It is a fairly common occurrence for couples to have differing opinions of what to put on the dinner table — no two people can always agree on the same foods. Rarely, however, does a couple work at opposite ends of the agricultural spectrum on food and still find common ground. But this is the case with Pamela Ronald and Raoul Adamchak, married for 10 years and — opposite, perhaps, but not opposed.

Ronald, professor of plant pathology, heads up a lab at UC Davis that uses genetic engineering to understand the processes of the rice plant. Adamchak, market garden coordinator at the UC Davis Student Farm, has worked as an inspector for California Certified Organic Farms.

Under current USDA standards, genetic engineering is not allowed in organic production. And yet despite what one might think, this is far from a taboo subject around the household. Instead, Ronald and Adamchak,who met each other when Adamchak was a partner at Full Belly Farm, a 200-acre certified organic farm in Yolo County — believe that just as they share a happy relationship of husband and wife so too can there be a happy relationship of genetic engineering and organic farming.

So goes the name of a new book they co-authored, The Future of Food: A Marriage of Genetic Engineering and Organic Farming? to be published by Oxford University Press next spring. The two spoke about their book and philosophy in a presentation on Nov. 7 as part of UC Davis' yearlong book project on Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. Pollan's book lays the groundwork for a discussion about the future of farming, and as Adamchak and Ronald assert in their book, in the future organic farming and genetic engineering need not be warring nations.

"Essentially, organic and genetically engineered foods operate under the same principle," said Ronald. "Both techniques cultivate a system that aims to reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture."

Both Adamchak and Ronald are quick to point out that they are not political activists trying to advocate a revamped agricultural policy — just an organic farmer and a biologist who notice the similarities in the trajectories of their respective fields.

But when pushed to look into the future, Ronald does see a time when the paths will converge. Genetic engineering "leads to new crop varieties, and organic agriculture is a farming method that relies on genetically modified varieties now developed through standard breeding approaches," she said. "By the time our two children grow up, there will likely be a new certification like 'Genetically Engineered, Organically Grown.'"

DNA tweaks

Both standard breeding and genetic engineering result in genetically modified crops carrying new genes. Whereas standard breeding is generally limited to genes within a species, genetic engineering is the process by which a crop's DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is altered by introducing an outside gene, with the intended effect of creating a different variety of that crop's genes. For example, using genetic engineering, a bacterial gene can be introduced into the structure of a crop's DNA, providing resistance to certain pests.

Organic farming is regulated by state and federal laws, and any farm wanting to be certified organic must adhere to a stringent set of standards. The rules include a total ban on synthetic pesticides. Organic farming emphasizes cover cropping, composting and crop rotation as a method of combating insect infection.

Organic farming "is aimed at trying to improve some of the problems in conventional agriculture," said Adamchak. "Unfortunately, it currently makes up only 2 percent of the agriculture in the U.S."

Previously, there has been a lot of distrust in the organic world toward the safety of genetically engineered plants. For example, the latest USDA guidelines for organic agriculture exclude genetically engineered crops. However, changing times and more testing have brought with it a decreased level of suspicion. Europe, which has long been skeptical of American genetic engineering, recently lifted its ban on importation of U.S.-grown genetically engineered goods after a lengthy study revealed no scientific basis for ruling out genetically engineered crops.

"Genetic engineering is a green process," said Ronald. "DNA is abundant and we ingest it daily. The process of eating or transforming it is nontoxic."

Benefits

The couple contends that the beneficial potential for genetic engineering is enormous. Aside from being an alternative to chemical pesticides, the process can be used to bolster a plant's immunity or tolerance to environmental conditions. In Ronald's lab, for example, researchers have developed a rice variety that can withstand submergence — essential for farms in Southeast Asia that are often subjected to torrential floods. This altered rice seed is highly desired to enhance the yield in areas prone to submergence and home to 140 million farmers, many of whom live on less than $1 a day.

Genetic engineering also holds promise for the goals of ecological farming, they add. Some pesticide problems that plague organic agriculture could be reduced by the introduction of pest-resistant organic crops.

How well will these two parallel relationships — marital and scientific — flourish? Well, when asked what this family puts on the dinner table — genetically engineered or organic produce — Ronald responds, "We eat both."

Tom Dotan is a student intern for the UC Davis News Service.