Food Production and Biodiversity Impact

Food Production Impact on Biodiversity and Ecosystems

• Agricultural practices, including machinery, fertilizers, insecticides/herbicides, and selective breeding, are intensifying food production.
• These practices often lead to reduced biodiversity due to monocultures (single crop varieties).
• Intensive livestock farming contributes to pollution, high resource use, and animal welfare issues.

Biodiversity

• Biodiversity refers to the variety of species in a given area.
• Farming practices, especially monoculture, decrease biodiversity by limiting species diversity.

Habitat Destruction

• Conversion of land for crops, livestock, housing, and resource extraction leads to habitat loss.
• This results in pollution across land, freshwater, and seas.
• Deforestation severely impacts habitats, reduces biodiversity, worsens soil erosion, and increases carbon dioxide levels.

Pollution

• Untreated sewage and fertilizers contaminate waterways, reducing oxygen levels and harming aquatic ecosystems.
• Non-biodegradable plastics damage ecosystems and harm animals that ingest or come into contact with them.
• Greenhouse gases (CO2 and methane) released from fossil fuels, livestock, and rice paddies contribute to climate change.

Conservation Efforts

• Conservation strategies aim to protect forests through education, protected areas, logging quotas, replanting, and safeguarding fish stocks via quotas, closed seasons, and regulated fishing methods.
• Species protection involves monitoring habitats, education, captive breeding, and seed banks.
• Conservation is vital for maintaining biodiversity, ecosystem health, and access to essential resources like food, medicine, and genes.

Biotechnology and Genetic Modification

Bacteria in Biotechnology

• Bacteria are valuable for rapid reproduction, creating complex molecules, and offer ethical advantages (e.g., plasmids).

Anaerobic Respiration

• Yeast produces CO2 (which leavens bread) and ethanol (used as biofuel).

Enzymes in Biotechnology

• Pectinase breaks down pectin, enhancing juice yield and clarity.
• Biological washing powders contain enzymes (e.g., protease, lipase) to eliminate stains (proteins/fats/starches).
• Lactase breaks down lactose, benefiting lactose-intolerant individuals.

Fermenters

• Fermenters create controlled environments for growing bacteria/yeast to produce useful products (e.g., ethanol, insulin, CO2).

Genetic Modification (GM)

• Genetic modification alters genetic material through gene removal, insertion, or modification.

Applications of GM

• Bacteria are modified to produce human proteins (insulin, growth hormones) for medical use.
• Herbicide-resistant crops reduce weed control reliance on herbicides.
• Pest-resistant crops minimize pesticide use by making crops resistant to insects.
• Golden rice is enriched with beta-carotene to alleviate vitamin A deficiency.

GM Process

• Restriction enzymes cut human genes; DNA ligase combines them with bacterial plasmids; plasmids are inserted into bacteria.
• Bacteria multiply, expressing the desired protein.

Controversies of GM Crops

• Debates surround the health, environmental, and ethical impacts of GM crops like soybeans, maize, and rice.