Meeting Global Food Demands Flashcards

All 6 cards in this deck

Which gene is taken from Bacillus thuringiensis and put into crop plants, and why?

A gene for a toxin (Bt toxin) that kills insect pests, giving the crop insect resistance.

Give two advantages of growing insect-resistant GM crops.

Higher crop yields because fewer plants are eaten by pests, and less pesticide needs to be sprayed.

Give two disadvantages of growing GM crops.

GM seed is expensive for farmers, and the transferred gene may spread to wild plants or harm non-pest insects.

Give one advantage and one disadvantage of using fertilisers to increase food production.

Advantage: they replace minerals in the soil so crops grow bigger and yields increase. Disadvantage: they are expensive and can pollute nearby water.

What is biological control?

Using a natural predator, parasite or pathogen to reduce the number of a pest species.

Give one advantage and one disadvantage of biological control.

Advantage: no chemical pesticides are needed, so no chemical build-up in food chains. Disadvantage: the control organism may become a pest itself or eat other species.