The population on this earth is expanding, and with it comes the problem of how to provide enough food for everyone. There is only so much available cropland and water for irrigation. However, for every gallon of fresh water, there are ninety-nine gallons of ocean water, and there are plants that can use salt water to grow. If salt-water plants could be used for food, they could become an enormous resource. This is where Edward Glenn comes in. He researches and discovers uses for these plants. Having already discovered a salt-water plant for feeding livestock and a seed producing plant that makes vegetable oil, Edward and his fellow scientists around the world feel they have only scratched the surface. Edward says, "We foresee farming on all of the world's salty deserts and coastal lands; wherever there's seawater to irrigate.

"In the future we are going to be continuing to face global problems." he says. "Solutions to them will require the cooperation of people with many different skills. But let me tell you, the basis of all of this is that thing called mathematics, that indispensable tool, and you've got to have it."