Chapter 7: Biodiversity, the Healthy Society, and the
Debatable Issues of the 21st Century
Good Health is a condition of being away from illness and diseases not just
physically but also emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Having good health is
dependent on many factors including economic status and environmental conditions.
Health is an indicator of sustainable development and the most basic human
right.Biodiversity refers to the variety of life forms, not just rare and endangered forms
of life, nor just big and attractive animals and plants. It includes every living thing- the
common, the ordinary, the ugly, and even those organisms invisible to the naked eye. It
also refers to more than individual specie. It includes the genes they contain, and the
ecosystem and habitats of which they are part of. Biodiversity is the foundation of
human health. The conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity can provide
significant benefit to health. The relationship between biodiversity and human health is
extensive and complex simply because the conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity have positiveimpacts on human health. The continuing loss of biodiversity
on global scale represents a direct threat to health and well-being. A healthy global
environment is capable of supporting a diversity of life. (World Health Organization,
2010).
Biodiversity is an essential element for supporting life on earth. The condition of
the natural environment depends entirely on the continuing diversity. If one species is
lost from the ecosystem, all of the other species in the ecosystem are affected. The loss
of these life forms could affect the entire ecosystem governing the environment.
According to the World Health Organization there are major threats to biodiversity that
are identified by the United Nations Environmental programs and they are as follows: 1)
habitat loss and destruction, 2) alterations in ecosystem composition, 3) over
exploitation, 4) pollution and contamination, and 5) global climate change. It is therefore
important toproperly administer agricultural productivity and sustainable use of natural
resources. Biological diversity also ensures clean air, water, and fertile soils for
sustainable development.
Aside from the promise of a better health foods and restoring healthier condition
of the natural environment, there are other debatable issues of the 21 st century such as
the biotechnology, GMOs, the nano technology, gene therapy, and climate change.
A. Biotechnology
Biotechnology aims to help professionals in managing, conserving, and using
plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Biotechnology uses biological systems,
living organisms, or derivatives thereof to make or modify products or processes for
specific use. Particularly, it aims to develop new development precision tools and
diagnostics; speed up breeding gains and efficiency; develop pest and disease resistant
crops; combat salinity, drought, and problems of agriculture; enhance the nutritional
quality of food; increase crop varieties and choice; reduce inputs and production cost;
and increase profits (Bragdon et al., 2005).
The book, “Managing Innovation in Biotechnology” reported in 2006 that for
more than two decades, the biotechnology sector experienced an important growth
because it is a dynamic business with many challenges in new product developments to
improve the quality of life of humans and animals. The company develops a new
method for selling its products in the market and granting licences and patents to other
companies. There are two important lines of research for bio-technology that gives
profits, 1) the DNA (Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid), and 2) genetic engineering. Genetic
engineering is a technique that allows genes and DNA to be transferred from one
source to another. This leads to the production of living modified organisms (LMOs) or
genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Some of the advantages of biotech are: 1)
Reduce pollution and waste; 2) Decrease the use of energy, raw materials and water; 3)
Lead to better quality food products; 4) Create new materials and biofuels from waste;
and 5) Provide an alternative to some chemical processes.
B. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
The World Health Organization defines GMO as an organism, either plant,
animals, or microorganism in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a
way that does not occur naturally by mating or natural recombination. The development
of GMOs was perceived to help in the advancement of science and technology for the
benefit of human beings. It also aims to address the issues of food security, agriculture,
drug production, and nutrition. GMOs are known as transgenic organisms because this
process involves the transfer of genes.
The Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health (CEEH, 2013) identified
the characteristics of GMOs in food and agriculture: 1) pest resistance, 2) virus
resistance, 3) herbicide tolerance, 4) fortification, 5) cosmetic preservation, 6) increase
growth rate, 7) flower production, 8) paper production, 9) pharmaceutical production,
10) bioremediation 11) enzyme and drug production, and 12) medical treatment.
