE of crops, while promising ecologically-based approaches like the use of cover crops are also needed. GE may also have a role if it can overcome possible barriers that it has not confronted in current GE crops. Ecosystem-based approaches, such as the use of cover crops or precision agriculture, complement crop-based approaches such as breeding or GE (which largely overlap in their potential). They accomplish this by focusing on improving NUE at times when the cash crops are not growing, or by improving the timing of nitrogen application to better fit crop growth. It will be important to provide adequate support to all complementary approaches to improving NUE.
