Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology The Way We Work With Life Dr. Albert P. Kausch life edu.us Lecture 17 Part IIIc. Issues, Controversies and Concerns: The Organic Food Debate Agricultural Biotechnology © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology The Way We Work With Life Dr. Albert P. Kausch Kimberly Nelson OnCampus Live BCH 190, MIC 190, AFS 190, NRS 190, PLS 190 OnLine BCH 190 A Sweeping General Survey on Life and Biotechnology A Public Access College Course The University of Rhode Island Issues in Biotechnology: Biotechnology, Our Society and Our Future life edu.us Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology The Way We Work With Life Dr. Albert P. Kausch life edu.us BCH 190 Section II. The Applications of Biotechnology A Sweeping General Survey on Life and Biotechnology The University of Rhode Island © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Crop Plants Conventional farming Organic farming Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Crop Plants Conventional farming Organic farming Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Organic farming No Synthetic Pesticides No Synthetic Fertilizers No GMOs Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Is Organic Food Better for You? © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Is Organic Food Better for the Environment? © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Is Organic Food Safer? © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Is Organic Food Better for You? © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Conventional Foods Processed Foods Organic Foods Natural Foods Whole Foods Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Are Organic Foods Really Better For You? What Consumers really want is good, clean, safe food Is that too much too ask? Organic Foods promise safety from pesticides No synthetic fertilizer No GMO Natural Foods Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Organic farming No Synthetic Pesticides No Synthetic Fertilizers No GMOs Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology “Our goal of no-GMO ingredients in our Whole Foods market brand and 365 products is focused on accessing ingredients derived from non-genetically modified seeds. Unfortunately, absolute “GMO-free” guarantees cannot be made on any manufacturer’s product. Not only is it impossible to test every container of product, but currently there is no system in the United States to guard against drift from farmers using GMO seed that could potentially contaminate non-GMO crops.” Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Is Organic more nutritious? Sixty-eight percent of the respondents in a recent US poll said a product labeled “USDA Certified Organic” would indicate the food was safer than non-organic foods Sixty-seven percent believe the label would indicate food of higher quality than non-organic foods Sixty-two percent believe the label would mean the food is more healthful for consumers than non-organic food © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Are organic foods more nutritious? The head of the U.S. Organic Trade Association recently had to admit organic food was no more nutritious than any other food and that organic food standards had nothing to do with food safety © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Is Organic Food Better for the Environment? © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Is the Organic solution viable for sustainable world agriculture? Organic Advocates Argue: Wiser Land Use. Less Pesticides. More Biodiversity. Sustainable Agriculturists Argue…. © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Is the Organic solution viable for sustainable world agriculture? Critics argue: Feeding Humanity From Organic Fields Would Mean Cropping Twice As Much Land As We Currently Plant © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Gene transfer to other crops or wild plants Change in herbicide use patterns Squandering of valuable pest resistance genes Poisoning of wildlife Creation of new or worse viruses Un-assessable long term risks Are There Unknown Risks to the Environment? Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Pesticides Kill Insects Indiscriminately Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology “A butterfly beats it’s wings in the Amazon… and changes the weather in Chicago.” © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology In 1962, Carson wrote: “A truly extraordinary variety of alternatives to the chemical control of insects is available. Some are already in use and have achieved brilliant success. Others are in the stage of laboratory testing. Still others are little more than ideas in the minds of imaginative scientists, waiting for the opportunity to put them to the test. All have this in common: they are biological solutions, based on understanding of the living organisms they seek to control, and of the whole fabric of life to which these organisms belong. Specialists representing various areas of the vast field of biology are contributing—entomologists, pathologists, geneticists, physiologists, biochemists and ecologists—all pouring their knowledge and their creative inspirations into the formation of a new science of biotic controls” Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Is Organic Food Safer? © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Organic vs. Transgenic Wild-type corn variety with secondary fungal infection Bt corn resistant to corn borer damage, resulting in less secondary fungal infections © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology What the public wants is safe food that is good So while the organic standards may attempt to ensure freedom from pesticide residues, the freedom of organic foods from vermin, mycotoxins and other contamination may be less certain Mycotoxins Organic farmers are more likely to let their crops suffer rodent and insect damage, which leads to more fungal infections and more natural toxins in the food © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Perhaps New Organic Food Standards Could Use Warning Labels Organic Products Are Not Necessarily Tastier, Healthier Or Pesticide-Free © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Organic agriculture is not a food safety claim (FDA) Organic means only that the farmers use organic fertilizer instead of chemical fertilizer and “natural” pesticides such as copper sulfate (broadly toxic) and sulfur (a soil contaminant) © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Price Comparison Conventional vs. Organic Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Price Comparison Conventional vs. Organic Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Price Comparison Conventional vs. Organic Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Why is Organic Food So Expensive? Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology Sustainable Agriculture Is Organic Production Viable on a Large Scale? Are GM crops a Threat to Biodiversity? Does Local Food Production Really lower the Carbon Footprint? Does Organic Food really lower your exposure to pesticides? © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology The Way We Work With Life Dr. Albert P. Kausch life edu.us Part III. Issues, Controversies and Concerns Agricultural Biotechnology © life_edu Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology 22. Genetic constructs can be made using DNA fragments from different sources through the methods of gene cloning and used to introduce new traits in plants important for agricultural purposes. Gel electrophoresis is used to separate DNA fragments. What feature(s) of a DNA fragment causes it to move through a gel during electrophoresis?   (A) the molecular weight (size) of the fragment electrical charges of its phosphate groups (B) its nucleotide sequence alone (C) the hydrogen bonds between the base pairs in DNA (D) its double helix structure (E) none of these answers are correct Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology 23. Enzymes can be used to “cut” and “paste” DNA fragments to make transgenes that can confer new traits in genetically modified plants. It is possible to isolate a promoter region from one plant and fuse it to a gene from a bacteria and a termination signal from another plant to construct a transgene that can be put into plants that will confer expression of the bacterial gene. When DNA is cut it can be analyzed using gel electrophoresis. After a gel electrophoresis procedure is run, the pattern of bands in the gel show:   (A) the order of bases in a particular transgene (B) the presence of various-sized fragments of DNA (C) the order of genes along a particular chromosome (D) the exact location of a gene in a genomic library (E) none of these answers are correct Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology 24. In 1962, Rachel Carson wrote: “A truly extraordinary variety of alternatives to the chemical control of insects is available. Some are already in use and have achieved brilliant success. Others are in the stage of laboratory testing. Still others are little more than ideas in the minds of imaginative scientists, waiting for the opportunity to put them to the test. All have this in common: they are biological solutions, based on understanding of the living organisms they seek to control, and of the whole fabric of life to which these organisms belong.” GMO plants offer solutions to agricultural problems:   (A) that rely only on synthetic chemicals (B) kill insects indiscriminately (C) result in plants shown to be harmful to human health (D) based on biological solutions (E) none of these answers are correct Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology

Bio 104: Issues in Biotechnology 25. Organic Foods are know to be better for you since: (A) they have been shown to have quantitatively higher levels of proteins compared with their conventional counterparts (B) they have been shown to have quantitatively higher levels of vitamins compared with their conventional counterparts (C) they have no GMOs which have been demonstrated to have negative effects on human health (D) they are only grown from heirloom varieties that have not been robbed of their inherent nutritional value the way conventional crops have been (E) they are safer than their conventional counterparts regarding food borne diseases like E coli Feb 20a: Agricultural Biochechnology