Sustainable Development

Source: (United Nations, 2015)

Introduction

Agriculture and access to food are major influencing factors behind many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Security and replenishment within the food supply is essential not only to human health but to the global economy. This is especially true in Texas, with farms comprising 74% of the state’s land (USDA, 2019). Texas hosts a diverse variety of farmers, including small, family-owned farms as primary producers alongside corporate and state owned farms. As Texas has stagnated or fell behind in the achievement of the SDGs, we believe synthetic biologists possess the unique ability to bridge these gaps through scientific innovation. Our project offers inclusive, versatile, and sustainable solutions to the challenges faced by modern producers. Our crop protection method has the possibility of benefitting producers at every level while also contributing to relevant SDGs.

Fig 1.Overview of project impact. Created with Canva.com

The SDGs our project primarily contributes are:

Fig 2. The 2021 United Nations Sustainable Development Report found that challenges still remain in achieving almost all SDGs in Texas (SDSN, 2021). The percentage of SDG achievement has stagnated for SDGs 9, 11, and 12 while decreasing for 2. Additionally, Texas remains one of the lowest scoring states in the leave “no one behind” index.

SDG2: Zero Hunger

Goal:
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Fig 3. Texans depend on local agriculture. Created with Canva.com

The Problem

The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 30% of the global food supply is lost or wasted annually, and one third of this waste occurs during agricultural production (FAO, 2023). While crop loss during production can be due to a variety of factors, bacterial plant pathogens can play a significant role. These pathogens can destroy entire crops yields, which is especially devastating for small farmers that rely on their production for food. Rural Texans are especially vulnerable to food insecurity as they often lack access to food, increasing reliance on small-scale farming (Feeding Texas, 2023).

To gain a better understanding of the issue of food loss and challenges facing local farmers, we consulted with Dr. Mercedes Roca, a plant pathologist who serves as the Executive Director of Bioscience Think Tank and Senior Fellow of the Institute on Science for Global Policy. Dr. Roca provided valuable insight into how bacterial pathogens uniquely impact food security and small farmers. Dr. Roca mentioned that smaller producers in poor regions lack access to advanced technology, making them disproportionately susceptible to crop loss caused by pathogens. She also called attention to the many Texans that grow their own food, highlighting that reducing loss of food in agriculture is not only essential to achieving sustainability but to improving the lives of millions of Texans.

Project Impact

Our project addresses the need to prevent food loss while working in harmony with nature. Using native plant symbionts as chassis organisms for our microcin secretion system would allow protection to come from the local plant microbiome rather than applied chemicals. This system has the potential to save large amounts of crops, which can vastly improve food security for farmers and the communities that rely on them. This would also allow small farmers to spend less on unsustainable chemicals, expensive screening equipment, and labor intensive practices.

Click here to navigate to ... SDG 9, SDG 11, SDG 12

SDG9: Infrastructure and Industrialization

Goal:
Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation

The Problem

According to the International Labour Organization, about 65% of global farmland is operated by large-scale farmers, meaning that industrial agriculture accounts for the majority of farms (FAO, 2014). To better understand the challenges faced by industrial farmers, we consulted with Dr. du Toit, a plant pathologist and a project coordinator for Stop the Rot, a USDA initiative focused on combating onion bacterial diseases. When discussing her experience working directly with producers, Dr. du Toit explained that methods of crop protection within state farms and industrial agriculture can be expensive, labor intensive, and harmful to the environment. For instance, some large-scale farms currently rely on x-ray machines to identify center rot due to Pantoea. This expensive technology, in addition to the use of pesticides, can negatively impact the sustainability of industrial agriculture.

After discussing unsustainable practices in industrial agriculture, we talked about biocontrols, a sustainable crop protection method using organisms that naturally attack a pest or pathogen. Regarding the current use of biocontrols in agriculture, Dr. du Toit informed us that while some biocontrols are used against Pantoea, such as Bacillus mycoides, disparities in the efficacy of biocontrols have limited their use. Still, Dr. du Toit highlighted that innovations upon this concept could increase the usefulness of biocontrols and contribute to sustainable agriculture.

Project Impact

Our project builds upon crop protection methods currently being used in industrial agriculture while also introducing innovation. Currently, biocontrols can be difficult to implement as they must be found in nature, typically target just one pathogen, and are not entirely specific to their target. Our approach innovates upon the concept of biocontrols by allowing farmers to target bacterial pathogensthat may not have a natural biocontrol. This innovation would allow farmers to easily target a broad range of pathogens while using bacteria already found on their crops, which reduces likelihood of harming the plant microbiome. This concept could also foster the further innovation of natural crop protection within industrial agriculture, further promoting sustainable industry.

Fig 4. Overview of use of Biocontrols in our project. Created with Canva.com

Click here to navigate to ... SDG 2, SDG 11, SDG 12

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Goal:
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable

Fig 5. Overview of the challenges faced by urban agriculture. Created with Canva.com

The Problem

When considering the impact of our project on SDG 11, we initially looked at the impact of rapid urbanization on farming. To gain perspective on this issue, we reached out to Jessi Drummond, the staff advisor for UT Austin’s Campus Environmental Center. Drummond’s past experience with sustainability non-profits as well as UT’s microfarm initiative provided us with insight into the biggest issues regarding urbanization and farming. While we initially believed our project could help farmers maintain their land by protecting crops, Drummond pointed out that this application of our system may be better suited to small-scale farmers in developing nations. As for local applications, she highlighted the potential uses of our system in urban agriculture

Further discussing urban agriculture with Drummond, we discovered that urban farming provides food security to many farmers as well as income. However, Drummond informed us that urban farming faces a unique set of challenges, such as health of the soil microbiome and accumulation of standing water, both of which increase susceptibility to pathogens. Drummond pointed out that there is a need for sustainable solutions to these issues that work within a plant’s natural defenses. We concluded from our meeting that the main issues our project could address within SDG 11 were protecting farmland in developing nations and supporting sustainable urban farming.

Project Impact:

As many farmers in developing nations lack the same advanced equipment and resources as large-scale farmers, crop protection is essential for maintaining crops and land. Therefore, our project provides increases support to small farmers struggling to maintain crops yields. Not only would it save money in crop losses, but our project would also prevent small farmers from relying on unsustainable protection methods, such as pesticides. Our system would ultimately ensure farmland remains in the hands of farmers and urbanization can proceed at a responsible pace.

As highlighted by Drummond, water often collects in urban farming due to less soil absorption. This standing water can allow pathogens to proliferate, increasing the likelihood of infection. Moreover, it can be difficult to maintain a healthy soil microbiome in urban agriculture as the soil is often more compact. Our project tackles both of these issues by providing increased protection from pathogens and preserving the soil microbiome through the specificity of microcins. Using our microcin expression system within urban farming will help reduce crop losses while ensuring the sustainable development of urban centers.

Click here to navigate to ... SDG 2, SDG 9, SDG 12

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Goal:
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

The Problem:

Many contemporary techniques used to protect crops can contribute to unsustainable cycles of production and consumption within agriculture. Farmers often use pesticides to prevent insect vectors from spreading bacterial pathogens to plants, but many reports have shown these chemicals are harmful to the environment. As noted by Dr. du Toit, expensive machinery can also be used to screen crops for infection, which increases costs and energy consumption. These practices promote reliance on unsustainable crop protection methods. Sustainable, preventative measures against bacterial pathogens are needed to ensure a sustainable cycle of consumption and production in agriculture.

