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Pests and Pollinators &

Genetically Modified Food

• AP Environmental Science

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Objectives:• Define the term seed banks.

• Discuss the importance of pollination.

• Describe the science behind genetically modified food.

• Evaluate the debate over genetically modified food.

• TED - The varieties of wheat, corn and rice we grow today may not thrive in a future threatened by climate change. Cary Fowler takes us inside a vast global seed bank, buried within a frozen mountain in Norway, that stores a diverse group of food-crop for whatever tomorrow may bring.

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Seed Bank: Place where seeds are stored for short-term use in farming or for long-term preservation.

Define the term seed banks.

• Wakehurst: KEW Millennium Seed Bank

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Discuss the importance of pollination.

• Insects and other organisms are essential for the reproduction of many crop plants.

• Conservation of pollinating insects is vitally important to our food security.

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We depend on insects to pollinate crops

• Not all insects are pests; some are absolutely vital- 800 crop species rely on insect pollinators

• Pollination = male plant sex cells fertilize female sex cells- By wind or animals

• Pollinators include:- Hummingbirds- Bats- Insects (bees, wasps, etc.)

Flowers are evolutionary adaptations to attract pollinators

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Conservation of pollinators is vital

• Populations of pollinators (e.g., bees) have plummeted• Colony collapse disorder = entire beehives have

vanished- Unknown causes—Insecticides? Parasites? Stress?

• Reducing or eliminating pesticide use and planting flowering plants will help preserve bees

Bees pollinate over 100 crops and contribute $15 billion in services/year

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Describe the science behind genetically modified food.

• Genetic modification uses recombinant DNA technology to move genes for desirable traits from one type of organism to another.

• Genetic engineering is both like and unlike traditional selective breeding.

• GM crops may have ecological impacts, including the spread of transgenes, an increase in chemical pollution, and indirect impacts on biodiversity.

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Genetically modified organisms

• Genetic engineering = laboratory manipulation of genetic material- Add, delete, modify DNA

• Genetically modified (GM) organisms = organisms that have been genetically engineered by …

• Recombinant DNA = DNA created from multiple organisms

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Biotechnology is impacting our lives

• Biotechnology = the application of biological science to create products derived from organisms

• Transgenic organism = an organism that contains DNA from another species - Transgenes = the genes that have moved between

organisms• Biotechnology has created medicines, cleaned up

pollution, and dissolved blood clots

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Some genetically modified foods

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Genetic engineering versus agricultural breeding• Traditional breeding = changes organisms through

selective breeding of the same or similar species- Works with organisms in the field- Genes come together on their own- Uses the process of selection

• Genetic engineering = mixes genes of different species- Works with genetic material in the lab- Directly creates novel combinations of genes- Resembles the process of mutation

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Biotechnology is changing our world

• GM foods are a big business• Most GM crops are herbicide

and pesticide resistant- Large-scale farmers grow

crops more efficiently- Most U.S. corn, soybeans,

cotton, and canola are genetically modified

Globally, 14 million farmers grew GM foods on 134 million ha

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What are the impacts of GM crops?

• As GM crops expanded, scientists, citizens, and policymakers became concerned- Impacts on human health

• Concerns over escaping transgenes - They could harm nontarget organisms- Pests could evolve resistance- They could ruin the integrity of native ancestral

races and interbreed with closely related wild plants

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Genetic engineering has benefits and risks

• Environmental benefits of genetic engineering:- Reduced use of chemical insecticides- Increased no-till farming- Decreased irrigation, deforestation, land conversion

• Negatives of genetic engineering:- Increased herbicide use affects health and habitats- Some GM fields support less biodiversity

• Precautionary principle = don’t undertake a new action until the effects of that action are understood

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Evaluate the debate over genetically modified food.

• Many people have ethical qualms about altering food through genetic engineering.

• Opponents of GM foods view multinational biotechnology corporations as a threat to the independence of small farmers.

• Nations have adopted differing stances on GM foods.

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The GM debate involves ethics• People don’t like “tinkering” with the food supply• With increasing use, people are forced to use GM

products, or go to special effort to avoid them• Multinational corporations threaten the small farmer• Research is funded by corporations that profit if GM

foods are approved for use• GM crops have not eradicated hunger

- GM crops do not focus on increased nutrition, drought tolerance, etc.

The GM industry is driven by market considerations driven by financial interests of corporations

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GMO producers are suing farmers

• Monsanto has launched 112 lawsuits against 372 farmers, winning an average $385,000 per case - Monsanto sued Percy Schmeiser of Canada for

using its GM seeds without paying for them- Schmeiser said the seeds blew onto his field from

adjacent fields- The courts sided with Monsanto, saying that

Schmeiser had violated Monsanto’s patent

Corporations go to great lengths to protect their GM investments

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The future of GM foods

• Europeans demand that GM foods are labeled• U.S. consumers have mostly accepted GM crops

- They don’t realize most food contains GM products• The U.S. sued the European Union before the World

Trade Organization for hindering free trade• The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety lays out

guidelines for open information about exported crops- The U.S. has not joined

• Brazil, India, and China approve GM crops

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TED Video

Biodiversity warrior Cary Fowler wants to save the world from agricultural collapse, one seed at a time.

"For individual crop varieties, doomsday does come every day. We want to put an end to that."

Cary Fowler: One seed at a time, protecting the future of food (17:06)