What Biological Technology (Biotechnology) means for our future...

There is currently a nationwide strike in South Africa by many unions, which has especially affected the petrol and fuel industry. The region in which I live is particularly affected by this strike, and there is a serious shortage of fuel at most fill-stations. It has however, despite the obvious disruptions and inconveniences, had a positive effect on the people within my city. Suddenly people are carpooling to get places, rethinking trips, planning ahead and making an active effort to drive less. Although it has not been pointed out to them, the current situation will very soon be the permanent situation unless we seriously start cutting down on our consumption of natural resources. It has been interesting to see what people can do when forced to act different, yet it is a sad reality that that it takes such extreme events to force them to change their ways, and that people do not have the insight to see that unless they start being more economical with the land (and world’s) resources, that this is the reality which we will soon have to face.

Although the ideal is obviously for people to cut down on consumption drastically, biotechnology and bioengineering is also researching various alternative fuels and energy sources. Researchers are looking at using bacteria and other micro-organisms to break down harmful products and chemicals that pollute our water and soil, produce electricity and convert substances into more usable products. Examples of biotechnology are endless, but one such example researchers are looking into, is the use of the E. coli bacterium, which has been altered through biotechnology, to produce substantial amounts of hydrogen which can be used in hydrogen cells and hybrid cars.

Have you come across any interesting biotechnological developments? Please share :)

Biotechnological developments are all around us whether we notice it or not. From the food we eat to our waste water treatment systems, biotechnology comes into all aspects of our lives. The most obvious way in which biotechnology influences my life is through the food I eat. Nowadays all types of fruits and vegetables are available at the supermarket all year round. This is as a result of some cleaver bioengineering, and a demand from the customers which is strong enough to overcome the necessary price increase of providing the product out of season. This all sounds great, having all the options open to us all year round, but we have to ask ourselves what are the hidden costs of buying an out of season crop? What are we really buying, and through buying it, what are we encouraging?

 In most cases we are encouraging either internationally produced, or greenhouse produced crops, both of which have negative implications for the environment and usually on their taste as well. Crops that are produced in greenhouses are much more energy intensive, as it is necessary to go through the trouble of creating an environment in which they will flourish. This includes making use of heating or cooling equipment, more fertilisers and pesticides, and often more water. All of these lead to larger electricity and water usage and in the end to a larger carbon footprint, and a much bigger price tag. Internationally produced crops, to put it short, are jetsetters. They are often produced halfway around the world in unnatural environments and flown or shipped in at a massive cost to us and the environment.

The concept of measuring how far a food has travelled is known as ‘food miles’. Food miles are a measurement of how far the food has travelled from where it was grown to be on your plate. This means that the more food miles the crop has, the further it has travelled, and the worse it is for the environment. Many crops that are imported have also been genetically modified to withstand the hardships of international travel. This includes genetically thickened skins to prevent bruising, which is not great for taste; and picking before the item is fully ripened, and then ripening with ethylene gas on their journey to the customer. One of the biggest downsides of artificial ripening is that it results in a loss of nutrients to the crop as it spends less time on the branches and gets less nutrients pumped into it before it is plucked.

 What many people don’t realise is that by purchasing something you are voting for it, and by purchasing a high mileage crop you are voting to support a system which is adding unnecessary greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere, and using more electricity and water. All this when you could rather have supported your local economy, the environment and your budget by purchasing an alternative item.

I know that there are many, many positive aspects of biotechnology, but I think it is necessary to consider its negative implications as well... sorry for sounding so negative Ings ;)