Opinion: Evolving CO₂-Hungry Crops: Breeding plants that can convert more carbon dioxide to food could help feed a growing population.

In 2007 and 2008, due in part to rapidly rising energy costs and climatic extremes, the world experienced a sweeping food crisis, with food riots observed in more than 30 countries. In 2010 and 2011, unprecedented drought in Russia reduced the global supply of wheat, with social and political ramifications for wheat importing countries around the globe. Last summer’s extensive drought in the United States, the world’s largest grain exporter, suggests that food supply will, once again, continue to be an immediate and global concern.