GMOs & Population Growth

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

  1 billion ➔ 8 billion people 
• 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 require more land and resources to produce. 

  For example we consume more meat and fewer grains
• What have humans done to allow them to increase their production of food?

  Clearing land for agriculture 

  Application of fertilisers 

  Application of pesticides 

  Application of herbicides  

  Selective breeding

  Genetic modification
• 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?

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

  Increased yield 

  Increased drought resistance  

  Herbicide tolerance 

  Virus resistance

  Production of specific proteins 

  Increased nutrients 
• 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