Canadian Biotechnology Action Network. (June 2024). GE Fish. Retrieved Aug 22, 2024 from https://cban.ca/gmos/products/ge-animals/ge-fish/

The company named AquaBounty has closed down their tank farm and has stopped production of genetically engineered salmon. AquaBounty was the first company to make and produce genetically modified fish and release it for consumption. It also was the first genetically engineered animal to be released for the public to eat. The salmon was released unmarked and their GE salmon remains in controversy. AquaBounty is planning to finish their new and larger facility in Ohio.

In my opinion, this is very similar to having GM crops. Both are costly and for the purpose of food production. It will be interesting to see in the future the changes that will be made to animals to maybe affect the flavor or texture or other things that make me wonder if food will taste better because of this or even be healthier if designed with more vitamins. At the same time, I think it is absolutely necessary for GE animal products to be labeled as such. This relates to environmental science because ecosystems would greatly change should there be way less fishing in the environment due to fish farms. This could help solve the current problem of overfishing and we could see ecosystems restored where they were previously ruined by human greed. 

NPR. (Feb 29, 2024). How genetically modified pigs could end the shortage of organs for transplants. Retrieved Aug 22, 2024 from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/02/29/1231699834/genetically-modified-pigs-organs-human-transplant

There are over 100,000 people on a waiting list for transplanted organs and 17 die a day because of the lack of organs. Genetically engineered pigs could be the answer for this. A lot of the pigs organs such as their hearts are very similar to a humans. Pigs are being genetically engineered to have organs that are strong and healthy and that also will not be rejected by the human immune system. This may seem like a miracle solution but it has been highly debated because of its ethical problem. Some say that it is inhumane to be killing hundreds of thousands of pigs each year to effectively be a humans spare parts. While not perfect yet, this could be the future of transplants.

I think that this is a great idea that we could have pigs to be able to save human lives. We are already killing millions of pigs in the name of food so its not like it would be anything new. If anything these pigs might get treated even better than pigs used for food because they want strong hearts and other organs from the pig. This makes me wonder if we will get so good at genetically modifying pigs that we could make a super pig with super organs and than transplant them to a human to make humans more cool. In my opinion I think this is a really cool thing to see happen especially once I became aware at just how many people are dying because of the lack of organ available for transplanting. It will be interesting to see how much this advances in the years to come. This relates to environmental science because its about animals as well as human health and it gives light into the future to a world where animals are utilized in more unique ways than just food or clothing.

The Washington Post. (May 13th, 2024). Should Our Future Food be Genetically Engineered?. Retrieved Aug 22, 2024 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/05/13/gmos-climate-emissions-philippines-rice/

Genetically Modified crops remind a highly contested idea in todays society. Around 37% of Americans don’t feel comfortable with GM crops while around 22% do. A variety of major countries such as the UK and India also heavily rely on GM crops. The truth is that no major science study has found it to have consequences for human health but even still, studies show that people will pay up to 20% more to avoid them. It is also highly beneficial to climate change to make the switch.

This article focused a lot about the people’s reaction to GM crops as well as its effect on climate change. The article stated how the use of GM crops globally has saved around 23 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year. This heavily relates to environmental science because it is a way to cut down on carbon emissions while also having the upside of making food. A way I know how it benefits this is because the GM crops are more productive, farmers don’t need to clear as much land which in turn means that all the carbon released into the atmosphere by cutting trees, no longer is emitted. Deforestation is a big cause for global warming which is also effecting many ecosystems around the world so minimizing this would be a good idea. I think that if used and planned for carefully, GM crops will solve a lot of problems.

National Geographic. (Jan 3rd, 2024). Are Genetically Modified Crops the Answer to World Hunger. Retrieved Aug 22, 2024, from https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/are-genetically-modified-crops-answer-world-hunger/

GM crops or genetically modified crops are crops that have been changed at the DNA level to have a certain benefit or to gain more yield. While this seems good on paper, there are still a number of downsides to them. One of which is the GM seeds are owned by only a handful of companies and it would be bad to over rely on just a couple sources long term. Another reason why is that world hunger is caused by inequality or violence, not because there is not enough food on the planet. 

I really liked how they said in the article that the world already has enough food and that world hunger is caused instead mostly by inequality and violence. I found that really interesting because its true and while I’ve heard that there is world hunger I haven’t heard why. This article relates to environmental science because it shows the benefits and downsides of genetically modifying our crops. I agreed with a lot of what the article said about it not being a good idea to leave the production of food in the hands of a couple large corporations and also how there has to be other problems addressed regarding world hunger that more directly affect it.

FDA. (03/05/2024). How GMO Crops Impact Our World. Retrieved Aug 22, 2024, from https://www.fda.gov/food/agricultural-biotechnology/how-gmo-crops-impact-our-world

There are a multitude of reasons why farmers would use genetically modified crops or GMO crops instead of traditional ones. 3 of the most popular variations made to regular plants are resistant to insect damage, better able to tolerate herbicides, and more resistant to viruses. Because the GMO plants can be more easily farmed, it drives down costs of things like labor and other things that go into farming. In turn, this causes fruits and vegetables to be more widely accessible and cheaper to purchase for the consumer.

