Session 7| Biobusiness Revolution: Agribiology, Environmental life sciences, & Industrial biotchonology

Brief Overview/ Introduction

Prof began this week’s session by showing us 2 quotes and a video as a starter to the topic on the Agribiology, Environmental life Sciences, and Industrial Biotechnology portion of the Biobusiness revolution. The first quote was:

“There’s enough on this planet for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed.”
- Mahatma Gandhi  -

What this quote is trying to say is basically we are all exploiting the world’s resources without thinking about the consequences of our wasteful consumption. Personally, I feel that our greedy usage of the world’s resources, is partly due to the majority’s ignorance of how pressing and crucial the need for sustainable development is. There are still a lot of people in the world who are unaware of just how limited the world’s resources are, as such, many of us still take for granted the things that we currently have. However, I believe that as more and more people become aware of the consequences of our reckless consumption through wide-spread education, more people will come to their senses and do their part in using resources responsibly.

The other quote was from Prof himself:

“When we are able to grow the resources we need,

we will finally be on the road to sustainability”

- Gurinder Shahi –

Using the Earth’s resources responsibly is not enough to ensure sustainable development. Even if we control our energy consumption, our rate of consumption is still much faster than the rate at which resources can be renewed. Hence, if we find a way to generate and cultivate our own resources, instead of solely depending on the earth’s resources, we will, like what Prof says, finally be on the path of sustainable development.

Next up was the video, “Humans!”, which basically shows how we’re damaging the Earth and making it sick from our harmful and negligent activities. When Prof asked if we felt whether it was an accurate representation of us, those who answered generally said that they felt it was an exaggerated portrayal. It was probably so a couple of years back when globalization started, but now those that have realized the extent of the consequences of our actions, have begun to think of ways to minimize our resource consumption levels. And it is a matter of time before everyone is aware of the need for sustainability and how they all can do their part to protect the fate of our future generations.

Interesting Observations & Ideas

Prof told us that the different segments of biotechnology are assigned with specific colours: Red, for biotechnology that applied to humans, biomedical etc., Green, for plants and animals, Blue, for aquatic ecosystems, and White, for Industrial biotechnology. If we are able to satisfy and supply our own needs under the Red biotechnology itself, we will be less reliant on the other colours for resources. This again relates to the crux of the topic, that is, if we’re able to generate and grow our own resources, we wouldn’t be so reliant on that of the Earth’s.

Next, we were shown a graph of the percentages of urbanisation in the different regions. When societies become urbanised, their habits change accordingly. Over the years, urbanised societies have become less active, and have become used to having things done for them, such as food production and processing, unlike those people in rural villages who still cultivate and grow their own food. Perhaps this is why most of us are consuming irresponsibly. Because we have become so used to having things prepared and made available to us, we no longer know and bother about how much energy is in fact used in producing the food we find in the supermarket, for example, thus taking whatever resources we have for granted.

Like the biomedical area for biotechnology, there are numerous summit opportunities with respect to biotechnology in the agricultural field. If we find a way to grow our own food sources without relying on the world’s resources, it is a major step to sustainable development. Already, 70% of the fish we eat are farm-reared fish, and some of our vegetables are from hydroponics. If more such practices come about, we can very well be self-sufficient. For example, Prof talked about sustaining the world’s depleting forests by appointing only several plots of land for cultivating lumber. So we only chop down the trees in those designated plots and then replanting new foods to replace those that have been chopped down. If we embark on such a selective, cyclical method of deforestation we can preserve the world’s forest for future generations. Another summit opportunity is GM foods in the agribiotechnology sector. Japan and countries in the EU are dead-set against GM foods as they believe the consumption of GM foods cause negative health consequences. They want their food to be grown naturally and organically. The US presents a total contrast to this, being the world’s greatest advocator for GM foods. In order to get their citizens to consume GM foods, the US bans the labelling of GM foods and mix them with naturally grown ones. However Prof mentioned a good point that labelling might just get people to accept GM foods. With labelling, if eating GM foods is indeed a health threat, then we would be able to spot the signs easily and find ways to identify what went wrong with GM foods and how we can solve it. And if there really is nothing wrong with GM food and that it is actually beneficial for our health by providing us with the vitamins we lack, then we would be able to easily see this as well. Like Prof said, labelling GM foods might just encourage its wide-spread reception and acceptance in the long run.  

