Green buildings have become popular recently because of the environmental benefits as well as their aesthetic beauty. The whole concept behind them is to conserve natural resources and improve the quality of life of occupants.
ARE GMOs THE ANSWER?
GMOs are a widely controversial topic and many have split views about their use. In this article I would like to shed some light on its applications in agriculture, medicine and livestock as well as its effects on the environment.
What are GMOs?
A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an animal, plant or microbe that has had its DNA altered or modified in a lab through recombinant DNA technology and reproductive cloning (genetic engineering). This creates a combination of genes that do not occur naturally.
Initially, artificial selection was employed by using traditional breeding techniques to get a desired trait in animals and plants. This involved the selection of the animals and plants that would get to reproduce. This has been done with maize crop, cattle, dogs etc. However, the method is limited to natural selection which is random. On the other hand, genetic engineering has enabled precise control of the genes introduced into an organism which ensures that the desired traits are expressed.
Agriculture
GMOs are popular in the farming industry because they are tailored to produce higher yield crops that are resistant to pests, diseases, adverse weather conditions such as drought as well as some pesticides/herbicides.
Genetically engineered foods have foreign genes from other organisms inserted into their genetic codes; that translates to elements in crops that enable them to be drought and pest resistant.
The main GM crops are cotton, soybean, maize and canola.
It is worth noting, crop derivatives such as yeast, sucrose and vitamins from GM plants also contain genetic engineered material.
GMOs may appear as a solution to food insecurity however little is known about their long-term effects. Anti-GMO activists argue that GMOs can cause human health problems by triggering allergic reactions or contributing to cancer development possibly brought about through mutations in DNA. However, there is no concrete scientific evidence to support this at present.
In addition, there are claims that GM crops that are designed to be resistant to herbicides and certain antibiotics could pass this resistance to humans. This would make people resistant to antibiotic treatment thus reducing the efficacy of the medication. However, these claims call for further research.
Medicine
GMOs have extended to the biomedical sector where research is underway to produce edible vaccines. These will be plants (fruits and vegetables) that have vaccines incorporated into their genetic code for direct consumption by people. This could potentially curb the spread of diseases and provide a solution for developing countries that are not able to afford the equipment for vaccines or conduct large scale vaccination campaigns.
In addition to this there are further medical trials to use GM animals to grow human transplant tissues and organs in a procedure known as xenotransplantation.
Livestock
GM crops are beneficial to the livestock sector. Plants used as animal feeds are engineered to produce high yields with better quality traits. Farmers are able to produce more ingredients for the animal feeds on the same tract of land. Meaning there will be reduced land use and no need to expand agricultural land into natural spaces.
Consequently, the genetically modified animal feeds may transfer the genetic material to the animal. Therefore, it is likely that animal products such as milk, eggs and meat could have genetically engineered elements present.
Environmental implications
Advantages
- A major draw for GMOs is pest resistance. The bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is used for its protein properties that repel insects. GMO crops that have the Bt gene incorporated in their DNA are able to repel insect pests, thus minimizing the use of pesticides.
- GM crops tend to produce better harvests than conventional crops therefore less land is required to grow more food.
Disadvantages
- Inbreeding may occur between GMOs and natural organisms which may lead to biodiversity loss.
- The reliance on GMO seeds may grow to the point where indigenous crops will be slowly phased out of the agro-ecosystem.
- Certain GM crops are modified to resist chemical herbicides instead of pests (weeds). Herbicide resistant crops are able to survive the chemical effects of specific herbicides that are used to control weed populations. Although this reduces tilling which leads to soil erosion, it encourages the increased application of herbicides in farms which perpetuates soil pollution.
Conclusion
GMOs offer many solutions in the world today; however, since it is a relatively new technology we cannot be sure if it’s the best or safest practice to embrace.
In the comment section below let us know if you are for or against GMOs. We would love to hear your views!
Sources
https://www.britannica.com/science/genetically-modified-organism
https://www.livescience.com/40895-gmo-facts.html
NO POLLINATORS, NO FOOD! The Importance of Pollinators in our Lives.
