(Photo credit: Nubites)
GM food, otherwise known as genetically modified food, some say it's safe, some say it's hazardous. Mysterious to many and a staple to others. Supposedly highly sought after by farmers. So what really is GM food? Does GM food harm or help people?
Well let us speak about what GM food is and how it's made. GM foods are food products genetically modified to have certain traits. An example of such a food is seedless grapes, for the convenience of people who do not wish to deal with the numerous seeds from the grapes. So as we can tell, these traits differ from what is the norm of these food products when found in nature. Most people think that only food products from plant sources can be genetically modified, however this is very incorrect. Meats are most likely genetically modified. Such as in salmon that are modified to be larger and stronger than usual in the wild to increase yield of salmon products in aquaculture. It sounds extremely profitable to farmers to have a improved version of everything right? Well GM food does have its drawbacks to farmers as well. Notice how GM food, especially plant products, are significantly more pricey than normal products? Well this is because companies selling seeds of GM food tend to disallow reproduction of the plant. This is for the need of farmers to constantly buy seeds so that the company earns more profit. So what good has GM food brought to humans? Well there is a famous example that testifies the power of GM food and that is the Golden Rice Project ran by the Golden Rice Humanitarian Board. Golden rice is a genetically modified version of rice that, as the name suggests, is gold in colour and is packed full of Vitamin-A. The Golden Rice Project was originally started to combat night-blindness, a Vitamin-A deficiency, commonly occurring amongst less developed countries where access to fresh and nutritious food is scarce. With golden rice, this staple food satisfies the necessary Vitamin-A daily intake and has been a phenomenal innovation by the biotech industry and prevents about a third of all under-five deaths, which amounts to up to 2.7 million children that could be saved from dying unnecessarily. Now time to answer the question that everyone wants to know, is GM food harmful or not? Well the answer is yes and no. Towards us humans, GM food is generally safe and is approved by the FDA ( Food and Drug Administration). In some rare cases, some people may develop certain allergies. Towards the environment however, GM Food is extremely harmful. Genetically modified plants such as pest resistant vegetables can cause the decline of certain pests in an area. This doesn't sound so bad, heck it even sounds great. However, this is extremely bad to the environment. Some predators may rely heavily on this pest and killing it off may destroy the balance in the ecosystem. A simple example of this can be represented in a simple food chain as represented below. Maize/Corn -> Corn Borer (Maize-eating worm) -> Birds Now to put it simply, the bird populations will dwindle down. Why? Well the birds rely on the corn borers for food but when GM Corn is introduced, the corn will contain Bt proteins, a toxin to the corn borer, hence killing the corn borer, reducing the amount of food sources for the birds. Another problem is the possibility of the corn borers gaining a resistance against Bt, hence giving rise to a generation of unstoppable corn borers. Now let us look at the same food chain that is slightly different. Maize/Corn (Nectar) -> Monarch Butterfly Now this is where it gets interesting. Some of ya'll may think so what? This isn't affecting humans. Well it does here. With the nectar of the maize now being toxic to the butterfly, the maize will not be able to be pollinate. You see, as the butterfly goes on the flower of the maize to drink nectar, the pollen falls on the butterfly. As the butterfly travels to other maize flowers, the pollen from the butterfly falls onto the new flower. This is known as cross-pollination. Without pollination, the flowers will never be able to turn into corns which are the crops we humans want. Maize being a staple to most countries of the US, GM crops may destroy the US food export economy and food supply of maize. This is just one of the many examples of GM crops and its impact on the environment, many more examples are out there. From this all, we can conclude that GM food has no harm onto humans, in fact it has brought us alot of good. GM food however, harms the environment and can cause a lack of biodiversity. Now it's up to you to decide if you support GM food or not.
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(Photo credits: BBC.com) When we think of clean energy we think of solar and wind. When we think of fuel we think of oil and gas. But what about clean fuel? Perhaps some of you can name me biofuel. Biofuel is fuel derived from plant matter such as palm and sugar cane. But what if I tell you, the unwanted algae you try so hard to scrub off every week in your fish tank is a blooming industry in the biofuel department and is gaining popularity.