Research studies revealed some conflicting arguments such as whether
consumption of GMOs crops is beneficial or harmful to human health. There are also
counter arguments either opposing health risk claims or suggesting that GMOs provide
more benefits than harm. However, the most notable GMO risks to human are the
potential development of allergens and toxicity from GMO related crops. Studies also
show that GMO crops potentially increase the nutritional value of foods. Here are some
of the benefits and risks of GMOs by Serafica et al., 2018.
Benefits Risks
Higher efficiency in farming; Risk in gene flow;
Increase in harvest; Emergence of new forms of resistance,
secondary pest, and weed problems;
Control in fertility; Recombination of virus and bacteria to
produce new pathogens;
Increase in food processing; Consumption alter the balance of existing
microorganisms in the human digestive
system;
Improvement of desirable characteristics; Production of toxins may be detrimental to
human health;
Nutritional and pharmaceutical enhancement; Human Genome Project
and
Reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticide. Mutation of genetically engineered
microorganism
Cloning
These concerns were affirmed by the report of the World Health Organization
(WHO) that also reported the three major issues on GMOs that are in international
public debates. These are the potential risks of allergic reactions, gene transfer/flow,
and outcrossing. (WHO, 2014)
C. The Nano World
The tern “nano” refers to a unit meaning of one billionth or ten raised to negative
nine (10-9). A nanometeris one billionth of meter. Nano expresses a very tiny amount or
size. A particle of beach sand is almost ten times larger than a pollen grain. A single
strand of DNA is about three nanometers wide. Catalysts, minerals, and other particles
are measured on a nano scale. Nanoscience deals with materials that are very small
using specialized microscopes and other nanodevice. Nanotechnology involves
operating at a very small dimension and it allows scientist to make use of the
exceptional optical, chemical, physical, mechanical, and biological qualities of materials
of that small scale (NNI 2017). It is an advance interdisciplinary field that encompasses
science and technology that manufacture materials to improve the various aspects of
humanity especially on healthcare, environment, energy, food, water, and agriculture. It
is a field of exploration and advancement of knowledge to help improve the quality of life
on earth.
It is possible that in the near future, computers will become even much better,
more efficient, and faster than today. Energy saving computers with a larger storage of
memory will be developed. Shortly few years from now, the entire memory of the
computer will be saved in a single tiny chip. Nanotechnology has the potential to
construct high efficiency, low cost batteries and solar cells.
In the pursuit of a better life, humans are now dealing with the challenges in a
world that cannot be seen by the naked eye. No wonder why today, science and
technology keeps leading the world and beyond. The Nano world provides both the
knowledge and instrument to control nature along with the other scientific principles
governing the technological world.
Below is a table showing the Benefits and Concerns of the Application of
Nanotechnology in Different Areas published by the University of Washington.
Example of Areas Possible Benefits Concerns
Affected by
Nano Technology
Environment >Improved detection >High reactivity and toxicity
and removal of >Pervasive distribution in the
contaminants environment
>Development of >No nano-specific EPA regulation
benign industrial
process and materials
Health >improved medicine >ability to cross cell membranes
and translocate in the body
>No FDA approval needed for
cosmetics or supplements
Economy >Better products >Redistribution of wealth
>New jobs >Potential cost of clean-ups and
healthcare
>Accessibility to all income level
According to McNamara et al., 2018, nanotechnology refers to the manipulation
of matter on an atomic or subatomic scale. In the future, as nanoscience and
nanotechnology progresses, more breakthroughs are expected to arise in the different
fields of science, hopefully resolving problems in health, environment, and security
among others.
D. Aspects of Gene Therapy
Human illness and diseases nowadays are becoming complicated and some are
no longer curable using traditional methods. Gene therapy is a potential method to
either treat or cure genetic-related human illnesses. The whole vast concerns of human
health including illnesses, aging, treatment and prevention, diet and lifestyle have
greatly improved from the help of technology especially in the medical science.
