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Potatoes for industry

The main industrial use of potatoes is for starch production. The two main types of potato starch are amylose and amylopectin, and the latter is the more useful. A GM variety Amflora developed by BASF produces mainly amylopectin. Approved by the EU in 2010, it was the first GM crop variety to get the nod in over 10 years. Other recently developments include technology to produce vaccines cheaply and reliably in potatoes.  Other industrial uses are in the pipeline and BioP is exploring the potential.

The use of potatoes for biofuels (bioethanol) is perfectly feasible, and GM varieties could be developed with superior fermentation traits; but BioP is opposed to this as it would compete with production of food. Other approaches to biofuel production are likely to prove more sustainable and profitable as well as socially preferable.

To sum up …

If we are serious about future food security, then GM potatoes are essential. They are the only practical way of making ‘sustainable intensification’ a reality.

It would be perverse to spurn the prospect of varieties combining robust late blight resistance, nematode resistance and a range of other highly valuable traits in varieties with the quality and specifications needed for each major production location, soil type and significant end use. They will allow potatoes to be grown profitably, with greatly reduced pesticide use and other environmental benefits,

The science and technology to achieve this are well-defined. Future discoveries will extend the range of possibilities still further.

The priority now is to make it happen, after years of needless delays. With sufficient funding – a few millions, a bagatelle in the context of the potential – and a sustained effort to win over public opinion and to rationalise the regulatory process – GM potatoes could be planted widely within 2-3 years.