Fantastic post by interactive.bis.gov.uk that shows the benefits of actually using technology to improve agriculture and general health food products.By reading this post it make me glad to know that even though that some of our agriculture is decreasing in quality many others are changing in the way they are “produced, processed, packaged, transported, and consumed”
“There are many challenges facing the farming and agriculture industries, including a growing demand for healthy, safe food; disease risks; and threats to agricultural and fishery production from changing weather patterns. The prediction is that nanotechnology will transform agriculture, changing the way food and other crops are produced, processed, packaged, transported, and consumed.
Precision farming
Tiny sensors and monitoring systems enabled by nanotechnologies will have a large impact on future precision farming methodologies. This technique makes use of computers, global satellite positioning systems, and remote sensing devices to measure highly localized environmental conditions thus determining whether crops are growing at maximum efficiency or precisely identifying the nature and location of problems. This can lower production costs and potentially increase production. Precision farming can also help to reduce agricultural waste and thus keep environmental pollution to a minimum.
Nanosensors could be distributed throughout a field where they can monitor soil conditions and crop growth, allowing an earlier response to environmental changes. They can be small enough to capture and measure individual proteins or even small molecules and nanoparticles or nanosurfaces can be engineered to trigger an electrical or chemical signal in the presence of specified bacteria, allowing pest or disease control at an early stage.
Smart delivery systems
There has, in recent years, been a growing awareness of the potential and, in some cases, proven risks of pesticide use. To maintain crop yields, integrated pest management systems, which mix traditional methods of crop rotation with biological pest control methods, are becoming popular and are already being employed in many countries. In the future, nanoscale devices with novel properties could be used to make these agricultural systems “smart”. For example, devices could be used to identify plant health issues before they become visible to the farmer. Such devices may be capable of responding to different situations by delivering chemicals in a controlled and targeted manner (in the same way as nanomedicines can be used for drug delivery in humans), or by alerting the farmer to the problem. In this way, smart devices can act as both preventive and early warning systems.
Technologies such as encapsulation and controlled release methods have revolutionised the use of pesticides and herbicides. Many companies already make formulations which contain nanoparticles that can be dissolved in water more effectively than existing products, thus increasing their activity and reducing input quantities. Nanoemulsions, which can be either water or oil-based and contain uniform suspensions of pesticidal or herbicidal nanoparticles, have many potential applications as disease and pest prevention measures.
Research is ongoing to make fertiliser and pesticide delivery systems which can respond to environmental changes. The ultimate aim is to tailor these products to release their cargo in a controlled manner in response to different signals (e.g. increases or reductions in heat or moisture). New research also aims to make plants use water, pesticides and fertilizers more efficiently, to reduce pollution and to make agriculture more environmentally friendly.
These approaches will ultimately allow enhanced productivity in agriculture by providing accurate information, thus helping farmers to make better decisions.
Managing risks and uncertainties
There is concern over the use of nanoparticles in the environment and in the production and manipulation of food. Only through research into the behavior of nanoparticles in the environment and rigorous pre-market evaluation of these innovations focusing on the effects of particle size, as well as their composition, can these concerns be addressed.
Are these applications currently available?
Nano-enabled crop management is an emerging field which is yet to be applied in the UK. However, use of nano encapsulation and controlled release pesticides and fertilizers and remote sensing devices is being made in some countries and this is expected to lead to the development of “smart” devices, able to detect early stage problems and respond to local crop conditions. These approaches will ultimately allow enhanced productivity in agriculture by providing accurate information, thus helping farmers to make better decisions.
Below is a SWOT analysis summarising Government understanding, from discussion with stakeholders, of the major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the UK in this sector. Please help to steer future actions and shape the UK business environment by answering the questions on the right hand side of the page.
Strengths
Nanotechnologies have the potential to help us meet increasing demands for sustainable agriculture and the plentiful supply of food. Growers stand to benefit, as do the industries which supply the products. Consumers are ultimately the downstream beneficiaries.
Weaknesses
Societal concerns over the changing nature of agricultural practices have the potential to elicit the same issues as were raised in the GM debate.
Opportunities
Considerable potential for sustainable and environmentally beneficial agricultural practices, with producer, industry and wider societal benefits.
Threats
Further research is needed into the effects of nanomaterials on human health and the environment.”
For the original document please visit: http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/nano/sections/nanotechnologies-and-agriculture/
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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey guys. That is one of the reason why I am proud to be British – UK is number one! Everytime new technology is available we use it to do mostly good. Especially now with all the competition there is in the agriculture industry, where chemicals are used to increase productivity, managing food risks and contamination is a must these days. Thank you for the re post Chris.
Well, Im a bit of a health freak and always buy my products at local stores as I donnot really trust supermarkets. Using technology to control our food products can be good but can also cause some damages to the soil for example. Anyway, this is just an opinion and for use, all methods above mentioned are used accroding to the health and safety laws. Take care guys
Hey Jess. First of all, hope you are ok. Second of all I truly believe that using strategies and technology to increase our agriculture is somehting today is a must. Think about it, the world has improved so much since we started using it following good practices. Today is even possible to have your very own electrical car which thousands of years ago it was merely a dream. If I can have my food first tested to see if there are any impurities then please, have a go.Great re post Chris.
Oh well, you might be right but still, I come from a small town in Soctland where all of our vegetables would be cultivated using the most simple and easy techniques. The soil does the rest. If we are going to give our children food without any sort of “bacteria” then they wont obtain immunity like we did as we grew old…
Jessica is right. Its the same with those babies who mums are overprotective and avoid any contact with dirt,playing in the grass falling etc…with food, for sure is the same. Your body gets immunity from all those small particles and bacteria that you get from natural food resources. Having them all removed might not be such a good idea.
I think you need to learn how to spell
straight G shit
Article by at 2010-07-12 01:09:24
Categorized in skin,
Woah. How can anyone know all this?
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1. Your answer is not correct, because healthy food doesn't mean high protein and low fat but regained one.
2. It wouldn't be right to classify these cuisines according to protein content and fat content cuz content of protein and fat depends on every dish in each cuisine. We can find a 'vegetarian' dish (means with low content protein) in Chinese cuisine (for example bamboo dish) in spite of the fact that a lot of dishes with meat are used in Chinese cuisine and it knows as one of the tastiest cuisines because many and different kinds of meat is used in the one.
3.But If you so much) want to classify these cuisines according to protein content and fat content, then :
Low fat:
Japanese and Indian
High protein:
Chinese
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not really. if you go grocery shopping you will notice that pork beef meat and bread cost more than lets say lettuce (69cents each), cabbage (99cents), cauliflower(1.39 ea.) carrots (even less) onions garlics sold in cents. people just need to learn how to prepare their own food. lets say fruit smoothie and a banana for breakfast. salad with 1 tbs dressing for lunch. a boiled egg and tuna (very cheap!) on top of 1 slice wheat bread, cauliflower pureed soup for dinner.
find something thats good for you that you actually like. maybe get someone to make something heslthy w/out you knowing cause you could be tricking yourself into it, thinking of how every time you dont like it making you not like it this time. it can happen. i think you should see if you can have someone make you dinner and have something in it "healthy" w/out you really knowing. it also depends on what you condier as healthy and unhealthy foods