Novel nitrogen-fixing crops

Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers have been helping feed the world since the mid 20th century. While some farmers still use manure to fertilize their crops, synthetic nitrogen fertilizers are much more efficient and allow for the large-scale production that is needed for the global population. The Haber bosch process which produces these fertilizers uses a lot of energy. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers also lead to a lot of nutrient pollution in aquatic ecosystems. Despite the effectiveness of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers in helping ramp up global food production since the mid-20th century, it is clear that their continued use is not sustainable. Novel nitrogen-fixing crops provide us with an opportunity to move away from using these synthetic fertilizers. Scientists are working to create nitrogen-fixing crops. They hope to use the genes from mycorrhiza bacteria that fix nitrogen and transfer this suite of genes into the mitochondria and chloroplasts of crops. This promising technology could greatly help us in combating a myriad of challenges caused by synthetic nitrogen fertilizers without reducing food security (and possibly even improving it). While novel nitrogen-fixing crops hold great potential for climate mitigation and ecological restoration, they will only be effective in doing these things if the technology is made widely available. A clear policy that leads to widespread implementation of nitrogen-fixing crops will be needed to ensure that these crops can be a successful food system solution.