THE HISTORY OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, TRADITIONAL VS MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY

A History…  Biotech began as early as the ancient civilizations.  Though few records exist, we have found archeological evidence.  These events focused mainly on having food and other human needs, such as shelter.  Perhaps as simple as bringing useful plants closer to your cave and beginning to harvest them.  Learning from an unplanned event, such as a fire or freeze (drying or searing an item) and realizing this preserved a food source.

Domestication  15,000 years ago, large animals were hard to capture  People only had meat when they hunted or found a dead animal  Came up with ways of capturing fish and small animals

Domestication  Food supplies often seasonal  Winter food supplies may get quite low  Domestication is seen by scientists as the beginning of biotech  Most likely began 11,000 – 12,000 years ago in the middle east

Traditional Biotech  Many methods developed through traditional biotech are still widely used today.

Traditional Biotech  Produce large quantities of food products and other materials in short amount of time  Meet demands of increasing population

Traditional Biotech  As humans have discovered more plant varieties and traits (characteristics), over the years (and sometimes over MANY generations) we became good at breeding specific varieties together to get several desirable traits (from a variety of species) into one usable plant. These might be things like better taste, better disease resistance, and higher crop yield.

For Example…  Nearly all corn grown in the U.S. – both commercially and in home gardens – is a hybrid…a mix of at least two separate corn varieties, and is a ‘sweet corn.’ Usually yellow or white, occasionally bicolor. You can by it for.25/ear, or a packet of seeds to grow for.20

On the other hand…  Even as recently as a generation ago, most corn grown was NOT a hybrid, and these are now considered ‘heirloom’ species. Usually, they are hard – if not impossible – to find.

But not all brand new variety hybrids are bad…

Keep in mind…  A hybrid isn’t a GMO, this is a natural process that increases health, size, productivity, strength, disease resistance of a plant.  A GMO is taking the organism and making it do something it wasn’t intended to…it is NOT a natural process, and the original organism would not do this if not genetically modified…for example, a plant should not be able to be naturally classified as a pesticide.

From farming to animals.  Eventually, we also selected for preferred traits in our animals and livestock.

Food Production…  Although we had no scientific explanation for the process, we discovered how to make use of natural processes.  We found that flour dough becomes leavened – bread.  We found that grape juice – turns into wine.  We found that we could store milk (in a bag made from a camel stomach) – and get cheese.

Food Production…  Although we had no scientific explanation for the process, we discovered how to make use of natural processes.  We found that flour dough becomes leavened – bread.  We found that grape juice – turns into wine.  We found that we could store milk (in a bag made from a camel stomach) – and get cheese. This later became known as the process we call…fermentation.

Modern Biotech  Based on genetics research from the mid 1800’s  Emerged in mid 1900’s  Manipulation of genetic material within organisms

Modern Biotech  Based on genetics and the use of microscopy, biochemical methods, related sciences and technologies

Modern Biotech  Often known as genetic engineering  Roots involved the investigation of genes  Deals with manipulating genetic info and requires an in-depth knowledge of science