High and Dry

The report argues that genetic engineering has provided modest results in addressing agricultural drought, exemplified by Monsanto's DroughtGard corn, which offers limited protection under moderate drought and no benefit in severe conditions. It finds that conventional breeding and improved farming practices are often more cost-effective and successful. The author highlights that drought tolerance is a complex trait involving many genes, making single-gene GE approaches limited, and notes a lack of evidence that GE has improved water-use efficiency (WUE). The report recommends increasing public support for conventional breeding, focusing on drought-tolerant 'orphan crops' from the Southern Hemisphere, and investing in soil and water conservation.

• Monsanto's DroughtGard corn, containing the bacterial gene cspB, provides only modest yield protection under moderate drought conditions and is not expected to be useful in severe or extreme droughts.
• Conventional breeding and improved farming practices have historically been more effective and less costly than genetic engineering for enhancing drought tolerance in U.S. corn.
• There is very little evidence that the biotech industry has successfully used genetic engineering to improve water-use efficiency (WUE), despite industry claims of achieving "more crop per drop."
• Drought tolerance is a genetically complex trait requiring the interaction of many genes, which limits the efficacy of current GE technology that can only manipulate a few genes at a time.
• The number of USDA-regulated field trials for GE drought-tolerant crops spiked in 2005 but has remained relatively stagnant between 82 and 113 trials annually through 2011, suggesting a possible slowdown in the discovery of new genes.
• Certain 'orphan crops' native to the Southern Hemisphere, such as sorghum, pearl millet, cassava, and cowpeas, possess inherent drought tolerance superior to temperate-zone crops but remain under-researched.
• Developing a new GE trait is significantly more expensive than conventional breeding, with average costs estimated at $136 million compared to $1 million for conventional methods.
• GE drought-tolerant crops may suffer from pleiotropy, where engineered genes cause unintended negative effects on crop growth or quality that might only appear after widespread commercialization.

APA

Gurian-Sherman, D. (2012). High and Dry. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/high-and-dry-report.pdf

Chicago

Gurian-Sherman, Doug. High and Dry. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2012. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/high-and-dry-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gurian-Sherman |first1=Doug |title=High and Dry |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=June 2012 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/high-and-dry-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{guriansherman2012high, author = {Gurian-Sherman, Doug}, title = {{High and Dry}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2012}, month = jun, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/high-and-dry-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }