Biology and Breeding of Food - Essay Example

Food Biology Sourdough has both yeast and lactobacilli that rely that make this type of food the sour taste that it exhibits. These microbes usually rely on the starch in the dough and the lactobacilli metabolize the sugars obtained from the breakdown of the starch. The yeast in such foods is usually Saccharomyces cerevisiae and different strains of lactobacilli. In the making of beer, the barley or grains used to serve as the source of food for the microbes. As uncle Mel was making the beer, he malted the seeds so that he could halt the probable process of germination. The malting process entails a period of soaking in water for a certain period, allowing the opening of the husk, and releasing of the barley. The malting procedure stops at the point where the seeds begin to recruit enzymes that can break down the starch in the seeds. After draining the soaked seeds, the fermentation process follows, whereby yeast and lactobacilli utilize the sugars in the seed. The fermentation process runs for a period, until the beer is ready. If Mel had left the seeds to germinate fully, the germinating plant would have utilized the foods stored in the grain. Usually, seeds in the store have a reserve of nutrients in the cotyledon. Under the right conditions, germination of the seeds takes place, a process that compels the germinating seedling to use the nutrients (Pratap and Kumar37). During seed maturation, storage or starch in the cotyledon occurs. When seeds absorb water at the onset of germination, a new process of mobilizing the nutrients for use in growth occurs. The availability of certain enzymes breaks down the starch into simple sugars that the seed utilizes in respiration. The respiratory process yields energy and other waste products such as lactic acid. Moreover, synthesis of other essential nutrients such as proteins takes place in the seed. In the process of making wine, the fruit juice used provides the relevant sugars utilized by the microbes involved in the fermentation process. The wine making process is usually different from that of making beer. In making wines, grape juices serve as the source of both macronutrients and micronutrients required by the microbes, while beer making utilizes seeds. A cost/benefit analysis led to this difference. After it became evident that the seeds used in making beer were critical sources of food for animals, it proved rational for grapes serve as food for microbes in the wine making process, preserving the grains for animals (14). This is in conformity with the fact that animals are higher than the microbes. Plants usually produce toxins as an essential part of constitutive defense. Genetic mutation is responsible for the conversion of phenolic compounds and alkaloids to the toxins. Although plants produce toxins as a form of defense, they affect the plant’s reproductive system adversely, and the mutated genesare conferred to the next generation. It is likely that the mutated plants have a higher chance of survival because the toxins protect it from attack by herbivores and insects. Usually, plants exposed to attacks by herbivores, and insects causing detriment to the plant motivates the plant to alter its secondary metabolism and produce toxins. A classic example is the milkweed, which underwent mutation to produce cardenolides that serve as toxins to monarchs. Apricots are seeds and play a critical role because they germinate to yield new plants. Apricot seeds require both macro and micronutrients for use in the metabolic processes involved in germination. From eating apricot seeds, humans obtain carbohydrates, amygdalin, protein, sugars and fats (36). Squash blossoms are flowers involved in the sexual reproduction of the plant. By eating these flowers, the body gains calcium, sodium, iron, vitamins, and carbohydrates. in order to play the role sexual reproduction, these flowers require a range of ten aromatic compounds. A slice of turkey denotes a piece of breast meat. It is an essential portion as it provides proteins to a meal serving. After eating turkey, one obtains amino acids after the digestion of the proteins. Other nutrients are fats and carbohydrates, sodium and cholesterol but in low levels. It is evident that meat was the core component of the diet of the early man because fossils and archeological evidence reveal that the early used stone tools in hunting. Moreover, fossil evidence indicates the presence of bones from the animals killed while there is minimal evidence indicating the use of plants in the diet. This is evident from the analysis of the body’s anatomical features, and the existing fossil evidence of the migration out of Africa. For people adhering to vegan diets, sources of vitamin B 12 include soybeans, nuts, flakes, potato milk, apples, and almonds among others. Many cultures exhibit the habit of pairing legumes and grains in a bid to have sufficient energy, vitamins, fiber, carbohydrates, and proteins that provide essential amino acids such as lysine. However, it is possible to engineer the gene coding for amino acids such as lysine into the genetic sequence of grains such as maize to yield genetically modified foods that supply a vast range of nutrients (12). After obtaining the sequence for lysine, the process of genetic recombination takes place using an appropriate vector that transfers the lysine sequence. It is critical for geneticists to include a regulatory sequence that ensures the proper expression of the inserted gene. The genetically modified food will require numerous safety tests before it is proven safe for human consumption. These safety tests assess the potential risk of affecting the physiology of humans, environmental effects such as imbalance of the natural species, and long-term effects of food chains. However, numerous criticisms of this procedure exist with many people asserting that the use of GMOs is unethical. In their opinion, the technology contravenes the laws of nature that ensure that species progress as they naturally adapt to new climates. The fact that scientists can engineer new genes and alter the existing species does not prove ethical for conservatives. For such people, moral stipulations dictate that human should exert minimal effects on the genetic sequences of different species (183). Moreover, there is fear that this trend may prompt humans to alter all the organisms making the correlation of species impossible after replacing all the wild species with genetically modified organisms. However, these are only concerns that lack substantial evidence. An additional anti-GM argument surrounds the safety level of the scientifically engineered food. For example, maize is a reliable grain in the globe. However, insects have proved to be a real menace to maize, reducing yields immensely. This led to the production of Bt-maize, engineered with a gene from Bacillus thuringiensis that confers resistance to insect borers. This sought to increase yield, replacing the failed intervention of pesticides (179). However, there are claims that the protein coded for by the inserted gene may exhibit adverse effects in human consumers. Production of Bt maize involves sequencing of the insect resistance gene from the bacteria. Using an appropriate plasmid vector and the potential of restriction enzymes, insertion of the gene into the maize sequence occurs. The transformed embryos undergo culture and later transfer of the seedlings to the field where they grow into mature maize plants. In my opinion, the safety argument is the most critical because it poses serious implications for human beings. The production of the genetically modified foods should follow all the defined safety regulations, and proper analysis should ensure that no health risks exist. Food security is a worrying concern for the globe today with a surging uncertainty whether the globe will sustain itself beyond 2030. The application of biotechnological techniques can solve this issue is applied with caution. Work Cited Pratap, Aditya, and Jitendra Kumar. Biology and Breeding of Food Legumes. Wallingford: CABI, 2011. Internet resource. Read More