There is also a summit opportunity in the area of waste management. We have to understand just how important it is to dump our waste properly, and learn the ways in which we can do so. Over the years, many lives have been lost to resource contamination due to our negligent disposal of waste, we can no longer afford to make such mistakes anymore. Proper and responsible waste management is a crucial solution to the ever-rising pollution levels. With the proper application of biotechnology, we can actually use the energy or waste gases we give out during garbage disposal to generate energy for our daily activities. For example, we can use the carbon dioxide given out during the garbage combustion process as energy instead. This way we will be less reliant on the earth’s limited fossil fuels.

There are people who are against agribiotechnology as they are saying that it is robbing poor farmers of their jobs and income. However, for sustainable development to take place, farmers have to inevitably become more specialised and knowledgeable in what they do. Most farmers nowadays have gone to colleges or universities in order to learn the different techniques that can help them to achieve desired outcomes, such as higher productivity, efficiency, proper irrigation, etc. It is obvious that we can no longer depend on the earth’s ecosystem for resources, and being self-sufficient requires the application and usage of specialised technology. As such, farmers need to have the required skills and knowledge to know how to use the different technologies available properly, as well as the necessary precautions that they have to take when applying such technology. We wouldn’t want to mistakenly drink spider-gene enriched goats’ milk that was meant for creating spider silk for industrial purposes, for example.

We also learn about industrial enzymes, which is a type of bio-catalyst that facilitates chemical reactions and enable the breaking down of products and materials at a much faster rate. Industrial enzymes make industrial processes much more efficient and energy saving. It also presents a great potential in facilitating the efficient creation of biomass resources, such as bioenergy or bioplastics, from agricultural of process wastes so as to enable us to become less reliant on fossil fuels for energy and to practise responsible waste management. Theses bio-products, such as bioplastics, are made from plant-based resources that are renewable and recyclable unlike fossil fuels. They also give out less carbon dioxide. After all, the key solution for sustainable energy and resources is about using resources that we can regrow on our own, like plants.

That is not all however. Not only do we have to ensure resource security by finding a way to generate our own resources, we have to ensure that the resources we grow are evenly distributed throughout the world. For example, there is an unequal distribution of food in the world, which is why millions are dying from starvation and famine in one part of the world, while others are wasting and throwing away food in the other areas. Eradicating this inequality in the world is not easy however, and there are various action areas requiring attention, and specific methods are need for each different problem area. All of the different aspects that comprise food security and healthy living are summarised in the diagram below:

However, as shown in the starting context at the bottom portion of the model, this model can only work if there is peace and stability in the countries. Mutual peace and respect for one another is crucial in attaining global food security and healthy living as it requires the cooperation and contributions of everyone. We all have to be willing to share ideas and resources with one another. For example, as mentioned by Jinghui in her individual presentation, we can all start by avoiding food wastage and avoid putting more than what we can eat, on our plates. I remember how my Mom always used to make me finish the rice on my plate, saying it’ll “cry” if I don’t hahahhaa.

The individual presentations for this session were all very interesting, nonetheless Yiting’s presentation on how the Japanese have discovered a way to create meat from human excrement was the highlight of this segment of the session. Meat made from poop!! How cool is that?! Hahaha…I kind of want to try and find out how it tastes like. :B Kind of like HuiQi’s edible burger wrappers presentation awhile back. This process of cultivating meat from human waste is not only an excellent form of waste management, but also being self-sufficient, as we are less dependent on animals and plants for food sources. Another good idea of self-sufficiency that Xin Di told me about is In vitro meat, or test-tube meat which is an animal-flesh product that has never been part of a living animal with the exception of the fetal calf serum taken from a slaughtered bred cow! Hui Qi’s edible food wrappers presentation is a good idea for waste minimization as well.

Key takeaway points:

I feel that the key takeaway point in this week’s session is the importance of achieving self-sufficiently in order to achieve sustainable development. We have to become less reliant on the world’s fast diminishing resources and generate alternative sources which minimizes our dependency on the Earth. This therefore presents a variety of opportunities for applying technology and innovation.

Session Rating: 8/10