One of the key stakeholders we spoke to regarding this SDG was Rising Sun Vineyard, a local operation in Bastrop County, Texas. During our excursion we discussed their struggles with Pierce’s Disease, a plant pathogen caused by Xyllela fastidiosa. As the disease is spread to grapes through thrips, an insect vector, the farmers focused on preventing infection through pesticides. Preventing crop infection is crucial as mass loss of the harvest is highly likely to occur post-infection. This further highlighted the demand for crop protection methods that are sustainable and prevent unsustainable losses

Fig 5. Overview of current unsustainable crop protections methods. Created with Canva.com

Project Impact

When discussing the potential downsides of these current methods, the farmers’ acknowledged concerns about the sustainability and environmental impacts of pesticides, such as their hesitance to expose the surrounding environment to the chemical components of pesticides. The farmers responded positively to the idea of using engineered bacterial symbionts as an alternative to pesticides and as a potential treatment for Pierce’s disease. This feedback encouraged us to consider how our project could improve sustainable agricultural production.

Many industries have already begun using bacteria to create products that would otherwise require high amounts of energy (McAlpine, 2014). Moreover, bacterial biocontrols have also risen as sustainable alternatives to pesticides in recent years (Bonaterra et al., 2022). Building upon these recent advancements, bacterial microcin production is one possible way to offset energy and carbon emissions spent on the chemicals used to protect crops. Additionally, using a modular system to attack a variety of pathogens could save researchers time and money searching for new protection methods.

Click here to navigate to ... SDG 2, SDG 9, SDG 11

Potential Negative Impacts:

We are aware of the inherent risks of using novel antimicrobial agents in agriculture. While the current studies involving microcins do not indicate they are harmful to human, animal, or insect health, the impact of microcins must still be thoroughly characterized prior to use. If this is not done, our project could potentially negatively impact SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, and SDG 15: Life on Land. It is also important to select the appropriate bacteria as a chassis for our system. We should ensure the bacteria used will not be harmful to the plant or plant microbiome. Additionally, we will carefully consider the plants and animals that interact with this plant and how the bacteria could possibly affect them. Trials specific to the plant and pathogen in question would likely have to be conducted before full deployment of the system.

Click here to navigate to ... SDG 2, SDG 9, SDG 11, SDG 12

References

Bonaterra A., Badosa E., Daranas N., Francés J, Roselló G., & Montesinos E. 2022. Bacteria as Biological Control Agents of Plant Diseases. Microorganisms doi: 10.3390/microorganisms10091759.

FAO. 2023. Tracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators 2023. Food and Agriculture Organization https://greenly.earth/en-us/blog/ecology-news/global-food-waste-in-2022

FAO. 2014. The state of food and agriculture 2014 In Brief. Food and Agriculture Organization. https://www.globalagriculture.org/report-topics/industrial-agriculture-and-small-scale-farming.html

Feeding Texas. 2023 Hunger in Texas. https://www.feedingtexas.org/learn/hunger-in-texas/#:~:text=Rural%20Texans,unique%20challenges%20of%20living%20remotely

McAlpine, J. K. 2014. Bacteria factories churn out valuable chemicals. The Harvard Gazzette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/12/bacteria-churn-out-valuable-chemicals/

Sallet, L. 2021. Texas farmland is the most threatened in the nation. American Farmland Trust. https://farmland.org/texasfarmland/

SDSN. 2021. United States sustainable development report 2021. Sustainable Development Solutions Network https://us-states.sdgindex.org/profiles/texas

United Nations. 2015, December 30. Sustainable development goals kick off with start of new year. United Nations https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/12/sustainable-development-goals-kick-off-with-start-of-new-year

USDA. 2019. Texas agriculture - Growing in many ways. U.S. Department of Agriculture https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2019/07/17/texas-agriculture-growing-many-ways#:~:text=The%20Lone%20Star%20State%20ranks,the%20state%27s%20268%2C581%20square%20miles

Whitt, C., Todd, E., J., Keller, A.. 2020. America’s diverse family farms. 2021 edition. United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/102808/eib-231.pdf?v=3433.2