Great white shark (Photo credits: BBC.com) I'm sure you've ever walked into a Chinese restaurant and see a peculiar dish when looking through the menu; Shark Fin Soup. But you probably brushed off the item due to the ridiculous price, or if you did order it, end up with this beautiful broth topped with this translucent bland lackluster flop of fin on it. Now you start to wonder to yourself, why in god gracious heck is this bland and tasteless fin worth so much money? Well this is due to Chinese tradition. It is considered by Chinese as one of the eight treasured foods from the sea. Shark fin soup held a symbolic significance to the Chinese, being served usually only at special occasions such as weddings, banquets, and important business deals. It symbolizes wealth, power, prestige, and honor as well as a symbol of respect and appreciation to the guests. How exactly is shark's fin obtained though? The unknowing sharks are caught and dragged on board the boat, finned mercilessly as it suffocates and thrown back into the ocean alive but fin-less, unable to swim, eat and struggle as it meets its demise. Sharks are caught and finned indiscriminately, regardless of size, age and species, sharks are reeled in for cold cash. In my opinion, there is no better way show the cruelty of this process than by images of the process. Its a painful and grim sight to see. Some wonder how a simple tradition can end up fueling the endangerment of these ancient creatures, surviving mass extinctions and harsh environments, only to be backed to the verge of extinction by humans. Not so scary now huh? The fearsome apex predator, being hunted by our kind no less. The weakest of all animals with no claws or talons, only selfishness, that is the human race.
Chinese cooking has always been known for its use of everything of the source, from the meat of the chicken down to the bones, close to everything is used. Yet, in the cooking of shark's fin soup, only the fin of the shark is used. From the mind-boggling 650 USD / Kg for the fins to a measly 2 USD / Kg for the sharks meat. The shark's body isn't even worth hauling back, being worth less than any old flounder would be. By now, you've seen images you'd only thought you would see in hell and yet here it is, cold hard reality. You must be thinking how to help? How to stop this madness? The most direct and simple way is to stop eating shark's fin soup and spread the message to your friends and family and urge them all to do the same. Next, there are many organizations and movements aiming to stop this. To name a few, www.stopsharkfinning.net and www.defenders.org/sharks/stop-shark-finning. I highly recommend checking them out. As humans, we have a responsibility to stop this act of animal cruelty and I highly urge you to spread the awareness and join the movement especially this Chinese New Year, when shark's fin soup is at its peak of sales. Tennessee, USA, nature, Great Smoky Mountains National Park offer the most dramatic display of synchronous fireflies (Photo credit: Radim Schreiber (Event Photo) The solemn dancing of the fireflies at night, truly a sight to behold. Its an enchanting scene that rarely anyone will get to experience personally and if your privileged enough to, its a life changing experience. So what exactly is this beautiful glow from the fireflies anyways?
The process that allows the fireflies to glow is known as bioluminescence. Bioluminescence is the process by which organisms are able to emit light. It is generally caused by the oxidation of a light-emitting pigment, luciferin, catalysed by the enzyme luciferin. This all happens in the abdomen of the firefly where a photic (light producing organ) is present. The reaction can be simplified into the following word equation; Luciferin + Oxygen + ATP -> Oxyluciferin + Carbon dioxide (Luciferase + Magnesium) It's a rather complex reaction and it has been simplified already. But to make things even more easier to understand, the reaction generally means that Luciferin, the substrate, in the presence of the Luciferase, the enzyme, is oxidised by oxygen, to produce the light-emitting substance, oxyluciferin. So we know the basic biochemistry of firefly bioluminescence so whats the use of bioluminescence in the firefly system? Well it has many uses in the various species of fireflies but the most general use of bioluminescence across most species is that it is use to signal to other fireflies during mating season. This is why bioluminescence is an extremely key part of the fireflies' life cycle. Without it, the fireflies would be unable to breed. The fireflies use the bioluminescence in various ways in courtship and the method used varys from species to species.The signal gives the essential information necessary for selecting their mates. Well now knowing how amazing fireflies are, you might be considering wanting to see them for yourself. Unfortunately, fireflies are now an extremely rare sight and are on the brink of extinction. This is all due to light pollution. As we have discussed, the light emitted is essential in the fireflies' reproductive cycle. Light pollution has left many fireflies unable to find mates due to being lost in city lights or other lightings in human populated areas. Scientists aren't really sure how this is affects the mating of fireflies, but edvidences show that firefly populations are dwindling without a doubt. Fireflies have been observed to be affected most by extremely bright lights during dusk. Fireflies typically dislike showing up in bright areas, such as under a full moon. Artificial light, needless to say, can disrupts the fireflies ability to signal to one other, disrupting mating. As human industrialisation and modernisation continues, more and more areas are brightly lit, accounting for the dwindling firefly populations. The firefly is a wondrous creature that inspires many artists and people with their sheer beauty. If we do not do our best to aid in the conversation of these beautiful insects, they will be gone before we know it. The leafcutter ants have one of the most complex animal societies and some even argue that their society is second to that only of humans. These ants are famous for their unique leaf-cutting habits. They use the collected plant matter as a substrate in the growing of fungus to feed the colony. This is where these ants get the tittle of farmers of the ant kingdom. They feed solely on this fungus and will die if the fungus dies.
