08-01-2013, 04:45 PM
Food biotechnology
Food biotechnology.ppt (Size: 4.68 MB / Downloads: 145)
Food biotechnology is a safe, more efficient way to improve crops.
• Selecting specific genes to add or extract is a more precise method of plant breeding, offering farmers more ways to improve crops.
• Because of these and many other benefits, use of biotechnology is becoming increasingly popular. It is estimated that in 2003, 80% of the soybeans, 70% of the cotton and 38% of the corn planted in the United States used some form of biotechnology.
• In addition for the year 2002, an international research organization estimated biotechnology crops were planted on 145 million acres worldwide.
As mentioned earlier, food biotechnology has been evolving for 10,000 years.
Beginning in 2,500 B.C., Egyptians were breeding geese to make them bigger and better tasting when cooked.
Microorganisms have been used to enhance food production since before the turn of the 20th century.
Foundations for food biotechnology including pasteurization, modern crossbreeding and the science of genetics were all discovered in the 1800’s and early 1900’s.
Food biotechnology as we know it today dates back to the 1970’s when researchers first began to explore improving food through genetic enhancements.
In 1990 the first food products enhanced via biotechnology were introduced. These were an enzyme used in cheese production approved in the United States and a yeast used in baking approved in the United Kingdom.
In 1994 the first whole food produced using modern biotechnology entered the U.S. marketplace. This was the FlavrSavr® tomato.
An herbicide-tolerant variety of soybeans was introduced in 1997; this crop is currently the most cultivated biotechnology crop in the United States.
In 1998, the Hawaiian papaya industry was revived from near devastation with a genetically-enhanced virus resistant strain.
Those working in agriculture have always been interested in preserving the environment. Through the science of biotechnology, even more possibilities exist to decrease the impact of farming on the environment.
The environmental benefits of biotechnology overlap with those for farmers:
One environmental benefit seen from biotechnology is the reduced use of pesticides. Some biotech crops have a built-in ability to protect themselves from harmful insects. In fact, Bt protected sweet corn requires only 2 pesticide applications per acre whereas non Bt-protected corn requires as many as 12 pesticide applications per acre.
Biotechnology is also providing opportunities to decrease soil erosion because some biotech crops require less tilling, helping to preserve topsoil and reduce runoff into streams and rivers and provide habitat for wildlife. This may allow farmers to have fewer tractor passes over their fields – conserving fossil fuels.