ISB 202 1nd Edition Lecture 19 Outline of Last Lecture I. Food and Agriculture Continued Outline of Current Lecture II. Meat and DairyIII. Farm Policy IV. Farm SubsidiesV. PesticidesVI. Is Genetic Engineering Safe?Current LectureMeat and Dairy In the past, rich countries consumed the majority of meat and dairy, however meat consumption in developing countries is rising. Modern breeding techniques provide cattle resistant to heat and tropical diseases. This leads to Tropical Deforestation– Waste can contaminate soil and food.- High density of animals requires constant use of antibiotics, leading to antibiotic resistance in microbes.Farm Policy Farm subsidies in many countries are protected by powerful political and economic interests.– Agricultural subsidies encourage surpluses and allow American farmers to sell products overseas at prices below production costs. Farm Bill– The Congressional Budget Office says this year’s farm bill is projected to cost a total of $956 billion from 2014-2023. That’s a 49 percent increase from 2008’s $640 billion farm bill which was vetoed by President Bush due to its nearly 50 These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.percent cost increase over the 2003 farm bill. Both houses of Congress overrode Bush’s veto.Farm subsidiesPros Creates stable farming industry Avoids price hikes for food staples European Union annually spends $100 billion Vital for national security Subsidies help the family farms survive Subsidies good for developing world because they are for important staples (milk, grains etc.)Cons Contradicts Free-trade Expensive-US annually spends $44 billion Can be one of the major causes of poverty in LEDC’s Bad for the Environment- encourages imports and monocultures and overproduction in unsuitable areas Most of the subsidies go to large AgribusinessesPesticide - chemical that kills pests Biocide - kills wide range of organisms Herbicide - kills plants Insecticide - kills insects Fungicide - kills fungi Acaricide - kills mites, ticks, and spiders Nematicide - kills nematodes Rodenticide - kills rodents Avicide - kills birds Current Pesticide Use– EPA estimates total pesticide use in the U.S. amounts to about 5.3 billion pounds annually. Genetic Engineering: removes DNA from one organism and splices it into the chromosomes of another. Produces genetically modified organisms (GMOs) with new traits. Can produce crops with pest-resistance and wider tolerance levels to frost, drought, low nutrient soils, salty soils, etc. Can improve protein or vitamin content of crop- Golden Rice Can incorporate oral vaccines into foods such as bananas for use in developing nations Animals can be modified to grow faster or produce pharmaceuticals in their milk.Pest Resistance and Weed Control Biotechnologists have created plants containing genes for insecticides. A gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) makes toxins that are lethal to butterflies and beetles. These genes have been transferred into corn, potatoes and cotton. Reduces pesticide use and increases yield. Concern has arisen over several points. Spread of genes into wild populations leading to resistance in pests There is worry that” GMOs might produce “superweeds “resistant to pesticides. Native biodiversity may be reduced. Novel toxins might be created. Technology may only be available to the rich, making family farms uncompetitive and driving poor nations further into poverty. You are already eating GMOs as 60% of processed food in the U.S. contains GMOs.Is Genetic Engineering Safe? Environmental and consumer groups have campaigned against transgenic organisms.– “Frankenfoods”– European nations have bans on GMOs. U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to require labeling of foods containing GMOs.– New varieties are “substantially equivalent” to related traditionally-bred varieties. Is GMOs tested so far do not survive well in the wild and are no more invasive than unmodified plants. Worry that genetically modified animals will escape captivity and outcompete their wild relatives. (Salmon with added growth hormone gene grow 7X faster than their wild counterparts.) We should err on the side of safety. Will GMOs help feed the world or lead to more economic
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