So how do they even start their fungal farm? Well, it begins with the queen when it was still an alate ( A winged young queen ant which hasn't mated yet). The young alate picks up a small piece of the fungus from the existing fungal farm from the original colony. The alate carries this piece of fungus and goes on to mate. Once it has mated, it chooses a location to start its colony and lays its egg together with the fungal piece. And this is the new colony's beginning roots. The queen now starts her fungal farm and uses its own droppings as a substrate for the growing of the fungus. As the young workers hatch from the eggs, they begin to forage for plant matter and bring it back as substrate for the fungal farm. Now a system has been formed and the relationship is a budding lifelong partnership. As the fungal farm grows, like any agricultural farm, certain problems come up. Like on an agricultural farm, weeds are present, and in this case the fungal farm has other funguses and molds that are unwanted. So the farmer, the ants, use their from of pesticide. They use antibiotics produced by a bacteria, actinomycetes spp., that is found on their bodies. The ants form a very strong bond with the fungus, forming a relationship known as ant-us mutualism. The ants are very sensitive to adapt to the fungus's reaction to various plant material, detecting certain chemical signals from the fungus. If a particular type of leaf is unhealthy or toxic to the fungus, the colony will no longer collect it. The fungus also has evolved to produce hyphal tips (gongylidia) that grow in bundles called staphylae, to specifically feed the ants. Some say the leafcutter ants have hit the best of sustainable living, completely feeding off their agricultural produce and have such a strong bond with their fungus, not forgetting the bacteria living on the ants. Perhaps we humans have alot to learn from these remarkable ants. Salmon fillets on sale at a market (Photo credits: GEEKworld) Salmon has always been an essential to the world of cooking. Some may even claim its a miracle food, packed with omega-3 fatty acids and essential amino acids, it is a wonderful and nutritious ingredient that goes well on any dinner table. With the many qualities that makes salmon a potential candidate for best-food-ever, it comes as no surprise that salmon is one of the most over-fished aquatic life. However, its worse than ever before and it may even be history at the time you're reading this article.
Salmon is well-known for its reproductive cycle, they are born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, then return to fresh water to mate, returning to its birth place to lay their eggs and mate. Salmon are essential to the ecology of the location of spawning as well, they are a great food source to bears that commonly travel to the fresh water streams the salmon spawn in. This is where most of the wild salmon is fished by humans as well. Salmon eggs/roe, a delicacy in Japanese cuisine, is also collected here. This is where the problem begins, fishing of salmon here, before the salmon is allowed to spawn, is extremely detrimental to salmon populations. Since people have realised the unsustainability of salmon fishing, people have turned to aquaculture, farming salmon to continue to feed the ever-increasing demand. Now we have to answer the question of if salmon aquaculture sustainable. Well in short, it's questionable. Farming of salmon has brought new issues to the table. Farming of salmon requires large areas of space. This causes the need for destruction of habitats such as mangrove swamps and reefs for salmon farming. Needless to say, this is bad for the environment. In commercial farming of salmon, various steroids such as growth hormones and antibiotics are used. This allows larger and stronger salmon to be farmed to maximise yield. This however, may cause certain allergies to be formed and may cause antibiotic-resistances to be formed in bacteria. Salmon are also genetically modified with genes of larger salmon species or eels to create larger offspring. This can destroy the balance in ecosystems if released into the wild, potentially allowing these modified salmon to move up the food chain and destroy the balance in the ecosystem. Finally, the farming of salmon in an enclosed area will allow rapid spread of diseases. The most common and most disastrous disease is ISA (Infectious salmon anemia virus). This infectious disease now infects large fisheries in Canada, Norway, and many more. This infectious disease can cause a wipe-out of a salmon farm, completely destroying any future salmon produce. The multimillionaire salmon industry has taken a deep plunge into the pit of despair and is most likely going to fail in the coming years. Some say salmon is a lost case and will most likely be gone within a few decades. |
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