Difference between revisions of "Team:UMaryland/Practices"

Revision as of 20:35, 17 September 2015

Grand View Farms

As our project deals with alternatives to antibiotics as plasmid maintenance, we wanted to learn how and why others avoid using antibiotics in their industries. As the large majority of antibiotics used in the United States are used in farms INSERT SOURCE HERE, we decided to meet directly with farmers who choose to avoid antibiotics. In addition to learning about their rationale for using alternatives, these trips also helped inform us of the potential applications of our work with the Hok-Sok system.

Grand View Farms is a certified organic farm in Maryland that does not administer sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics to their animals, uses no pesticides, and grows as few genetically modified crops as possible. Instead of using pesticides and antibiotics, the farm's owners employ classical crop and animal rotation methods in order to keep the soil healthy. As different animals consume different plants, they argued, rotating livestock through the land naturally maintains a healthy balance of plant growth and soil nutrients, while suppressing harmful weeds. Additionally avoiding repeatedly growing the same crop on one section of land prevents depletion of nutrients in the soil. Because of this healthy plant grow due to crop and animal rotation, the farmers argued that administering does of antibiotics to the animals was not beneficial, since they naturally received all the nutrients required for good health and growth from the varied vegetation available for grazing.

Interestingly, the owners of Grand View Farms did not express any particular ethical or health concerns with GMO crops. Instead they informed us that, for a farm of their size, having an organic label made them more profitable and allows them to fill a market niche without directly competing with larger, more industrial scale operations. The allure of organically grown food and organically raised animals is a powerful marketing tool for the farm

*One a side note, some hungry members of our team sampled the farms ribs, eggs, and vegetables, and according to them, the farms practices have only improved the taste of the food.*

Free range chicken roam Grand View Farms

The farmers willingness to accept GMO crops as not intrinsically bad, and their strong interest both from an ethical and economical standpoint in maintaining an antibiotic free operation helped as gain a greater understanding of the applications for our Hok Sok plasmid maintenance system. If this could be used to maintain plasmids in lieu of antibiotics, then synthetic biology could benefit and partner with organizations like Grand View Farms, without compromising the integrity of their rejection of antibiotics. Genetically modified bacteria which increase soil quality, or the nutrient uptake of animals when ingested. Perhaps could not yet be marketed with success to organizations like Grand View Farms. But the removal of the need for antibiotics removes one major roadblock in collaboration between organic farmers and synthetic biologists that is useful, profitable, and most importantly ethically satisfactory to all.

Montgomery County Fair

In mid-August, we sent some members to the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair to canvas the site. The MoCo Fair witnesses the annual meeting and celebration of farmers, artist, craftsman, carnival rides, and pie cooking contests. We interviewed the fair-goers – farmers, high school students, county executives, and everyone in between – about their opinions and concerns about GMOs using a carefully crafted electronic survey. In keeping with our dedication to sustainable practices, and in response to our conversation with the owner of Grand View Farm, we gathered information from the general populace to better understand and navigate the misconceptions and ethical limitations our local community associates with bioengineered consumables.

*Put pictures here*

2015 East Coast Regional Meetup

Last July, we hosted a meetup of several iGEM teams from around the Mid-Atlantic region in order to meet other teams in our area. Our plans were to facilitate interlab connections and collaboration, learn from each others' successes and struggles, and gain valuable insights on synthetic biology.

We were grateful to have representatives from the College of William and Mary, the University of Virginia, Duke University, and Rock Ridge High School come and meet us!

Click here to read about the meetup

Survey

Over the summer, we sent out surveys in order to analyze the public's knowledge on GMOs and to inform us about how the expansion of community labs and DIY biology would be received by local communities.

Click here to read about our survey

Human Practices Related to Side Projects

Eye Opening Interviews

We visited the Wilmer Eye Institute, a part of Johns Hopkins University, in order to learn about the current conditions of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), its symptoms, and its treatments.

Baltimore, Maryland

We met with a researcher who studies the causes of AMD, Dr. Noriko Esumi. She currently studies retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and how it relates to AMD. After giving her an explanation of what iGEM is and why we were choosing to study lutein production, she told us that, while her experience with lutein itself was limited, she was well informed about retinal health and some of the causes of macular degeneration. From our conversation, we learned that age-related macular degeneration can be attributed to a few factors: smoking, immune responses based on bacterial infections, genetics, and, as its name suggests, aging. She also supported the notion that lutein is an effective vitamin supplement to help maintain and improve ocular health.

Columbia, Maryland

Our next interview was with Dr. Nosheen Ahmed. While Dr. Esumi had more experience with the tissue cells that cause AMD when dysfunctional, Dr. Ahmed had more experience with the disease itself, its symptoms, its common treatments, how it affects the lives of patients, etc. From the interview with Dr. Ahmed, we learned that a good prevention method for those at risk for AMD is a change in lifestyle habits. For example, quitting smoking, minimizing computer use, and improving one's diet all could benefit eye health. Optometrists recommend a lot of leafy greens and dark vegetables, which contain a variety of carotenoids, including lutein. Dr. Ahmed stated that not many studies has been done with lutein but there is a consensus it has a positive effect on AMD. She also discussed that many patients will not recognize AMD as it develops. As the vision decreases or spotting occurs, they think they may only need glasses. More research is needed for the disease and potential treatments as well as vitamins like lutein which can help.

Bioprocess Scale-up Facility

*Put pictures here*

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 <p>The farmers willingness to accept GMO crops as not intrinsically bad, and their strong interest both from an ethical and economical standpoint in maintaining an antibiotic free operation helped as gain a greater understanding of the applications for our Hok Sok plasmid maintenance system. If this could be used to maintain plasmids in lieu of antibiotics, then synthetic biology could benefit and partner with organizations like Grand View Farms, without compromising the integrity of their rejection of antibiotics. Genetically modified bacteria which increase soil quality, or the nutrient uptake of animals when ingested. Perhaps could not yet be marketed with success to organizations like Grand View Farms. But the removal of the need for antibiotics removes one major roadblock in collaboration between organic farmers and synthetic biologists that is useful, profitable, and most importantly ethically satisfactory to all.</p>