Topic 2: Feeding A Growing Population VS Conserving Biodiversity

This being written strictly based on opinion, I feel that relying on these high quality livestock breeds and crops and cloning them, or manipulating them into the ideal, definitely does reduce genetic diversity and the risks taken when doing so outweighs the benefits.

While cloning and manufactured seeds, creating the ideal crop may be convenient and reliable, it starts to become more of a marketing scheme by big industries. The amount of chemicals, pesticides and preservatives added into these genetically made seeds stay in these seeds are being consumed into out bodies. Nutrients and the basic natural essence of these crops will be replaced with the inclusion of chemicals from the process by which they are being created, or "manufactured", if you will.

Sustainable agriculture, however refers to the use of natural materials (i.e., non manufactured seeds, the avoidance of chemicals, and just natural farming/breeding). Sustainable agriculture is comprised of three things: environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity. Farmers whom practice sustainable agriculture keep in mind what is being put into our foods and what is being consumed in our foods.

Personally, the very idea that many of our foods are grown to be idealistic, and seen as the 'perfect' food comes at a very high price. Many of the public is unaware of just how much factories are manufacturing nature and acting as God by genetically editing their structures and shape.

After watching a previous documentary for another course, I discovered chickens were being created to be 2x their natural size in less amount of time to meet with the consumer demand and growing population. Soybeans, also featured in the documentary (titled: Food Inc.) were being manufactured, and patented from the original, natural soybean.

After gaining previous knowledge so the idea of "high productive livestock breeds", or in other words, manufactured, factory made fruits and vegetables, I feel that we are playing God. Taking natural things and turning them into something man made. By doing so, we are risking biodiversity by never letting such natural organisms to evolve with time and change. We are recreating the same plant over and over again, never letting it grow or evolve in the world and recopying whatever deviants or problems it may have.

As for being able to keep up with the rapid growth of global human population. In Canada we waste over 17.5 million kg of food. And that is just our country. The agricultural industry can definitely keep up with the rapid growth of the global human population, with or without the need for highly productive livestock and crops. We just have to make a point of not wasting it.

References:
http://books.google.ca/books?id=MB8c0jUo-c4C&pg=PA13&lpg=PA13&dq=risks+of+manufactured+crops&source=bl&ots=GsTPEQJXVV&sig=KvwFXFZIRV8Jp6XLf2UrtEQCma8&hl=en&ei=eZxaTY-lB8WAlAemj8WODQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDAQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/concept.htm

http://www.worldvision.ca/Education-and-Justice/advocacy-in-action/Pages/what-a-waste-the-food-we-throw-away.aspx

Comments on other bio blogs:
Jeleel Ragudo
Kendra Spencer Cole