W2 BLOG

WEEK2 

1.     W2 - Genetically Modifying Our Food

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150309-will-we-ever-eat-gm-meat

We are always asking ourselves how will we sustain a growing population with declining resources? I often ask myself thinking the same thing. Due to our advancement in society and science today, people are experimenting and trying to find new solutions to our existing problems. Often science plays a big role in finding a solution, however this could be seen as both a positive and negative thing. When talking about science and food people generally become very sceptical and usually wouldn’t mix the two together. However, maybe genetic engineering is a science that could actually help us become more sustainable.

Back in 2012, the AquAdvantage salmon was said to be the first genetically modified animal for human consumption. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said “the fish is safe to eat and poses no threat to the environment.” This made me start thinking about our future and if this is the path that could to help solve some of our problems. Will this become our norm?

The AquAdvantage salmon is said to grow twice as fast as a typical farmed salmon. The salmon contains a growth-hormone gene from Chinook salmon and DNA from an eel-like species. It is said that this will reduce environmental harm to salmon farming. James Murray of the University of California furthered this by saying “We need to produce more food with less land and water while not degrading the environment for future generations”

Despite the great outcome of GM food, many environmental groups oppose the idea. The genetic modifying industry has advanced dramatically an instead of altering the genes with other species they are able to now alter selected parts of the animal’s DNA.  This then poses the question Will we trust genetically modification due to advancements in technology? Is it 100% safe and is this our future?

I found what ran Murrell, co-founder of anti-GM group MADGE said to very interesting “Most people are eating it all the time and really have no idea what or how much they’re eating,” we spray foods and are already changing them so what to say that GM is a good or bad thing. I think as society advances so does everything else therefore I believe the question is not whether one should eat GM food, but whether it is still possible to avoid it.

2.     W2- Blood Lamp

How far would you go to have electricity? Would you be willing to give a drop of blood? Mike Thompson, the designer of the blood lamp, starting asking similar questions “what if power came at a cost to the individual?” which then led to creating the blood lamp as a statement on energy conservation. To active the light a single drop of blood is required to react with the luminol creating a glowing blue colour. By creating a lamp that can only be used once, we must consider when light is needed the most, forcing us to rethink how wasteful we are with energy, and how precious it is. This product aims to create a debate that makes us question the consequences of our actions.

I believe this product is a statement on the matter of energy conservation and makes you really think about it. However, the designer is not being sustainable with the blood lamp and is in no way ‘conserving natural resources’. Therefore, I would say  he is a ‘instigator of sustainability’. As he is making us question how we use electricity and even through this is not a practical solution it challenges us to think there are other ways then just flicking a switch and not knowing about the consequences.