Chapter 4 Biotechnology and Crop Engineering

by Donna M. Brinton, Christine Holten, and Jodi L. Nooyen

Background | Classroom Applications | Internet Resources | Appendices

Internet Resources and References

Internet Applications
(Web sites with prepared lesson plans and activities)

The New York Times Learning Network on the Web: Science http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/science.html
The site contains many lesson plans for science topics (see examples below) that are based are articles published in The New York Times newspaper. Search for these lessons in the Lesson Plan Archive link:

The Cream of the Crop: Comparing Organic and Conventional Farming Methods (In this lesson, students work in small groups to investigate the similarities and differences between organic and conventional agricultural practices.)

Food, Glorious Food?: Exploring International Positions on the Use of Genetically Modified Foods (In this lesson, students investigate American and European positions on genetically modified foods and write a position paper from the perspective of their designated country.)

Altered Genes: Exploring the Economic Implications of Consumer's Worries About Genetically Engineered Foods (In this lesson, students investigate the controversy surrounding the use of gene-altered crops in food products sold in the United States and several other countries. Students will explore the economic implications of the use of such crops and the refusal of some countries and companies to buy gene-altered crops. After reading and discussing the article, students participate in an "international trade meeting," taking the perspective of one of the parties represented in the article.)

Exploitable Content
(Web sites with information about the topic, but without any prepared lessons)

AG Biotech InfoNet http://www.biotech-info.net/index.html
This site offers many informative readings on the implications of agricultural biotechnology.

CQS: Health and Environment http://www.cqs.com/egeneral.htm#biotech
This site offers an extensive list of on-line articles related to biotechnology and genetic engineering.

Mendel´s Kitchen: How to Genetically Modify Foods http://www.balwynhs.vic.edu.au/home/mendels/howto.html
This site provides an excellent description of the process with many pictures. There are also several links to the history of GM foods, environmental issues, social-economic issues, ethical and moral issues, case studies, and a forum.

Northern Lights: Genetically Modified Foods http://special.northernlight.com/gmfoods/#over
Compiled by a team of librarians and information specialists, this site offers an extensive list of current news links, free documents from Northern Light's online publication library, and a “live query” feature.

Campaign to Ban Genetically Engineered Foods http://www.netlink.de/gen/home.html
This European-based site includes an impressive number of links to readings that support a ban against genetically engineered foods.

The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods http://www.thecampaign.org/
This U.S.-based site offers free membership, the chance to instantly send messages to Congressmen and the media, and information about the current situation regarding genetically engineered foods and their labeling.

Discover Magazine http://www.discover.com/science_news/
This science magazine allows you to search both recent issues and archives for relevant articles. Click on “recent issues” to find the article Don´t Eat Again Until You Read This in the March 2001 issue, a story about how a genetically modified corn that wasn´t intended for humans got into the U.S. supply and caused many consumers to get sick.

GreenPeace: Genetic Engineering http://www.greenpeace.org/~geneng/
The Green Peace organization is very concerned with genetically engineered foods. This site contains background information, articles, and press releases.

Mad Sci Network http://www.madsci.org/MS_search.html
A staff of science experts is available to answer nearly any question you may have. Simply enter a “key term” for a question you have and you will see what answers have already been provided.

http://www.madsci.org/info/class.html (This link gives instructions for how this site can be most effectively used in your classroom. Great links to lessons are provided, too.)

Official Documents
(Including government, UN, and UNICEF sites)

National Council for Science and the Environment http://www.cnie.org/
This Web site can be searched for links to numerous Congressional Research Service Reports and more.

United States Department of Agriculture http://www.usda.gov/
A U.S. government Web site with national news releases and audio/video highlights. You can search the site using key words.

International Rice Research Institute http://www.cgiar.org/irri/index.htm
Based in the Philippines, IRRI is a nonprofit agricultural research and training center established to improve the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes.

 

References

Wertheim, M. (2000, July 7–13). Frankenfoods: Should genetically modified produce frighten you? LA Weekly, pp. 22–30.

Acosta, A. (2000, November/December). Transgenic foods: Promise or Peril? Americas Magazine, pp. 14–17.

Nash, J. M. (2000, July 31). Grains of hope. Time, pp. 39–46.

Tangley, L. (2000, April 10). Of genes, grain, and grocers: The risks and realities of engineered crops. US New and World Report, pp. 49–50.

U.S. Department of State. (1999). Biotechnology: Food security and safety. Available: http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/ites/1099/ijee/ijee1099.htm.

Weaver, C. (1994). Reading process and practice: From sociolinguistics to whole language (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Endnote

The table in Activity 3 was adapted from Nash (2000).

 

 

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