Session 7:

Today’s session was on the second part of BioBusiness namely, the Agribiology, Enironmental Life Sciences and Industrial Life Sciences.

Under Agribiology, we looked at the difference between Agribiology and Agribiotechnology. For me the difference was such:

Agribiology: when we modify our seeds and plants such that they can adapt to different soil conditions

Agri biotechnology: when technology uses living organisms to modify a product or even make a new one.

So Agribiology is the process of changing the basics of a plant to make it adapt to different conditions while agri biotechnology is when we use technology to make the new basic of a plant.

Then we also looked at GM food. Personally, I do not consume GM food at home as my parents are not too inclined towards eating something which has chemicals that can make a difference to your body. But personally, I have no preference. I mean when we eat McDonalds or in any fast food restaurants, we are bound to consume GM food. But, I believe that in the future it might be necessary for us to shift towards GM food because with the increasing world population, we need to apply agribiology and agri biotechnology to ensure that the world has sufficient food.

Moving on the we looked at Environmental Life sciences. I believe that biodiversity is one thing that is the most important part of the nature we must preserve. This is because without the biodiversity, humans will no longer be able to survive. Even with the extinction of a small beetle we have never seen or heard of can bring a huge trouble to us. Imagine if the beetle is a very important part in the life cycle. It’s extinction will mean that there is a change in the way nature will work and we will face problems.

One of the interesting takeaways was the quote by Mahatma Gandhi: “There’s enough on this planet for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed.” In my opinion, solving this problem can be the solution to scarcity. But solving this problem is impossible. Everyone wants to have everything. It is because of this that businesses thrive as people compete among themselves to earn more so that they can afford to get more. But with such greed comes a hell of a price to pay. In my opinion, people have been made aware of the plight of the poor in the African countries and even other parts of the world. But its human nature that prevents them from letting go off their greed so that other people’s needs can be met. The only way that the problem of poverty can be solved is when everyone (meaning each and every individual down to the baby) takes only what they need and not what they desire.

For me this session was very insightful as I was exposed to the new concept of Food Security. Food security is when everyone gets enough nutrition for leading a healthy life. Achieving such a state is nearly impossible. As seen from the diagram below, the basic context for this includes many conditions which can only be achieved in an ideal situation. Furthermore, even if the basic conditions are met, there are many different and complex paths towards food security and thus, it is nearly impossible to achieve such a situation.

I would rate this session 9/10