TWC WEEK SEVEN

Discussion in class this week focused on the another basic need for survival: FOOD.

As we are all aware of the food shortages we are facing due to increasing population and over consumption, this week's class discussion was on the various ways which could help overcome the problem. Namely, Agribiology.

“When we are able to grow the resources we need,

we will finally be on the road to sustainability”

Gurinder Shahi

This is indeed true. Only when we become self  sufficient instead of relying on nature's resources can we then be sustainable. So could we sustain by using Agribiology to grow our own supply of food? Here are some of the various Agribiotechnology we are using now.

AGRICULTURE

Micropropagation techniques/tissue culture: Multiply disease-free planting materials on a large scale

Development of transgenic crops: Commercially develop new genetically modified crop varieties

Modern plant breeding: Develop superior plant varieties rapidly and more precisely

LIVESTOCK

Livestock improvement: Speed up the reproduction process in animals, allowing more generations to be produced

Transgenic livestock: Development of transgenic lines of poultry which are faster growing or provide leaner, healthier meat

In short, Agribiology allows us to increase yield, producing better quality and more nutritious food while lessening our environmental footprints. In addition, it allows us to produce products that are traditionally hard to obtain or products which are usually highly sought after such as fishes, pork, chicken etc. 

However, while we frantically search for methods to increase our supply of food, I think it is also important that people are aware of the seriousness of this issue and not consume more than they need. For example, it is found that US once again with 5% of the global population consumes about 30% of the food resources(US$1600 billion). This is 3.5 times more than South and East Asia combined. Should the rest of the countries consume like US, no technology will be able to grow enough food to meet the demand without first destroying our environment.


Another interesting takeaway was the presentation by one of my classmates on "Growing meat in the lab". I thought it was truly fascinating and a marvelous technology! The idea is it only takes the meat from one animal and it is able to create the volume previously provided by millions of animals. In addition, it will be able to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide without the need of processing meat. While there are some who are against this technology, I think it is a viable way to meet our high demands of food. This could also solve the ethical issues of animal abuse. Whereby they are locked up, force fed and the cruelty of being born just to be eaten by mankind.


There was also a discussion on whether we should label Genetically Modified food. In my opinion, we definitely should. Firstly, it is for the safety of the public who is consuming the food. With different genes from all kinds of produce could have been added into the product.  What if someone was allergic to nuts which were added to apples to make it more crunchy?Like prof said, it is good that we label it so that people would be able to track what they are eating. In addition, by not labeling it, it gives people the wrong impression that they are trying to hide the fact that GM food is "bad for health". The truth is, I don't think GM there is a need to hide whether the product has been genetically modified as people have already been eating all kinds of GM food without even realizing. 
In fact, I came across another interesting article on GM food I would like to share with everyone. 

Scientists cross pigs with spinach

"Scientists in Japan say they have successfully implanted vegetable genes in a living animal for the first time.

Researchers at Kinki University near Osaka inserted genetic material from spinach into a pig, which they say will produce healthier pork.The experiment, which began several years ago, has yielded two generations of pigs with the spinach gene known as FAD2.Research team leader Akira Iritani said the pigs with the spinach gene had produced less fat than normal."It is confirmed for the first time in the world that a plant gene is functioning properly in a living mammal, not in a cultured cell," said Professor Iritani."     BBC NEWS

The way technology is advancing today, it seems like anything is possible! Overall, I would give this class a 9 out of 10 as I really enjoyed all the insightful presentations and amazed at the wonders of our technology. 

Can't wait for more!

Selene.