Your evening meal would look a lot different if there were no pollinators. About 75% of crops that produce fruits and vegetables depend on pollinators for food production. Unfortunately, their numbers are declining due to various human activities. In this article we shall explore the importance of pollinators, their threats and what you can do at home to save them!
WHAT ARE POLLINATORS?
Pollinators are insects, birds or mammals that transfer pollen from one flower to another. This results in fertilization that leads to the production of seeds and fruits! There are two types of pollinators: vertebrates (birds, bats and small mammals) and invertebrates (bees, butterflies, beetles, moths, wasps and flies). These account for around 200,000 different species of pollinators.
Pollen and nectar are the main source of food for pollinators. Flowers bloom at different times of the day depending on the pollinators they intend to attract. Day blooming flowers are often brightly coloured to attract bees and birds while night blooming flowers are pale and produce sweet scents to attract moths and bats. These pollinators are not only beneficial to plants but animals as well.
IMPORTANCE OF POLLINATORS
- They play a vital role in the production of healthy crops that provide food, medicine, oils and fibres. The crops include garlic, beans, kale, apples, vanilla, coffee, avocado, chocolate, onions, potatoes, almonds, pumpkin, peaches etc. Even that shot of tequila would not exist had it not been for pollinators.
- They take part in ecosystem regulation and provide a habitat and source of food for wild animals. 90% of wild flowering plants require pollinators to survive. The other 10% are pollinated through wind or water.
- They contribute to higher crop yield in farmlands.
- They are also fundamental in the maturation of savannah, tropical and temperate forests.
THREATS FACED BY POLLINATORS
Urbanization and commercial agriculture have led to fragmentation and destruction of natural landscapes that have reduced the habitat of wild species. This leaves pollinators with limited food and water sources as well as fewer nesting sites.
Changes in agricultural practices and the use of broad-spectrum pesticides can disrupt or destroy established pollinator habitats.
Climate change has altered the abundance, range and seasonal activities of some pollinators in the wild. It brings about extreme events such as high temperatures, floods, droughts and changes to flowering time that impede pollination.
Invasive species can diminish the quality of a pollinator habitat by competing with native plants or animals for resources and attract pollinators away from native plants.
Air pollution can prove a challenge for pollinators that rely on scent trails to find flowers.
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THERE WERE NO POLLINATORS?
In rural China there’s a province called Sichuan – a major fruit producer that used enormous amounts of pesticides in their farmlands, which caused the localized extinction of bee species. For pollination to occur the farmers are left to their own devices. They are required to climb trees with a container of apple pollen in hand and using specialized design brushes with long handles, manually transfer pollen to the receptive apple flowers. (Yikes!)
SO WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT? ESTABLISH A HEALTHY POLLINATOR HABITAT IN YOUR HOMES!
How you can do this:
Plant a variety of flowers of different colours and shapes to attract different pollinators.
Plant clumps of vegetation as opposed to single plants.
Go for native plants rather than exotic because native plants are better suited to the soil and climate in your region.
Avoid the use of pesticides and instead practice Integrated Pest Management techniques.
Select plants that flower at different times of the year so as to provide nectar and pollen sources through different seasons of the year.
Pollinators need water too; provide water for them in small dishes, a birdbath and bowls.
CONCLUSION
It is absolutely imperative that we conserve pollinators as food demands increase. A decline in pollinators may impact the growth of vitamin rich fruits and vegetable and bring about malnutrition and other deadly diseases.
In the post Climate change and Food Security, we asked you, our readers, to suggest any topic in the comment section that you would like us to write about and we chose the topic on pollinators suggested by Douglas. Hope you enjoyed this article. We plan to write on more of the suggested topics so stay tuned. 🙂
Don’t forget to like, share, comment and follow. 🙂
Sources
https://www.museumoftheearth.org/bees/agriculture#gsc.tab=0
OF DESERT LOCUSTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
What are they?
Scientific name: Schistocerca gregaria
Desert locusts are known to be solitary, however, they swarm when there are heavy rains in an arid region. This is because they have access to food as well as conditions that favour their breeding and maturation. A swarm can be made up of billions of locusts and can be as large as cities. For example, in Kenya, a swarm was estimated to be 60km long and 40km wide, which made it roughly four times the size of Nairobi.
