food security + genetic engineering

• food security: the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable and nutritious food
• causes of food shortages


  • war
  • extreme weather conditions
  • increase in tariffs
  • increase in population
  • lack of space (to grow crops)
• increased amount of land available = more vegetables can be grown and more cattle can graze --> higher food yield
• a change in diet to a meat diet is more expensive so it is less affordablee
• climate change leads to extreme weather events which ruin crops and agriculture
• increased carbon dioxide levels, so there's more photosynthesis = more plants.
• new pests and pathogens affecting food production reduces the likeliness of the plants surviving = lower yield.
• increased agricultural costs = less farmers = less crops
• intensive farming

  • battery farming
  • industral greenhouses
  • fish farming
  • hydroponics
• organic farming uses natural methods and avoids artificial fertlisers and pesticides, reducing harm to the enviroment.
• sustainable agriculture is the production of food that canbe continues indefinitely. examples: fish farming, hydroponics, biological controls of pests, crop rotation
• fish farming


  • sustainable
  • fish cannot escape, protected from predators, protected from changes in the weather, wild fish stocks are not reduced.
  • waste from fish feed and faeces can pollute the water and seabed around intensive fish farms. --> poor sediment quality
  • pesticides can cause contamination.
• pesticides


  • help farmers grow more food on less land by protecting crops from pests, diseased and weeds as well as raising productivity
  • not sustainable because they have adverse effects on human health and the environment
  • major source of pollution - contaminating water, soil and air, driving biodiversity loss and pest resistance
• fertilisers


  • renewable resources
  • quick to provide plants nutrients and restoring soil fertility.
  • portable
  • increase productivity
  • cause pollution, short-term, expensive
• selective breeding


  1. desirable trait is chosen
  2. organisms showing this trait are selected and bred to produce offspring
  3. the best offsprings showing the desired trait are bred together for the next generation.
  4. this is repeated over many generations
• economic importance


  • high yield
  • disease and insect resistant crops
  • drought resistant crops
  • fast growth
• non - economic importance

  • pedigree dog breeding for aesthetics
• problems

  • increase genes for other traits
  • inbreeding
• What is the purpose of genetically modifying bacteria with insulin?

  To treat people with Type 1 diabetes
• What is the role of the restriction enzyme in genetic modification?

  It cuts the donor DNA to create sticky ends
• Why is the plasmid cut with the same restriction enzyme?

  To ensure sticky ends are compatible
• What enzyme is used to insert the insulin gene into the plasmid?

  Ligase enzyme
• What happens to the insulin after it is inserted into the plasmid?

  It is purified and harvested
• How can we ensure all bacteria are transgenic?

  By inserting an antibiotic resistance gene
• What is done after inserting the insulin and antibiotic resistance genes into the plasmid?

  The bacteria is transferred to an agar plate
• What does the presence of bacterial colonies on the agar plate indicate?

  They contain the antibiotic resistance marker gene
• How does the antibiotic resistance marker gene prove the presence of insulin in bacteria?

  Only bacteria with the marker will survive
• What is the first step in genetically modifying bacteria with insulin?

  Remove the insulin gene from the cell
• What are sticky ends in DNA?

  Unpaired nucleotides at the ends of DNA
• What is the significance of using a plasmid in genetic modification?

  It serves as a vector for gene insertion
• What is the purpose of incubating bacteria on agar plates?

  To allow bacteria to grow and express genes
• Why is it important to insert an antibiotic resistance gene along with the insulin gene?

  To select for successful genetic modifications