gmo's+and+biodiversity,+paige,+kyle,+andreas,+reece,+anthony

1.monoculture. 4 advantages a)Monocultures used in agriculture are usually single strains that have been bred for high yield and resistant to certain common diseases b)Monoculture produces great yields by utilizing plants' abilities to maximize growth under less pressure from other species and more uniform plant structure c)Monoculture plantings provide great yields and more effective growth and harvesting than natural stands of trees. d)In the last 40 years modern practices such as monoculture planting and the use of synthesized fertilizers have greatly reduced the amount of land needed to produce much higher yielding crops Disadvantages a) Some people don't want to eat GMO's b) Some animals and pests will go extinct because of the plants that are resistant to them. c) The first strain of the plant may never be planted again. 2. Monocultures require large amounts of weed killers and pesticides because they are growing only one type of crop and pests that affect that one crop can destroy the whole crop that the monoculture relies on for compensation. Instead of using weed killers or pesticides, monocultures should use cover crop to produce diversity. Cover crop plantings provide nectar, pollen and plant material that attracts many different species of plant eating insects which means that instead of feeding on the crop, the pests would feed on the cover crops. 3. BT plants effects on the environment are controversial and unconfirmed, however, during most of the plants life, the pesticide use has decreased dramatically. but, near the end of the growth period, the plant produces less and less of the BT toxin. 4. Genetic engineering is the modification of plant DNA to benefit humans by making them more resistant to insects of diseases, etc. Though there is no real problem with properly genetically altered food, the biggest problem with the GMOs is the people’s GREED! People rush the products to sale. While they are trying to make the most money, they neglect to notice, or just don’t wait for, the problems that may arise. 5.PROs a)Crops like potato, tomato, soybean and rice are currently being genetically engineered to obtain new strains with better nutritional qualities and increased yield. b)Biotechnology, the science of genetically engineering foods, can be used to impart a better taste to certain foods. c)Engineered seeds are resistant to pests and can survive in a relatively harsh climatic conditions d)Genetic engineering in food can be used to produce totally new substances such as proteins and other food nutrients e)If the genes responsible for the exceptional qualities in some individuals can be discovered, these genes can be artificially introduced into genotypes of other human beings CONS a) Genetic engineering in food involves the contamination of genes in crops. b) Genetically engineered crops may supersede the natural weeds; they may prove harmful for the natural plants. c) While increasing the immunity to diseases in plants, the resistance genes may get transferred to the harmful pathogens. d) While treating one defect, the therapy may lead to another. As one cell is responsible for many characteristics, the isolation of the cells responsible for a single trait is indeed difficult e) Genetic engineering may work wonders but it is after all a process of manipulating the nature. f) It is altering something that is not an original human creation. Modifying something that one has not created is always challenging. 6. Biodiversity helps protect food crops by creating more food and maximizing productivity on farmland creating less farming. Crop protection helps make sustainable use of the natural resources that biodiversity creates. 7.We humans have been manipulating plants for a very long time. Since man first crawled out of caves. The ways in which man has manipulated plants is by taking and exchanging seeds. Humans have also seen and recorded which environment best suits each plant so we plant seeds according to the environment and weather. Humans manipulate plants because they want to get the best out of them such as some medicines and foods. Some of the effects of manipulated plants may lead to a new type of plant or may genetically alter the pollen on some of the plants and could cause some harmful effects on the human beings of this world. I think that humans could exist if we never manipulated plants but we might be behind from where we are now, humans may be fewer if there was less manipulations seeing how that we generally modify nearly everything we eat to accelerate growth and how how much of it is produced

8.Small term: Smaller farmers, especially those on marginal lands, are much more interested in minimizing risk than in maximizing productivity. Pests and diseases "consume" around 30% of the world’s harvest each year. A mixture of different varieties of the same crop can reduce the impact of outbreaks of pests and diseases

Meduim term: The 11 genebanks hold nearly 650,000 accessions, 11% of the world’s samples of crop plant diversity. Coping with climate change is probably the greatest challenge facing poor farmers in the medium term.Coping with climate change is probably the greatest challenge facing poor farmers in the medium term

Long term: Genebanks play a key role in collecting, conserving and mapping plant genetic diversity. The Seed Treaty is another essential element in conservation for long-term sustainability. 9. Nikolia Vavilov was a Russian scientist who headed the Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences. He established 400 research institutes that employed up to 20,000 people.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Vavilov’s Centers of Origin:
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 China <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2 India <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2a Indochina <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3 Central Asia (N. India, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4 The Near East <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5 Mediterranean Sea, coastal and adjacent regions <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">6 Ethiopia <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">7 Southern Mexico and Middle America <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">8 Northeastern South America, Bolivia, Ecudor, Peru <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">8a Isle of Chile
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[[image:http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/css/330/two/images/VavilovsEightCentersOfCropOrigin1.gif caption="Vavilov's Eight Centers of Crop Origin"]] ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Vavilov's Eight Centers of Crop Origin ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">from the environments in which they naturally grow. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The early collection included: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">wild and cultivated corn, potato tubers, grains, beans, fodder, fruits and vegetable seeds ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gene Banks || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Vavilov Center ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gene banks are //ex situ// collections || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Is the world's first seed bank and one of the world's largest collections of plant genetic material. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gene banks comprise samples stored off site, away
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The most valuable food crops — wheat, rice, and maize, which together provide all humanity with half the calories needed || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Vavilov was the foremost plant geographer of his time and took part in over 100 collecting missions to 64 countries ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cool, dry seed should remain viable for many years, and in some cases for decades or even centuries. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The collection numbers 380,000 gene types representing 2,500 plant species. ||
 * || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While guarding the collection, some scientists starved to death rather than eat the packets of rice, corn and other seeds in their desks ||