One of the earlier discussions in class was of whether the world would be able to sustain itself in the future. The common consensus was that there is very little chance of that happening with the present level of consumption. If the world continues to consume resources at the same rate as it does now, I doubt the world has enough resources to support the world’s population. It is said that if everyone is carnivorous, the earth can support 10 billion people; whereas if everyone is vegetarian and herbivorous, the earth can support up to 30 billion people. There is less strain on resources if people are vegetarian.
Being sustainable may not be as hard as we think. It doesn’t require the latest technology or complicated methods. Since young, whether we know it or not, ways to sustaining the environment has been drilled in us in the form of the three Rs – Reuse, Reduce and Recycle. By applying these three Rs in our daily lives, we’ll do a great deal in helping to conserve the earth. The forestry and lumber industry has also become sustainable. In the past, lumberjacks would chop down trees and just leave the forest as it is. However, nowadays, the industry takes an extra effort to replant trees to ensure that trees are being replenished at the same rate as it is being felled.
We also discussed the definition of biotechnology. It is not a wild guess or trial and error to get the final product that is unknown. Biotechnology is about picking and pin-pointing the exact strands/strains from two different species and putting them together to achieve the desired outcome. I remember watching a video about how cows are made lean by having cows with a particular defect gene mate with each other, so the defect will be more dominant in their offspring. This gene is supposed to help the cow regulate its muscle growth. When this gene is defective in the cow, muscle growth is not regulated and they are able to get an extremely muscular cow. Only cows with the biggest and most muscle are allowed to mate. An artificial vagina is used to collect the bull’s semen when mating. Scientists then pick out the sperms which can help them achieve the desired result.
The class was rounded up with three presentations. At the end of Yu Han’s presentation, she asked a question: Do third-world countries need GM crops? I believe that the green revolution and the introduction of GM crops was indeed a blessing. It gave consumers variety and sufficient food to ensure that people are fed (at least in richer countries). It allowed farmers to have a steady flow of income as crops were no longer seasonal. They could plant a particular vegetable even when the “season” was over. Now farmers are not necessarily poor farmers. Imagine what GM crops can do for third-world, developing countries if they are used responsibly. Yes, third-world countries need GM crops if the government or other external bodies do not use it as an avenue to cheat farmers and people in these countries of their job and food. It also depends on the population whether they regard providing for their own sustenance as more important, or attaining money so they can provide for themselves in the future.
Personal rating: 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment