Session 7

Session 7

SESSION 7: REVIEW

Topics covered:

• BioBusiness Revolution: Agribiology, Environmental Life Sciences and Industrial Biotechnology (Past, Present and Future)
  

Brief Overview/ Summary

• BioBusiness Revolution: Agribiology, Environmental Life Sciences and Industrial Biotechnology (Past, Present and Future)
  

For this week, I've decided to change things up a bit and present my review in a more journalistic fashion.

First off, we started the session by watching a video on sustainable agriculture and the environment.






We then reviewed what we discussed about BioBusiness last week. Basically, BioBusiness is commercial activity based on an understanding of life sciences and life science processes. This includes the biomedical and agri-vetinary areas. Last week, we focused on the Biomedical sector of BioBusiness. This week, we focused on the Agri-Veterinary, Food, Environmental and Industrial sectors of BioBusiness. To provide a clearer example of what these sectors encompass:

1. 
   
   Agribiology
   
   1. Agribiology vs. Agribiotechnology
      
   2. 
      
      Genetic Modification of Crops
      
      
      
      
2. 
   
   Environmental Life Sciences
   
   1. Waste Mangement
      
   2. Bioremediation
      
   3. 
      
      Maintaining Biodiversity
      
      
      
      
3. 
   
   Industrial Life Sciences
   
   1. Industrial Enzymes
      
   2. BioFuels
      
   3. Biotech in Mining and other industries
      

Moving on, we discussed the weekly readings which talked about the potential of agrobiotechnology and where it might go in the near future. One of the readings that particularly interested me was "How to feed the world in 2050", a paper presented at a global conference organized by the FAO, argues that it is possible to meet the demand for food in the future as long as effort is made to develop food production. According to the paper, the food scarcity problem is actually a food DISTRIBUTION and SUPPLY problem. Yes, there's actually enough food to ensure no one on Earth suffers from starvation.

Following the discussion on the weekly readings, 4 of my classmates were given the opportunity to present on interesting articles they came across that were in line with this week's topic.

Interesting Observations and Ideas/Key Takeaways

One of the presentations this session that really grabbed my attention was the presentation by my friend, Olivia. She talked about the possibility of in-vitro meat production in the future, or lab-grown meat. Basically, meat is grown in the lab through the process of cloning muscle cells from the desired animal. Sample cells are extracted from the animal and placed in a nutrient solution. Then, the cloned cells are stretched mechanically to simulate muscle use in the animal. Eventually, a boneless piece of meat is produced. Why is this so amazing? To fully understand the impact of lab grown meat, an understanding of the current problems surrounding meat production is required.

PROBLEMS WITH CONVENTIONAL MEAT PRODUCTION

• 
  
  Nutrition related diseases
  
  • A third of global mortality is meat-related.
    
  • 25% of all heart diseases are due to conventionally produced meats
    
• 
  
  Food borne diseases
  
  • 500 deaths in US each year are due to meat-related causes
    
• 
  
  Inefficient use of increasingly scarce resources
  
  • Intensive meat production is 25% as energy efficient as soybean production. Energy is lost through the process of raising livestock.
    
  • It will be substantially easier to obtaining mankind's food exclusively from
    
• 
  
  Pollution
  
  • 1.4 billion tons of farm animal waste is generated annually in the US. How much more is generated in countries where farming and agriculture are the main economic activities?
    

Now, I present to you the various advantages offered by lab-grown meat.

POTENTIAL ADVANTAGES OF LAB-GROWN MEAT

• 
  
  Meat Composition
  
  • Growing meat artificially will allow for better control of fat content. Perhaps one day, we will be able to go to the store and purchase "low-fat" meat just like we do with milk today.
    
• 
  
  Replacement of exotic meats
  
  • Since the process of growing meat is basically cloning of cells, a whole new range of meat options will be available to the consumers. Dinosaur meat anybody?
    
• 
  
  Reduced animal use
  
  • Theoretically, you only need 1 farm animal to produce the worlds meat supply since you only need to extract sample tissue.
    

It sounds too good to be true, huh? Well, for now, it is. 1kg of lab meat will set you back USD 5 million. That's an expensive steak! Also, naturally, many people will be turned off by the fact that lab meat is grown and not obtained from animals. After all, Humans have a proven natural aversion to anything unnatural.

Issues for Further Discussion

I have a couple of questions which I feel should be raised regarding lab meat.

1. 
   
   With all the benefits surrounding lab-grown meat,
   
   1. Would you be willing to try it? (When it becomes more affordable, of course.)
      
   2. Why/Why not?
      
   3. 
      
      What might be done to encourage and promote acceptance of lab meat in the future?
      
      
      
      
2. 
   
   An interesting point was raised during the class discussion of the possibility of in-vitro meat production.
   
   1. Instead of directing large amounts of resources towards creating artificial meat, wouldn't it be better if those resources were used to improve the current meat production processes and solving the problems that plague the meat industry today?
      

Personal Ratings

(7.5/10) This session was probably one of the best TWC sessions I've had since the start of term. Discussions were interesting and there was a very obvious "flow" in the class progression, if you know what I mean. Sometimes, everything that goes on during class feels quite disjointed with no real relevance and connection between topics and discussions.