THE END

Hello, well this is my last blog; I never had a blog, so the creation of this blog was a new experience for me. I think that this kind of activity is good for students, because it´s allows us to write on topics that interest us or are related to our careers.

I don´t really like the blog writing during class hours, because I think that it´s more helpful or profitable improve the speaking with conversation groups or listening. The blog writing should be homework.

The presentations to our peers was very useful for people how expose, but not for listeners. Well that's something I hope we can do better for listeners, it could be through the obligation to ask questions of our exhibitors or may be take the presentation outside hour class.

Respect to my classmates, mostly from the veterinary career and from the phD program on agricultural and forestry sciences, are very friendly and nice, I hope the best for them.

My two classmates from the agricultural engineering are old friends, I know the guy, Bernardo from my first year at university and it´s more since my first university day. About the girl Pamela I know she by Bernardo because she was a friend from his pass girlfriend and I know she more in the CEPOC laboratory last year. Both are incredible person very nice and friendly.

The teacher Lourdes makes class very interesting, where the students can participate and express with confidence.

Something that can be change it´s the hour class or give a break more long for to eat something more nutritious.

I´m very pleased with the course, my intention always was to practice the English and I think I did it.  

Transgenic food, the future???

Transgenic foods are also known as genetically modified foods. Genetically modified organisms have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by  genetic engineering techniques. These techniques are much more precise than mutagenesis, where an organism is exposed to radiation or chemicals to create a non-specific but stable change. Other techniques by which humans modify food organisms include selective breeding; plant breeding, and animal breeding, and somaclonal variation.

Genetically modified foods were first put on the market in the early 1990s. Typically, genetically modified foods are transgenic plant: soy bean, corn, canola, cotton and seed oil. Animal products have also been developed, although as of July 2010 none are currently on the market.

Many proponents of genetically engineered crops claim they lower pesticide usage and have brought higher yields and profitability to many farmers, including those in developing nations.

Future envisaged applications of genetic modified organisms are diverse and include drugs in food, apples, pears, generally fruits that and product that produce human vaccines against infectious diseases such as hepatitis.

Other advantages about genetically modified food are:

The world population has topped 6 billion people and is predicted to double in the next 50 years. Ensuring an adequate food supply for this booming population is going to be a major challenge in the years to come. GM foods promise to meet this need in a number of ways:

1-     1- Pest resistance: Crop losses from insect pests can be important, resulting in devastating financial loss for farmers. Farmers typically use many tons of chemical pesticides annually. Consumers do not wish to eat food that has been treated with pesticides because of potential health hazards, and run off of agricultural wastes from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers can poison the water supply and cause harm to the environment. Genetic modified aliments can help to eliminate the application of chemical pesticides and reduce the cost of bringing a crop to market.

2-      Herbicide tolerance: same of before.

3-      2- Disease resistance: There are many viruses, fungi and bacteria that cause plant diseases. Plants with genetically engineered could be resistance to diseases.

4-      3- Cold tolerance: New crops in region that before couldn´t be produced.

 4- Efficient photosynthetic metabolism: Plant more efficient in convert the light energy into chemical energy thus they produce more.

5-     

PUBLIC EDUCATION

The student protests that are occurring this year have been very consistent. I think that the state has all its education (primary, secondary and college or university) in bad conditions. Although, some faculties of the state escape from these bad conditions, because their deans and students allow the entrance of the private sector for their profit, however the others faculties, more utopian, have refused this type of improvement and development and have sunk into a circle of resentment towards society and people's heads, hoping to change the paradigms that are established. 

I think the problem of public education is an important issue because, as may be possible that Chile wants to become a developed and important country in the world if their public education is poor in quality on the primary and secondary. The public university education is still good and with international recognized but if the state doesn´t do nothing to return more competitive the public university education, compared with the best universities of the world and not with the private country sector, our public university have the risk to become so bad like the actual primary and secondary public education. Chile is not entitled to be called developed country or belonging to the OCDE. 

People who are in the state has a serious confusion to say that most poor people are studying in private university education, because they include technical schools. And the problem is not help the poor people, is that it´s ridiculous that state give money or help private institution because it have a social roll on the country, I think that if the university or technical education is not a business they are destined to disappears, but if the state help him, there be create the problem that now exist a expensive education with a lot of professional on the country. The education cannot be regulated by the market, the state has to regulate and should not make it profitable for private education, it´s ridiculous that the state give money to some privates institution to make it profitable. Must be exist a successful policy of developing country and include private entities but not funded.     

ANTUMAPU FACULTY

Hi guys, today I´m going to write about ANTUMAPU faculty.

Antumapu it´s a great faculty, I think that the people who like the silence and nature, Antumapu it´s the ideal Faculty for them. It´s very green and the people who study here are very nice. One of the best things about Antumapu is the sport area, with a soccer field and two  small fields for baby soccer that can be tennis courts. Also it has a few weights and a volleyball court that can become in a basketball court. Antumapu it´s a word from mapudungu that means land of the sun, it´s the largest campus of the University of Chile with approximately 325 acres, it´s located on the La Pintana town, very far from the Santiago center, approximately one hour in public transport. Antumapu is composed by the faculties of Agriculture, forestry and natural resources engineering, and veterinary. Since 2004 I´m a student from the agricultural engineering faculty. Between the faculties of agriculture and veterinary there is a small zoo with well care and happy animals. As an agronomist student I will comment about my faculty. This has several mention such pomology, agriculture economy, oenology and soil.

I think that the best date to know Antumapu it´s September, because the weather it´s great with sunny and windy days. Also there is an Independence Day party very funny.

Antumapu buildings are very old, I think that is nice, but the problem is due that this old buildings doesn´t have modern equipment.

I studied in Antumapu because I believe that is the best agricultural faculty of the country and the University of Chile has a social and global importance in Chile and the world respectively.

Best regards

Bye