Bioengineering and Food Security: A quick overview

I still find it hard to fully understand the reason behind the rush for toilet papers and its subsequent shortage at the onset of the covid-19 lockdown. Maybe it's the fear of realizing you are down to your last roll and may not find another? Whatever the reason, I'm glad there was no food shortage in some parts of the US.

But that was not the case in several countries as many experienced food insecurities that resulted from the devaluation of currencies, increase in retail prices, and reduced income as many individuals lost their jobs. What then can be done to ensure food is readily available, safe, and affordable. It is expedient to seek new ways of ensuring that food is available to all globally, but how is that possible, I'll tell you how.

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Bioengineers dream of developing foods that are environmentally safe, have more yield and are healthy through the application of engineering principles. Bioengineering offers prospects of having more volume of harvested crops which will ensure the availability of food globally. This is possible through genetic modification of the crop's DNA. So a farm that produces five tonnes of rice will have the biological capacity to produce ten. Amazing right?

You may be wondering how bioengineering can improve health, it's simple. Let me explain, thousands of people die annually from food allergies. Millions go through appalling experiences when dealing with allergic reactions and bioengineering, through proper research has prospects of removing allergens from these allergy-causing foods.

Will these modifications affect the quality of food?

Food regulatory systems ensure that newly engineered products are, "as safe as” similar products before them. As such, genetically modified food products are extensively scrutinized to ensure they are safe for human consumption. The environment with the incessant clamour for the regulation of the emission of greenhouse gases is at the advantage of having minimized toxic elements from fertilizers through bioremediation which is basically the use of plants to remove heavy metals and toxic nutrients from the soil. This ecologically friendly innovation reduces pollution and global warming.

Genetically Modified Food VS Organic Food

Food choices are personal, which is why siblings can have different opinions on what they eat, we have vegetarians whose preferences are based on childhood experiences or spiritual orientation. Similarly, there are people who demand organic foods because they are believed to be more natural. Whatever your belief, genetically modified foods do not have lesser nutrients compared to organic ones.

The notion that genetically modified foods are less rich in nutrients has led to an increase in the price of organic food products. The education of consumers will play a huge role in this disparity of views. In a study in 2001, there was an increase from 29% to 48% of the percentage of individuals that thought genetically modified food was safe.

You would notice that I have only focused on plants with respect to bioengineering, but livestock aren't left out, they are very much included in bioengineering research and development and I will mention how bioengineering is transforming the livestock sector. Let's dive in.

Livestock Bioengineering

If you have ever given your dog out to breed with another species, I'd say that was the little bioengineer in you at work! As I have earlier established, bioengineering, through research and development seeks to produce animals that express desired traits. It's as simple as that. So in essence, animals are genetically engineered to be resistant to factors that may hinder growth through crossbreeding, administration of hormones that support growth, and improve meat quality.

Developments in the reproductive processes of animals and even humans have been improved through bioengineering via artificial insemination (AI), in-vitro fertilization (IVF), embryo transfer, and somatic cell nuclear transfer. The livestock industry has immensely benefited from these advancements accounting for the increase in consumption of livestock globally.

Many factors influence the availability of food such as disasters, crises, availability of land among others. Bioengineering proffers solutions to the biological factors that affect the yield and quality of food. It does not only have the potential of providing food security but has the potential of creating a safe and better world. New strategies such as the GOC bypass that enhances photosynthesis by enriching plant cells with CO2 to reduce the amount that could be lost through photorespiration have promising prospects in the agricultural industry.

^{By Ciencias EspañolasKoS - , CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75624775}

Keep in mind that innovations got the world to where it is today, plates, refrigerators, beds, cars, air conditioners, radio, and television sets, elevators, and every other technological improvement has been done to make life easier, and in the same manner, bioengineering and production of genetically modified foods are gradually developing the agricultural industry.

Are there Risks Associated with this impressive development?

If you are like me, you may have wondered if apples will be the size of pumpkins in the future, or If cows will bark and bite. They are a bit far-fetched but just like me, there are concerns about the influence of bioengineering in agriculture in relation to human health from the use of antibiotic-resistant genes that serve as markers, and consuming foods with these genes may limit the efficacy of antibiotics in humans.

The long-term effect of these innovations are unknown, there are, however, speculations that new toxins could be introduced into the environment by genetically modified plants and animals. It is of utmost importance that regulations are put in place for further evaluation before the application of new technology.

Summary

Genetically modifying crops/animals is an aspect of bioengineering. The latter generally involves augmenting biological entities to improve their features for the purpose of serving human existence. Genetic modification of crops or animals is the only way to ensure food sufficiency for mankind both now and in the nearest future. There is skepticism concerning the safety of consuming GMOs/animals but so far, there is no proven evidence that they constitute health risks. However, there are genuine concerns they might constitute a certain risk level to the environment and the ecosystem through the production of toxins that can cause a shift in species equilibrium. Research is ongoing and new developments keep emerging every day. The future is cautiously bright.