Lecture 7 & 8 — Chapter 8 Flashcards

Question

What is Evolutionary arms race? See slide 23

Answer 1

chemists increase chemical toxicity to compete with resistant pests.

Answer 2

uses a pest’s natural predators to control the pest

Answer 3

Because due to potential problems, proposed biocontrol use must be carefully planned and regulated

Answer 4

“nontarget”

Answer 5

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Answer 6

uses multiple techniques to suppress pests: – Biocontrol – Chemicals, when necessary – Population monitoring – Habitat alteration – Crop rotation and transgenic crops – Alternative tillage methods – Mechanical pest removal

Answer 7

• Pollination– male plant sex cells fertilize female sex cells • 1500 crop species depend on insect pollination – Translates into 3–8% of global crop production • Pollinators at risk from many factors

Answer 8

Yes, Bees devastated by parasites and Colony Collapse Disorder; • North American farmers regularly hire beekeepers to bring colonies to their fields • To conserve bees and other pollinators: – reduce or eliminate pesticide use – plant flowering plants

Answer 9

Laboratory manipulation of genetic material – Creates a genetically modified (GM) organism.

Answer 10

DNA patched together from the DNA of multiple organisms.

Answer 11

The material application of biological science to create products derived from organisms. Biotechnology has helped us create medicines, clean up pollution, understand the causes of cancer, dissolve blood clots after heart attacks, and make better beer and cheese

Answer 12

An organism that contains DNA from another species

Answer 13

The genes that have moved between organisms

Answer 14

- Genetic engineering - Recombinant DNA - Biotechnology - Transgenic organism - Transgenes

Answer 15

– Both alter gene pools for preferred characteristics – Both apply to plants and animals

Answer 16

– Traditional breeding uses genes from the same species – Selective breeding deals with whole organisms, not just genes – In traditional breeding, genes come together on their own

Answer 17

• Most GM crops today are engineered to resist herbicides, others to resist insects • 3/4 of the world’s soybean plants are transgenic • 1/4 corn plants and over half of all cotton plants • Globally, in 2013, GM foods grew on 175 million hectares of farmland, producing $10.5 billion worth of crops Genetic

Answer 18

• As GM crops expanded, scientists, citizens, and policy makers became concerned: – Dangerous to human health – Escaping transgenes could pollute ecosystems and damage nontarget organisms – Pests could evolve resistance – Could ruin the integrity of native ancestral races – Interbreed with closely related wild plants • So far, evidence of negative ecological effects is limited • Numerous mechanisms whereby genes can “escape” • Critiques argue that we should adopt the precautionary principle – The idea that one should not proceed until the ramifications of an action are well understood

Answer 19

– People don’t like “tinkering” with “natural” foods – With increasing use, people are forced to use GM products, or go to special effort to avoid them – Multinational corporations threaten the small farmers – Research is funded by corporations that will profit if GM foods are approved for use – Crops that benefit small, poor farmers are not widely commercialized

Answer 20

• The future of GM foods seems likely to hinge on social, economic, legal, and political factors as well as scientific ones

Answer 21

• Transnational spats will surely affect the future direction of agriculture, but consumers and the government’s of the world’s developing nations could exert the most influence in the end – India and Brazil approve of GM crops – China is expanding use of transgenic crops

Answer 22

• Preserving native variants protects against crop failure • We have already lost a great deal of genetic diversity in crops • Market forces discourage diversity in food’s appearance

Answer 23

– Monocultures are vulnerable, so wild relatives contain genes that could provide resistance to disease and pests

Answer 24

– Wheat varieties in China dropped from 10,000 (1949) to 1,000 (1970s) – Mexico’s famed maize varieties number only 30% of what it was in the 1930s

Answer 25

– Consumers prefer uniform, standardized food

Answer 26

Preserve seed types as a living museum of genetic diversity: – Seeds are collected and preserved, and periodically planted – Hand pollination preserves genetic distinctiveness – The Royal Botanic Garden’s Millennium Seed Bank in Britain aims to bank 20% of the world’s plants by 2020 – Norway has started a “doomsday vault” seed bank

Answer 27

• Most people eat animal products • People don’t need to eat meat to live full, active, healthy lives • As wealth and commerce increase, so does consumption of meat, milk, and eggs – Global meat production has increased fivefold since 1950 – Per capita meat consumption has doubled

Answer 28

•for Pressure of global population has led to feedlots

Answer 29

Huge warehouses deliver energy-rich food to animals living at extremely high densities: – Also known as “factory farms” or CAFOs – Necessary to keep up with meat consumption in Canada and the United States – Over ½ of the world’s pork and most of the poultry come from feedlots

Answer 30

– Greater production of food – Keeps up with high meat consumption – Reduces the impact of livestock on land (use less space) * No overgrazing and soil degradation

Answer 31

– Contribute to water and air pollution – Poor waste containment may cause human disease * E. coli, Salmonella – Cattle: steroids used to stimulate growth – Heavy uses of antibiotics to control disease

Answer 32

• Feedlots • Benefits of feedlots • Drawbacks of feedlots

Answer 33

Yes, • 90% of energy is lost every time energy moves from one trophic level to the next • The lower on the food chain from which we take our food sources, the more people the Earth can support • Land and water are needed to raise food for livestock • Producing eggs and chicken meat requires the least space and water; beef requires the most

Answer 34

Raising aquatic organisms for food in a controlled environment – open-water pens or – land-based ponds The fastest-growing type of food production – Provides 1/3 of the world’s fish for human consumption

Answer 35

• Benefits: – A reliable protein source – Sustainable – Reduces fishing pressure on overharvested wild fish stocks – Energy efficient

Answer 36

• Drawbacks: – Diseases can occur, requiring expensive antibiotics – Reduces food security – Large amounts of waste – Farmed fish may escape and introduce disease into the wild • Genetically modified salmon grow many times larger than wild ones • May weaken wild stock by interbreeding • May also increase risk of extinction

Answer 37

• Sustainable agriculture • No-till agriculture • Low-input agriculture • Organic agriculture

Answer 38

Does not deplete soil, pollute water, or decrease genetic diversity

Answer 39

Depth and frequency of ploughing and tilling are kept to a minimum to protect soil moisture and compaction

Answer 40

Uses smaller amounts of pesticide, fertilizers, growth hormones, water, and fossil fuel energy than industrial agriculture

Answer 41

Uses no synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, or herbicides – Relies on biological approaches (composting and biocontrol) • 2006: Organic Products Regulations establishes national standards for organic products • Multi-ingredient products must be 95% organic ingredients • Organic certification logo • Market for organic foods is on the increase (20% annually) • More than 500,000 ha are used to grow organic products in Canada

Answer 42

* Lower input costs, * enhanced income from higher-value products, * reduced chemical costs and pollution – Obstacles include the risks and costs of switching to new farming methods and less market infrastructure

Answer 43

– Concern about pesticide’s health risks – A desire to improve environmental quality – Obstacles include the added expense and less aesthetically appealing appearance of the product

Answer 44

• Lack of use of chemical pesticides • Yield 80% of what conventional fields produce – 97% fewer pesticides – 35–50% less fertilizer

Answer 45

• In developed nations • Community-supported agriculture

Answer 46

– farmers and consumers are supporting local small- scale agriculture – increased production of fresh, local produce in season

Answer 47

consumers pay farmers in advance for a share of their yield: – consumers get fresh food – farmers get a guaranteed income

Answer 48

Areas where residents can grow their own food

Answer 49

• Community gardens = areas where residents can grow their own food • Organizations offer workshops to assist • Often have associations with food banks