1.12 GMOs & Population Growth

Question 1

Why has there been a higher demand in food over the last 200 years? (3)

Answer 1

• The human population has increased dramatically
• The average person eats a lot more than the average person did in the past
• The food that the average person eats now is more resource intensive to produce in the first place

Question 2

Global food production has had to increase massively over the past 200 years, what 4 factors have helped make this possible?

Answer 2

• Clearing of forests and other natural lands for agriculture
• Application of fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals
• Selective breeding
• Genetic modification

Question 3

Roughly how much has the world population increased by in the last 200 years?

Answer 3

1 billion -> 8 billion people

Question 4

Over the past 200 years, why has the food that we eat become more intensive to produce? (2m)

Answer 4

Our diets have changed to include food that require more land and resources to produce. For example we consume more meat and fewer grains.

Question 5

Pest resistance (2)

Answer 5

• Some crops have been genetically modified so that they produce toxins that kills insect pests. This means that any insects that try to feed on them will die, so won’t be able to damage them - increasing the crop yield. This also means that farmers don’t have to use as much chemical pesticide.
• An example of this is the ‘Bt toxin’, which is naturally produced by the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis. Scientists have inserted the gene for the Bt toxin into some crop species so that they produce the toxin, making them resistant to insect pests.

Question 6

Increased nutrients in plants

Answer 6

Some crops can be modified to increase the amount of useful vitamins or minerals they contain. For example, ‘Golden Rice’ has been genetically modified to produce a chemical that is converted to vitamin A in the body. This is helpful in regions of the world where vitamin A often causes deficiency diseases, such as blindness.

Question 7

What does ‘GMO’ stand for?

Answer 7

Genetically modified organism

Question 8

What do pesticides do?

Answer 8

Kill insects

Question 9

What type of organism is the Bt toxin naturally produced by?

Answer 9

Bacteria

Question 10

What type of organism has been genetically modified to produce the Bt toxin protein?

Answer 10

Plant

Question 11

Give 3 traits that can be improved by genetic modification

Answer 11

Increased yield, increased drought resistance, herbicide tolerance, virus resistant, production of specific proteins, pesticide resistance, increased nutrients, flood resistance