In 2015, a team of researchers at the Harvard Medical School stated that they
were able to restore basic hearing in generally deaf mice using gene therapy. The
Boston Children’s Hospital research team also reported that they have restored a higher
level of hearing-down to 25 decibels which is actually equivalent to a whisper. They
used an improved gene therapy vector developed at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear
that was identified as “Anc80” which enables the transfer of genes to the inaccessible
outer hair cell when introduced into the cochlea ( Fisher, 2017).
Gene therapy is actually inspired by the success of DNA technology which
occurred more than twenty years ago. The primary goal of gene therapy is to increase
the body’s own level of healing capacity. It is simply a process of inserting foreign DNA
into a patient’s tissues which requires expertise and technological skills to eradicate the
targeted disease. It is one of the promising technological advancements and yet, maybe
unfavourable medical field being studied. The financial cost of this therapy is not simply
cheap but costly. It is still considered as an experimental technique that uses genes to
treat or prevent diseases. Researchers are testing several approaches to gene therapy
consisting of the following: 1) replacing a mutated gene that causes diseases with a
healthy copy of the gene, 2) inactivating, or knocking out a mutated gene that is not
functioning properly, and 3) introducing a new gene into the body to help fight a
disease. (Science Daily, 2017)
It is considered risky and still under study to make sure that it will be safe
andeffective. It is currently tested only for diseases that are terminal and no treatment
available to cure. (Genetic Home Reference, January 2019)
E. Climate Change
Climate refers to the long-term weather patterns prevailing over a given area of
the planet. Climate change refers to the statistically significant changes in the climate
for a continuous period of time. There are two factors contributing to climate change, 1)
natural internal-external process, and 2) the persistent anthropogenic changes in the
composition of the atmosphere or in the use of land. It can also be due to the natural
occurrences contributed by destructive acts of human beings.
The following are the natural and man-made causes of climate change.
1. Volcanic Eruptions is one of the natural causes of climate change. It can cause
a cooling effect to the lithosphere because it has emitted aerosol that can block a
certain percentage of solar radiation. There are recorded major volcanic eruptions that
havecaused climate change, one of which is the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo of the
Philippines in 1991.
2. Orbital Changes also can cause climate change. According to theMilankovitch
Theory, as the Earth travels through the space around the sun, cyclical variations in
three elements of Earth-Sun geometry combine to produce variations in the amount of
solar energy that reaches the Earth. The three elements that have cyclic variations are
eccentricity, obliquity, and precession (Academia Emporia, 2017).
3. The Carbon Dioxide Theory
According to this theory, carbon dioxide (CO 2) is added when power and heat are
produced by burning coal, oil, and other fossil fuels. It absorbs part of the infrared
radiation in the air and returns it to the ground keeping the near surface warmer. It
raises the temperature from 2oC to 3oC.
Gilbert N. Plass stated that there is no possible stable state for the climate. He
simply explained it using the CO2 theory. The extra CO2 released into the atmosphere by
industrial process and other human activities causes the temperature to rise. The CO 2
theory also predicts that warming trend will continue for several centuries. ( Plass, 1956)
Most of the scientist who studied the climate change agreed that the average
temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere has been increasing by over 90% in the latter
part of the 20th century.
4. Human Activities
From the start of industrial period between 17 th-18thcentury, the over-all effect of
human activities on the climate greatly exceeded as compared to the known changes of
natural processes like the solar changes and volcanic eruptions. Human activities
emitted the four principal greenhouses gases: carbon dioxide (CO 2), nitrous oxide
(N2O), methane (CH4), and the halocarbons (a group of gases containing fluorine,
chlorine, and bromine). These human activities include the burning of fossil fuels,
converting lands to forestry and agriculture, building of roads, bridges, and highways,
mining, manufacturing, steel making, and other human productive activities. The effects
of these activities also affect the environment and all life forms in the planet. It directly
affects the basic elements of human lives like water, food, health, use of land and the
environment.
