Lecture 1 - GM Food Controversy - Gray

Question 1

How many people are without sufficient food?

Answer 1

800mil

Question 2

Why are the numbers dying from malnutrition increasing?

Answer 2

Increasing population

Question 3

What other causes of death are linked to malnutrition?

Answer 3

Measles, death in childbirth

Question 4

Which two men enabled the population to grow?

Answer 4

Fritz Haber and Norman Borlaug

Question 5

What did Haber do?

Answer 5

Developed the Haber process - able to fix nitrogen from the air into fertilizers for plants in form of ammonia or urea.

Question 6

What did Borlaug do?

Answer 6

Bred plants that were high yielding, but needed excessive nitrogen. Therefore, it worked in conjunction with Haber’s work.

Question 7

What was the Green Revolution?

Answer 7

Set of research technology transfer initiatives that increased agri production worldwide. Spearheaded by Borlaug, Africa missed out on it.

Question 8

Which cont has the lowest predicted birth rate?

Answer 8

Europe

Question 9

What else would help increase food (other than GM crops)?

Answer 9

Better food distribution, better politics, better infrastructure.

Question 10

Why did the govt in South Africa refuse GM maize from USA when they were hit with drought, despite the USA eating it fine?

Answer 10

1. Claimed food was poisonous

2. If seed got planted and grown, their crop exports are no longer GM-free, this would affect trade with EU market.

Question 11

What was the solution to GM maize in S.A?

Answer 11

Grind up maize to form cornmeal - cannot be planted.

Question 12

What is the ISAAA?

Answer 12

International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications

Question 13

Stats on GM crops:

Answer 13

21 years of increases in global area of biotech until 2016.

18mil farmers grew GM crops, many of whom are poor. Almost 100% said they would plant again after first experience.

Question 14

What benefits do GM crops have? (in 2016)

Answer 14

1. Yield gain: Losing less to insects, weeds etc.
2. Income gain to farmers: Many are poor, GM crops are making billions of dollars. Most of this goes to farmers.
3. Environmental Quotient: 500million kg decrease in pesticides.
4. Carbon footprint: Less spraying = less tractor use etc. Significant decrease - 18mil car equivalent.

Question 15

Which 3 GM crops approved for use in UK?

Answer 15

Tomatoes, soya, maize. GM crops cannot be GROWN in UK, but 20% of imported cattle food has GM-derived soya/maize,

Question 16

Why is UK so against GM?

Answer 16

BSE - mad cow disease.
Causes vCJD in humans, eventually death. 4mil cattle killed. 1990 - govt said beef was safe, 8 years later 32 people had died.
Further media scares - Pusztai affair.
Prince Charles wrote about the dangers of GM.
Farmland in UK is also where we live, compared to USA where it is separate.

Question 17

Give an example of a super-weed that has been bred by GM crops

Answer 17

Palmer amaranth - outcompetes cotton for light, moisture, soil nutrients. Glyphosate-resistant amaranth developed and spread, farmers lost fields to it.
GM crops promotes liberal use of herbicides.

Question 18

Arguments against GMOs are intuitively appealing - why?

Answer 18

‘Psychological essentialism’ - we think of DNA as an organism’s essence, ie the core that determines its identity. E.g people think that a fish gene in a tomato would make the tomato taste of fish.
Disgust affects people’s attitudes, and people view GM as contamination.

Question 19

How can we stop GM rumours spreading?

Answer 19

Education at a young age