This article is related to environmental science because its about our food and also how the GMO interacts with its environment. This article was very positive on the effects of GMO crops which in truth are very beneficial because its just easier for everyone. The crops are made to withstand things that would ordinarily have led to starvation and death of many people. Not only do these crops literally save people, but they are cheaper and more available for everyone just because of how much easier they are to farm. Lots of land every year is cleared out for farms and maybe with a lesser demand for food then the process of deforestation might be able to slow down too.

Manke, K. (2024, June 13). Can engineered plants help make baby formula as nutritious as breast milk?. Berkeley News. can-engineered-plants-help-make-baby-formula-as-nutritious-as-breast-milk

This article explores the idea of being able to make better breast milk alternatives from plants. These scientists recently did a study of reprogramming plant’s sugar making a large array of human milk sugars. This can lead to healthier and more affordable formula for babies, or more nutritious non-dairy plant milk for those who can not consume dairy products. The scientists had an interesting thought process with the realization that the plants already produce sugars, why not just reroute the sugars to be the ones needed from human milk.

This article’s relevance with environmental science is similar to the Purple Tomato article with all the different possibilities of using these techniques to help the environment. Although the reason in the article isn’t for environmental issues, it certainly can be modified too. Like maybe plants that have increased greenhouse gas consumption so that we could maybe have less of them in the atmosphere.

Woodruff, S. (2023, February 6). Gardeners can now grow a genetically modified purple tomato made with snapdragon DNA. NPR. purple-tomato-gmo-gardeners

This article is about a special tomato that produces high levels of anthocyanin, which is a health-promoting compound. Named the Purple Tomato, it is the first genetically modified food crop to be directly marketed to home gardeners. The tomato was mixed with the purple snapdragon flower to give it anthocyanin, which has been shown to have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. The article also mentions the pink pineapple, which is grown exclusively in California by one company, while the Purple tomato was made widely available.

This article is relevant to environmental science with it showing how these different plants can be modified to have very positive effects. These ideas and strategies could be put to good use with finding ways to better the environment. While many think that GMOs are worse, this article highlights how they can actually be very good for human health. I think that the same approach should be taken for thinking how genetic engineering can be used to better the environment.

Bernstein, J. (2024, March 6). Marine algae implants could boost crop yields. UC Riverside News. marine-algae-implants-could-boost-crop-yields

In this article, scientists experiment with a type of chlorophyll found in marine plants. They are able to eventually place the gene into a land plant, which will give way to better crop yields on smaller amounts of land. This also demonstrates a one-of-a-kind achievement, that land plants can produce the marine variant of chlorophyll. With the ability to produce marine chlorophyll, the land plants we grow will have a larger spectrum of light that they can absorb resulting in better growth.

The article is related to environmental science with its main focus being about making the land plants have better crop yields on less land. The article also talks about similar uses with algae, showing how they can also be given the gene for the chlorophyll to better produce energy for the biofuel algae.

Sommer, T, Mount, J, Gray, B, Grenier, L, Harder, J, Sencan, G. (2024, May). Climate-Smart Tools to Protect California’s Freshwater Biodiversity. PPIC. climate-smart-tools-to-protect-californias-freshwater-biodiversity

This article is about California’s freshwater ecosystems and how climate change has been affecting them. While there were already efforts to protect the freshwater ecosystems, climate change became an additional and serious threat. The article attempts to list our multiple ways that California can effectively protect these freshwater ecosystems. Some of these actions include creating climate-smart conservation plans, planning for the possible loss of species, and immediately beginning many conservation projects and climate-smart planning for the freshwater ecosystems. 

The article heavily relates to environmental science with its main focus being about ways that California can do better to protect its freshwater ecosystems and all the inhabitants of them. My reaction to this was a surprised one, I had never really realized how large of a problem this was becoming. The amount of different actions that could happen to help stop this from becoming worse was surprising as well.

 Harrison, K. (2024, March 19). Unlocking Fungal Frontiers: Revolutionizing the Food Industry with Genetic Engineering. Environment + Energy Leader. Potential-for-fungi-in-foods

This article is about a bio engineer, Yavu Hill-Maini, who researches gene editing in fungi to find new food innovations. It will create fungi-based foods that almost mimic the taste and texture of meat, with the added bonus of a food alternative. This will reduce the environmental footprint that is made from meat, with the change to fungi-based food that mimic meat. Showcases the potential of fungi as a food source and the importance of synthetic biology to address global issues, such as the environmental impact of traditional food production.

This is related to environmental science with the talk about the environmental effects that traditional food production has.  While the article seems to be about mainly food, it also highlights the importance of these new fungi-based foods as they will help the large environmental footprint of food production to not increase. Or at least increase at a much slower rate. My reaction to this article is it’s interesting to think about new ways to create food alternatives and ways to reduce the negative environmental effects that traditional food production methods cause.