GMOs and Population growth

• Roughly how much has the population increased in the last 200 years?

  1 billion -> 8 billion
• Do people eat more or less food today than in the past?

  More
• Over the past 200 years, why has the food that we eat become more intensive to produce?

  Our diets have changed to include food that requires more land and resources to produce.

  Eg We consume more meat and fewer grains.
• What have humans done to allow them to inc production of food?

  Clearing land for agriculture

  Selective breeding

  Genetic modification

  Application of fertilisers
• What does GMO stand for?

  Genetically Modified Organism
• What do pesticides do?

  Kill insects
• What type of organism is the Bt toxin naturally produced by?

  Bacteria
• What type of organism has been genetically modified to produce the Bt toxin protein?

  Plant
• ‘Golden Rice’ has been genetically modified to produce a chemical that is converted to vitamin A in body. This is helpful in regions of world where lack of this vitamin can often cause deficiency diseases, such as blindness.
• 3 traits that can be improved by genetic modification?

  Virus resistance

  Increased nutrients

  Flood resistance
• Which protein-rich food that is suitable for vegetarians is produced from a fungus using biotechnology?

  Mycoprotein
• What type of organism is mycoprotein made from?

  Fungi