Students will analyze the risks and benefits of a crop that has been developed in one of three focus areas of agricultural engineering, including nutritional enhancement, pesticide resistance, and resistance to environmental stressors.
getting ready
Make enough copies of the following student
pages (one for each group):
Student Page: Types of Agricultural
–
Engineering
Student Page: Genetically Engineered Plants
–
Make a copy of Student Page: Risks, Benefits,
and Management Strategies of Genetically Engineered Plants for each student.
doing the activity
1. Initiate a discussion with the class by ask- ing students if any of them have ever eaten a genetically engineered organism. Record the percentage of those who say yes and the per- centage of those who say no (you may have a group of students who say they don’t know; if so, record that information). Compare this sta- tistic with the national average that 75 percent of crops have been genetically engineered.1 Ask the students whether they are surprised by such numbers.
2. Ask the students how they would know wheth- er the food they are eating has been geneti- cally engineered. This question should lead into a discussion of food labeling, ways to test for genetically engineered foods, and the defi- nition of organic.
Current U.S. regulations require labeling only if a GEO is found to be significantly different from its traditional counterpart. Currently in the United States, no foods have been geneti- cally altered that require special labeling. There are relatively simple genetic tests (such as polymerase chain reaction and gel electro-
phoresis) that can test whether a food product was derived from a genetically engineered source. Genetically engineered foods cannot be sold under the organic label; however, just because a food has not been genetically engineered does not mean it is necessarily organic.In addition to not including geneti- cally engineered organisms, organic foods are grown without the use of pesticides, anti- biotics, synthetic hormones, or irradiation. Policies governing the labeling of genetically engineered organism vary among countries. More information on this can be found in Box 1.2 in the Introduction.
3. Break the students into small groups, and ask each group to research and to create a list of plants that have been genetically engineered, along with a list of the trait or traits intro- duced to each plant. They can use a variety of resources, including the Internet. Ask them to arrange the list into similar categories accord- ing to the type of modification. Have each group assign both a recorder and a reporter.
4. After giving the students time to conduct their research, have the reporter from each group write its categories on the board. Discuss the similarities and differences among the groups.
5. Pass out Student Page: Types of Agricultural Engineering. Have the students compare their categories with the ones listed, as well as the specific types of genetically engineered plants. Discuss any discrepancies among the lists.
6. Pass out the Student Page: Genetically
Engineered Plants. Ask the students how their lists of specific plants that have been geneti- cally engineered compare with those listed on the student page.
7. Break the class into three groups (or more if the students have decided there are more categories than those represented on Student Page: Types of Agricultural Engineering). Have each group make a list of what it thinks are the benefits and risks associated with each catego- ry of genetically engineered crops.
34 project learning tree Exploring Environmental Issues: BioTechnology ©AmericAn Forest FoundAtion
8. Bring the class back together as a group, and have each group take turns listing one of the benefits by writing it on the board—until all potential benefits have been listed. Repeat this activity with the risks.
9. Once the class has listed the risks associated with genetically engineered plants, begin a dis- cussion of risk management. Explain that risk
management is the process of identifying,
evaluating, selecting, and implementing actions to reduce risk to human health and to eco- systems.2 (See PLT’s Focus on Risk secondary module for more information.)
10. Divide students into small groups again, and have them come up with a risk management strategy for the risks associated with each cat- egory of genetically engineered crops. Again, have each group read out each of its answers until all responses are represented on the chalkboard.
11. Pass out Student Page: Risks, Benefits, and Management Strategies of Genetically Engineered Plants. Ask the students to read it and compare it with the list that the class came up with. Discuss any discrepancies.
12. As they use the information and ideas learned in class, have each group come up with a posi- tion statement on whether it supports the genetically engineered organisms in its catego- ry. Not all members of the group necessarily have to agree with the position statement, but everyone should participate in its presentation.
13. You can end this activity by asking the students to consider if the reasons for genetically modi- fying an organism affect whether or not they support the use of transgenics. For example, in this activity they were considering different ways to modify agricultural plants. But what about using genetic engineering to produce pharmaceuticals (such as insulin and vaccines)? Ask them to consider the case of the GloFish mentioned in the introduction (use of genetic engineering for “re-creation” (i.e., the creation of pets).
endnotes
1. “U.S. vs. EU: An Examination of the Trade Issues Surrounding Genetically Modified Food,” Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, December 2005, www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/ wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Food_and_ Biotechnology/Biotech_USEU1205.pdf. 2. “Framework for Environmental Health Risk
Management,” Final report, Vol. 1, Presidential/ Congressional Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management, 1997, www.riskworld. com/nreports/1997/risk-rpt/pdf/EPAJAN.PDF.