Food security and biotechnology
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Explainer Video
Summary
Food security and biotechnology
In a nutshell
It is important to have enough food to feed the population. This can be achieved through sustainable food production. Food security can be achieved by stopping overfishing, using efficient food production techniques and biotechnology. Biotechnology has allowed scientists to engineer mycoprotein and human insulin.
Food security
Definition
Food security is having enough food to feed the population. There is a wide range of factors that can threaten food security.
Examples
- An increasing global population. The birth rate in many developing countries is quickly rising.
- Diets in developing countries are changing. This means the demand for certain foods to be imported can increase. This can lead to already scarce food sources becoming even more scarce.
- Farming affects new pests and pathogens or changes in environmental conditions. This can result in a loss of crops or livestock. This would create a widespread famine.
- The high costs of farming for seeds, machinery and livestock can make it too expensive for people in some countries to start or maintain food production. This means that sometimes there aren't enough people producing food in these areas to feed the population
- There are conflicts in some parts of the world over the availability of food and water.
Sustainable food production
Definition
Sustainable food production means making enough food without using resources faster than they renew. Sustainable methods of food production are needed so that enough food can be made to feed everyone now and in the future.
Overfishing
Fish stocks are declining in the oceans because we are fishing too much. This means there is less fish to eat and ocean food chains are greatly affected. This may lead to some fish species disappearing completely from some areas.
Example
Cod are at risk of disappearing from the north west Atlantic.
To prevent this problem, fish stocks need to be maintained at a level where the fish can continue to breed. This is sustainable food production. Fish stocks can be maintained by fishing quotas and net size.
Fishing quotas | There are limits on the number and size of fish that can be caught in certain areas. This prevents certain fish species from being overfished. |
Net size | There are limits on the mesh size of the fish net depending on what is being fished. This aims to reduce the number of unwanted fish that end up being discarded (as they are caught accidentally). Using a bigger mesh size will let unwanted species escape and smaller, younger fish will slip through the net. This allows them to reach breeding age. |
Efficiency of food production
Restricting the movement of livestock and keeping them in a temperature-controlled environment reduces the transfer of energy from livestock to the surroundings. This is a way to make farming more efficient as the animals will use less energy moving around and controlling their own body temperature. This means there is more energy available for growth so more food can be produced from the same input of resources.
Examples
| 1. | Livestock (calves and chickens) can be factory farmed and kept in small pens. |
| 2. | Fish can be factory farmed in cages where their movement is restricted. |
| 3. | Animals can be fed high-protein food to increase their growth. |
Certain factory farming methods are controversial because the techniques can be considered cruel and, therefore, raise ethical objections. Also, as the animals are kept close together, diseases can spread very quickly.
Biotechnology
Definition
When living things and biological processes are manipulated to produce useful products.
Mycoprotein
Modern biotechnology techniques have allowed large amounts of microorganisms to be cultured industrially under controlled conditions for use as a food source. Mycoprotein is used to make high-protein meat substitutes for vegetarian meals.
Example
QuornTM is made from the fungus Fusarium which is grown in aerobic conditions on a glucose syrup food source. The fungal biomass is harvested and then purified to produce the mycoprotein.
Bacteria and human insulin
Bacteria can be genetically engineered to make human insulin.
| 1. | Human insulin gene. |
| A | The insulin gene is cut from a human chromosome using a restriction enzyme. Restriction enzymes recognise specific DNA sequences and cut the DNA at these points. The cut leaves overhanging DNA known as a 'sticky end'. The plasmid is cut open using the same restriction enzyme, this leaves the same sticky end. |
| 2. | Sticky ends. |
| 3. | A plasmid is removed from a bacterium. |
| B | The plasmid and human insulin are mixed together. An enzyme called ligase is added, which joins the sticky ends to produce recombinant DNA. This is two different bits of DNA joined together. |
| C | The recombinant DNA is inserted into a bacterium. |
| D | The modified bacterium is grown under controlled conditions. This results in millions of bacteria that produce insulin. The insulin is then harvested and purified. It can be used to treat diabetes. |
Genetically modified crops
Many people across the world do not have enough food to eat, or the diet they eat is not varied. This mostly happens in developing countries. Biotechnology could help produce genetically modified (GM) crops. These crops can be modified to be resistant to pests and grow better in drought conditions. Both of these modifications would improve crop yield. Crops can also be GM to provide more nutritional value.
Example
Golden rice has been genetically engineered to produce a chemical that is converted in the body to vitamin A.
Issues with GM crops
Not everyone agrees, some people argue that people go hungry because they cannot afford to buy food not because there isn't any food. This implies that poverty is the real issue that needs tackling. Some people are afraid that countries will become dependent on companies that sell GM seeds. Sometimes the reason why crops fail is because of poor soil, this means even GM crops will not survive.
FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
What is mycoprotein?
Mycoprotein is used to make high-protein meat substitutes for vegetarian meals.
What is biotechnology?
Biotechnology is when living things and biological processes are manipulated to produce useful products.
What is sustainable food production?
Sustainable food production means making enough food without using resources faster than they renew.
What is food security?
Food security is having enough food to feed the population.