Question

(a) The shift from grain to meat diets creates more demands for cereals. Why?

(b) A 250 kg cow produces 200 g of protein per day but 250 g of Methylophilus methylotrophus can produce 25 tonnes of protein Name this emerging area of research. Explain its benefits.

Answer 1

a. The shift from grain to meat diets creates more demands for cereals:

Humans consume meat from farm animals. The main feed for the farm animals is cereals and it takes 3-10 Kg of grain to produce 1 Kg of meat. Thus, the shift from grain to meat diets creates more demands for cereals.

b. Single cell protein:

The emerging area of research is single cell protein. Single Cell Protein or SCP refers to the edible protein extracted from pure microbial cultures, dead, or dried cell biomass. It can be used as an alternative protein source or supplement for both humans and animals. It is derived from microbes such as algae, bacteria and fungi by growing them on inexpensive substrates that are rich in carbon content.

Benefits of single cell protein:

• SCP serves as a protein rich supplement in the human diet as these microorganisms are rich in proteins, minerals, carbohydrates, healthy fats and vitamins.
• SCP can be grown on agricultural wastes and thus helps to reduce environmental pollution by effectively utilising the wastes.
• Use of SCP reduces the pressure on agriculture to meet the demand of food as large quantities of protein can be derived from the microbial biomass within a shorter duration at less cost.
• Growing SCP does not require a large area of land.