by Lila Boutin
Grade 3 - Davis School for Independent Study (Davis, CA, United States)
Honorable Mention
January 22, 2017
Gene E. Robison, Director
Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1206 West Gregory Drive, MC-195
Urbana, IL 61801
Dear Mr. Robinson,
The “people of the forest” are threatened! I am writing to you about protecting the critically endangered orangutan. This may seem odd, since your institute is known for its research on bioengineering crops. However, I believe that increasing the productivity of plants with biotechnology could be one way to help orangutans.
Orangutans earned their nickname because they share 97% of DNA with humans. These great apes live on the Southeast Asian islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Their only habitat is in these tropical rainforests. They depend on this large territory for food and shelter.
There are several reasons why orangutans have become endangered, including deforestation, hunting, and even pet trade! One of the most destructive problems, however, is the focus of this letter. Much of the rainforest habitat is being replaced with palm tree plantations that produce palm oil. Palm trees need a certain tropical climate to grow -- and it’s right where the orangutans live!
Why is so much palm oil being made? Many products that we find in the grocery store have palm oil in them. Before you know it, you’re eating palm oil for lunch! You’ll also find it in numerous household products. Palm oil is popular because it has a high melting point, which keeps products at a useful consistency. It’s also fairly cheap to make. Whether you just put on lipstick or ate your cereal, you may have just used palm oil.
Ideally, people would reduce their use of products with palm oil or find alternatives. But, it often takes a long time to get people to change. And, though scientists are working on substitutes for palm oil, they aren’t made at a reasonable price yet. So we also need a solution that focuses on the plantations, and this is why I am writing! If the existing palm trees could be made more productive, then there wouldn’t be as much push to destroy more rainforest for farming.
Several experiments have been successful with increasing crop productivity using bioengineering. For instance, tobacco plants have been modified so that they use photosynthesis more efficiently; they are able to use more of the sunlight that hits them, which increases their productivity! In the case of soybean modification, removing some of the plants’ leaves increased the crop’s yield, because energy that would have been directed toward the leaves went toward the seeds instead. And rice genes have been genetically modified to defend against disease, so that they can produce more food. Palm trees could be modified to use more of the sunlight they receive. Their structure could be changed to direct their resources toward making oil. Bioengineering could be used to strengthen their health. Combining these technologies could allow current plantations to produce enough oil to meet demand.
Your institute has expertise in this area, but collaboration with other organizations would be needed to succeed. Island governments, as well as the plantations, would need to cooperate, so they would need to be convinced of the benefits. On the business side, farmers would get more productive at making oil, so their finances could grow. The governments should know that preserving the rainforest controls flooding; it also helps to maintain the natural conditions, so that climate change doesn’t cause dangerous conditions for their people. In addition, citizens of the islands are trying hard to support their families, which often results in deforestation; however, when plantations have replaced rainforests, there have been extremes of both water sources vanishing and destructive flooding. There are conservation organizations that could involve the citizens in this project, which would give them more opportunities.
Most of all, the orangutans would have a better chance of survival! Some people may wonder why it is important to save the orangutan. I would hope that most would agree that we don’t have the right to harm species because we want more products to consume. But if that isn’t enough, orangutans are actually critical to the survival of their ecosystem! Since they eat so much fruit, they spread seeds around the environment; and, they clear canopy cover with nest building, allowing more plants to grow.
I hope that you will consider using your knowledge to help these treasured “people of the forest.”
References
Animal Fact Guide. (2017). Bornean orangutan. Retrieved from http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/bornean-orangutan/
Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. (2012, December 7). University of Illinois to improve crop yield through photosynthesis in a new global effort. Retrieved from http://www.igb.illinois.edu/news/illinois-improve-crop-yield-through-photosynthesis-new-global-effort
CCNY Libraries. (2017, January 9). Biomedical engineering: regulations and standards. Retrieved from http://libguides.ccny.cuny.edu/c.php?g=346739&p=2337042
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One Green Planet. (n.d.). Finally! A viable palm oil alternative that can save the orangutans and the rainforests. Retrieved from http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/palm-oil-alternative-that-can-save-orangutans-and-the-rainforests/
Orangutan Conservancy. (2016). Orangutans face possible extinction. Retrieved from http://www.orangutan.com/threats-to-orangutans/
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Science daily. (2016). Soybean plants with fewer leaves yield more. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161119091525.htm#
Sumatran Orangutan Society. (2013). Save Armstrong. Retrieved from www.savearmstrong.com/why-is-this-important
The Guardian. (2017). Why does palm oil still dominate the supermarket shelves?. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/dec/17/palm-oil-sustainability-developing-countries
World Wildlife Fund. (2017). Orangutans. Retrieved from http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/great_apes/orangutans/