Science in Your Shopping Cart

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Science in Your Shopping Cart
Debra Spielmaker, Director Utah State University
Agriculture in the Classroom debra.spielmaker_at_us
u.edu
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Science in Your Shopping Cart

• How many years has agriculture been influenced by
  science?

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Take a look, can you see science in the products
you see and use everyday?
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Check out the science in these

• Carrots
• Broccoflower
• Hot Peppers
• Potatoes
• Nectarines
• Tangelos
• Cheese/Milk
• Grapes
• Watermelon
• Berries
• Beans
• Chocolate
• Apples
• Corn
• Wheat

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How has science changed agriculture?

• Plant Animal Science (plant breeding, genetic
  manipulation) for numerous characteristics
• Seed ripening
• Mechanized harvesting
• Yield or weight gain
• Drought tolerance
• Disease resistance
• Taste
• Texture
• Storage
• Processing and finishing
• Color
• Seed removal
• New variety
• Low fat, high fat
• Nutrient change (fiber, vitamins, protein)
• Manufacturing
• Medicines

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Processing (Food Science) Industrial uses for
Ag Products

• Lactose-free dairy products
• Super Slurper (absorbent corn)
• Biodegradable plastic
• Testing methods for cheese (age) and milk
• Bread processing (gluten and yeasts)
• Storage technology freezing, drying, sugaring,
  salting, canning, heating (pasteurization UHT)

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What science do you think is in your agricultural
product? Fill in the first column of the
table in the Science in Your Shopping Cart
lesson and then watch the Science in Your
Shopping Cart movie to learn about all the
Science in Your Shopping Cart.
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Check out the science in these

• Apples (sweeter, crunchier, crisp, enzyme coating
  to deter browning)
• Carrots (yellow and white bred for orange/red
  color, sweetness, length and increased beta
  carotene)
• Tomatoes (colors, more beta-carotene, longer
  shelf life for processing)
• Peaches (new cold tolerant varieties)
• Pears (pest resistance)
• Watermelon (seedless disease resistance, harder
  rinds, sweeter taste)
• Berries (extend the growing season, thornless
  varieties, disease insect resistance)
• Peanuts (lower the fat, but maintain flavor)
• Cayenne Peppers (increase heat by 20)
• Bread Wheat (changes in gluten, sour dough
  bacteria, insect resistant)
• Oranges (higher yielding trees, increased disease
  resistance, better color, longer shelf life,
  freezing technology (tangelos are a cross between
  grapefruit (pomelo) and tangerine))

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Check out the science in these

• Cheese/Milk (low fat cheese)
• Milk (chymosin/UHT, lactose-free)
• Grapes (seedless varieties, disease resistance,
  packaging technology)
• Potatoes (storage, chipping, low carb, disease
  resistance, low-fat frying potato)
• Rice (doubled the shelf life, rice flour to make
  bread and reduce oil absorption)
• Poultry (turkeys bred to have more meat, disease
  resistance)
• Beef (disease prevention, breeding programs for
  tender, low-fat, flavorful meat)
• Oats (reduce cholesterol research)
• Corn (enhance corn flavor in tortillas,
  increased corn starch, fat replacer, disease
  insect resistance)
• Soybeans (used as a substitute product in
  lipstick, plastics, flooring, paints, ink,
  cleaners, etc.)
• Chocolate (disease resistance)
• Diapers (cornstarch-based moisture absorber,
  Super Slurper)
• Broccoflower (cross between broccoli and
  cauliflower, not in the booklet, but fun to know!)

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Concerns About Food Science

• There are several concerns raised about
  genetically modified foods. Transgenic plants
  have received much more attention than transgenic
  animals, partly because most transgenic animals
  are usually used for pharmaceutical or research
  purposes rather than for food (cloned animals may
  change this). Concerns about genetically modified
  foods fall into a few categories
• Environmental
• Economic
• Human Health

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Concerns About Food ScienceEnvironmental

• Pest-resistant crop plants may kill beneficial
  insects as well as pests. Another concern is
  whether the introduced genes will spread from the
  crop plants into plants growing nearby. For
  instance, it is proposed that soybeans modified
  to be resistant to herbicide might
  cross-pollinate with weeds growing in the fields,
  thus creating super weeds that would be
  herbicide-resistant.

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Concerns About Food ScienceEconomic

• Transgenic plants are expensive to produce
  because it takes expensive technology to create
  them. The companies that produce them (primarily
  in countries such as the United States) want to
  make a profit because they put a lot of resources
  into making them. It is suggested that poor
  countries that might benefit most from the
  technology would not be able to afford the seeds.

rice
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Concerns About Food ScienceHuman Health

• Despite the fact that package labeling for
  potential allergic reactions is required by law
  for genetically engineered foods, there is still
  a concern that allergenic compounds (such as
  peanuts or soy) may be present in a food
  eventually consumed by an unknowing allergic
  person.

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Questions for Discussion

• Are the food products safe to eat?
• Do the benefits outweigh the risks?
• What is on the horizon in food science?
• What is left to invent?
• What are some career opportunities in the area of
  food science and food technology?
• How many people have really made a loaf of bread
  or a gallon of milk?
• From farm to fork how much science is in your
  shopping cart?