In this swarm phase, they are known to eat their own body weight (two grams) in food each day. This makes them highly destructive to crops as they consume their leaves during their migration from one place to another.
What brought on this outbreak?
In May 2018, a powerful cyclone, known as, Mekunu, hit the Arabian Peninsula causing heavy rainfall that created desert lakes in Saudi Arabia. This created an ideal environment of warm, sandy and wet soil, for desert locust eggs to hatch, develop and breed. A period of dry conditions would normally result in the death of these locusts, however, another tropical cyclone, Luban, hit the area in October 2018. This provided a lifeline for the continuation of the first outbreak and enabled the successful breeding of three desert locust generations.
It is this outbreak that spread to Yemen, where due to political instability and an incoherent government response, the outbreak continued uncontrolled. In 2019, winds from another tropical cyclone, Pawan, facilitated the migration of these desert locusts to East Africa. Political instability and limited capacity contributed to the lack of response and made this outbreak, not only the worst in 25 years for Ethiopia and Somalia, but also the worst in 70 years for Kenya.
What is their relationship with climate change?
This outbreak was brought on by the increase in tropical cyclones reaching landfalls all linked to the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). The IOD is a climate system that affects the weather in East Africa & the Arab Peninsula, and Indonesia, New Guinea & Australia. The IOD has three phases – positive, negative and neutral. It is the positive phase that is linked to the desert locust outbreak.
In the positive phase, the winds blow east and the waters around East Africa & the Arab Peninsula warm up resulting in cyclones and heavy rainfall in the region. The frequency of cyclones increases during the positive phase due to an increase in warmth and moisture which acts as fuel to these storms.
The IOD was in positive phase in 2018 and 2019 from June to December. However, in 2019, the IOD was at an extreme positive level. This led to not only an increase in rains in East Africa, but also an increase in bushfires in Australia. This is because as it rains in East Africa, Australia develops drought-like conditions.
Research has shown that there has been an increase in positive phases in the IOD over the years. This is linked to human-induced warming of the western Indian Ocean (Africa) in comparison to the eastern Indian Ocean (Australia). This results in heavy rainfall, cyclones and bushfires.
A study conducted in 2009, found that there has been an increase in the frequency of positive IOD phases since the 20th century. According to the study, at the beginning of the 20th century, a positive IOD phase was estimated to occur around 4 times in a 30-year period. However, between 1989-2009 (30-year period), 10 positive IOD phases occurred.
It is estimated that further climate change would only increase the frequency of positive IOD phases by a factor of three by 2099. This will increase the number of locust outbreaks in the Horn of Africa as more cyclones occur feeding into the lifeline of the desert locusts.
CHRIS HANI
Bloggers Recognition Award
Hey guys welcome back to my blog. Today’s article is a little different. I was nominated for the Blogger Recognition Award. So I thought I would join in on the fun.
I would like to thank Naturally Val for nominating me. It was sweet of you. Go check out her blog Naturally Val ( https://thenaturalstribe.wordpress.com/) for all things natural hair.
The Rules
- Thank the blogger that nominated you and give a link to their site
- Do a post to show your award
- Give a summary of how your blog started
- Give two pieces of advice for any new bloggers
- Select at least 15 other bloggers for this award
- Let each nominee know you’ve nominated them and give a link to your post
How My Blog Started:
I started my blog in February 2020 after being challenged by a friend to do more in awareness creation about the environment. Being an Environmental Scientist by profession, I took up the challenge and began my blog. It’s been an interesting journey and I’ve learned so much along the way.
My advice:
- Consistency is key; Keep writing!
- Ensure your posts are well researched and factual!
My nominations:
@Purposeless Kenya – Nyapela
@Kidy Didy
@Haniokidi
Climate Change and Food Security
Food security is the state when everyone at all times has the economic and physical access to nutritious, safe and sufficient food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life according to FAO.
Food sources can be categorized as agriculture, livestock and fish farming. They all rely heavily on the state of the surrounding environment.
Agriculture
Agriculture is heavily dependent on the weather; it requires the right combination of rain, sun and warmth to produce the food that we all need.
Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are especially vulnerable to climate change because they rely on rain fed agriculture as opposed to irrigation systems.
Farming is also seasonal as farmers have to harvest before the end of each season in order to prepare for the next.
According to the United Nations, 80% of the world’s food production is by family farms. Therefore, climate change will not only affect these families at an individual level, but the world as a whole.
Factors that affect agriculture:
- Extreme weather: erratic weather is a hallmark of climate change which can manifest in various ways, i.e., droughts, storms, floods, frosts and heat waves. It is expected that there will be an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events in the future as the Earth’s atmosphere continues to warm.
- Pests and diseases: when there is a change in temperature and moisture levels, crop diseases and pests can thrive. One example of a pest is the fall army worm that has invaded farmlands in certain African countries. This is an invasive caterpillar that is known to devastate maize yields.
- High temperature: average global temperatures should rise in coming decades which would lead to severe desertification and painfully small yields.
Unfortunately, many farmers in developing countries turn to unsustainable avenues to increase their yield such as deforestation, converting natural land to farmland and other unsustainable agricultural practices which lead to a vicious cycle of land degradation and low yields.
Agriculture is a necessity for all humanity because it provides a source of food as well as a primary source of livelihood for around 36% of the world’s total workforce according to FAO. The impacts of climate change are expected to be negative in tropical regions and positive in temperate zones. We may see higher yields in temperate regions which could potentially offset lower yields in tropical zones. However, low income countries with limited financial capacity to trade and high dependence on their own local production of food may find it difficult to offset declines in food supply without a reliance on food aid.
Livestock farming
Heat waves have been known to increase with climate change and this may pose a risk to livestock. The heat can affect livestock directly or indirectly by making them more vulnerable to disease, reduced fertility and reduced milk production. It can also increase the prevalence of parasites and diseases that affect livestock which will lead to the increased use of pesticides that will be introduced to the food chain.
Climate change is a threat to livestock production because it impacts quality of feed crop and forage, animal and milk production, water availability, livestock disease and animal production. Due to an increase in temperature and carbon dioxide the quantity and quality of feed will be affected.
Fisheries
Fisheries are already under stress with overfishing and water pollution. With aquatic waters warming, many aquatic species have been forced to search for colder areas of streams and lakes or move to higher latitudes where temperatures could be more conducive for their survival. This potentially could put them in competition with other species for food and other resources. Trout and salmon are examples of fish losing their habitat due to the migration of warm water fish into cold water regions.
There will be changes in catch size of sea food as fish species change their geographic distribution and migration patterns due to climate change. This can impact national incomes of countries that solely rely on fisheries.
Conclusion
Climate smart agriculture (CSA) is a solution to aid farmers in the wake of the climate crisis. By implementing climate change adaptation and mitigation measures such as ecological farming, agroforestry, crop rotation and more; sustainable agriculture could be achieved which will go a long way with improving food security in several countries.
Additional information on CSA
There are three pillars of CSA, namely, productivity, adaptation and mitigation. CSA aims to increase agricultural productivity and incomes sustainably, reduce farmers exposure to short-term risks, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A successful case of CSA intervention is the development of drought-tolerant maize for Africa (DTMA). This has seen the development and successful farming of drought-resistant maize varieties in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In livestock farming, CSA, is achieved through better feeding using crop by-products, agroforestry, fodder banks and improved pastures species. A successful case of CSA intervention in livestock farming, is the East Africa Dairy Development Project (EADD). The project supports about 200,000 farmers by increasing their milk production in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.
In fisheries, catfish aquaculture is seen as the alternative source of protein for mankind. Catfish aquaculture consumer less water per tonne, has few impacts on water quality, and allows the use of both wastewater and discarded fish parts as fertilizer and animal feed/oil respectively. Catfish aquaculture has proven to be a successful CSA intervention in countries like Vietnam generating 1 million tonnes of food every year and employing over 170,000 people.
To Our Esteemed Readers: We would like to open the floor to all of you, kindly comment below what topic you would like us to write about in the next blog.
Can’t wait to hear your ideas 🙂