THE DANGERS
OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS
Denise Mahfood
The
7th
Grade Living Environment
Introduction
While
the biotech industry points to the safety and benefits of genetic modifications
of food products, environmentalists and consumers are quick to denounce it as
potentially harmful “frankenfoods.” Many GM foods can be found in thousands of
food products – the main food crops being wheat, tomatoes, rice, corn and soy bean.
Some of the benefits that are promoted for GM foods include enhanced
taste and quality, reduced maturation time, increased nutrients, improved
resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides, promotes
conservation of soil, water and energy and more efficient processing – just to
name a few. On the other hand, the
controversies include – potential human health impact (allergens), transfer of
antibiotic resistance; potential environmental impact; domination of world
production by few countries tampering with nature by mixing genes among
species; lack of labeling in some countries (United States), and other unknown
effects
Task:
Your
teacher has asked you to help her prepare an informational campaign to inform
students at FDA about GM foods. You will
work with a group of your peers in groups of 5 to answer the following
questions:
·
What are GM foods?
·
What us the process of producing GM foods carried out?
·
Why is the public not aware of GM food in general?
·
What are the potentially dangers of GM foods?
·
What are the possible solutions that should be implemented to inform
the public about what they are eating?
·
You will first do a survey of a random selection of students at FDA to
find out how much they know about GM foods and their differing views on the
subject (based on the four questions above.)
·
Your will then use the results of the survey to write a five (5) page
research paper that your group has written presenting your findings from the
survey and what you have found in your research. The paper will include the data that presents
differing views on GM food. Your group
will then prepare a poster based on your findings to be used in a classroom
presentation. The posters will then be
hung up in the hallways so that other students at FDA can become aware of GM
foods, too.
Roles:
Discussion
Leader -in charge of making sure the survey is written, the research is
gathered and complied, the other research is read and
analyzed
Timekeeper-Keeps
the group on task and makes sure that the assignment is completed on time
Note
taker-complies the results in written form to be included in the final paper,
presentation and poster
Editor/proofreader-makes
sure that the paper is well written and that the research is documented, also
insures that the presenter is prepared for the final presentation and that the
poster is informative
Presenter-will
present for the group the findings of the paper
Process:
·
You will be divided into groups of five to answer the task questions,
do the survey, write the paper, make a presentation with a poster
.
·
Each group is required to organize themselves into assigned roles to
complete the tasks
·
Students will be required to follow the process of the Public Policy
Analyst (PPA) by reviewing the following steps to guide them in the process
with their group:
1. Identifying the
Problem, and Worksheet #1
2. Gathering Evidence,
and Worksheet # 2
3. Identify Causes of
the problem, and Worksheet # 3
4. Evaluate the
Policy, and Worksheet #4
5. Develop a solution
to the Problem, and Worksheet #5
6. Selecting the Best
Solution, and Worksheet #6
Resources:
http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-75-1597/science_technology/genetically_modified_food/
http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=18649&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=260
http://www2.spsu.edu/ctea
http://www.johnmcdowell.net/links1.htmlcad/newell/STS2400/linksgmo.htm
http://www.irysec.vic.edu.au/sci/genefood/genefood.htm
http://www.ecohealth101.org/classroom/foods.html
http://www.ncbe.reading.ac.uk/NCBE/GMFOOD/menu.html
http://www.askquestions.org/details.php?id=30
http://www.crystalinks.com/gmproducts.html
Evaluation:
YOUR SCORE WILL range from a possible 16 points (highest) to 4 points (lowest).
Scale: A=16 B=12 C=10 D=7 F=4
|
|
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
PPA Policy Followed |
All questions were answered
completely and rationales for the answers were clearly stated. |
All questions were answered
completely, but rationales for the all the answers were not clearly
stated. |
Not all questions were
answered completely, or greater than 2 rationales for the all answers were
not clearly stated. |
All questions were not
answered completely. |
|
Presentation |
Clear and full presentation
of the findings of the survey and the research. Presents findings both for
and against. -
|
Clear and full presentation of the findings
of the survey and the research with few mistakes. |
Clear and full presentation
of the findings of the survey and the research with some errors |
Insufficient and/or unclear
presentation of material |
|
Teamwork |
It is evident that a mutual
effort and cohesive unit created the final product. |
The team worked well
together, but could have utilized each other's skills to a better degree. |
The team had problems
working together. Little collaboration occurred. |
The final product is not
the result of a collaborative effort. The group showed no evidence of
collaboration. |
|
Paper |
The ideas expressed by the body of work demonstrate a high degree of
knowledge on the subject of GM foods, both for and against.. |
The ideas expressed by the body of work are mostly informative. |
The ideas expressed by the body of work demonstrate lack of
information. |
There was no significant information expressed in this project. |
|
Poster |
High level of creativity and informative for and against GM foods. |
Moderate level of creativity and moderate amount of information given
for and against GM foods. |
Fair level of creativity and moderate amount of information given for
and against GM foods. |
Poor level of creativity and moderate amount of information given for
and against GM foods. |
Standards:
STUDENTS WILL HAVE PERFORMED THE
FOLLOWING STANDARDS:
English Language Arts Standards
E1c Reads and comprehends
information materials.
E2a Produce a report of
information.
E3b Participate in group meetings.
E6(a)
Critique public documents with an eye to strategies common in public discourse.
E6(b)
Produce public documents.
E7(a)
Critique functional documents with an eye to strategies common to effective
functional documents.
E7(b)
Produce functional documents appropriate to audience and purpose.
Problem
Solving Skills:
a) Design a Product,
b) Improve a System: Develop an understanding of the
way systems of people, machines, and processes work;
troubleshoot problems in their operation and devise strategies for improving
their effectiveness.
Communication
Tools and Techniques:
a) Prepare a formal written proposal or report to an
organization beyond the school.
c) Develop a multi-media presentation.
Information
Tools and Techniques:
a) Gather information to assist in completing project
work.
b) Use on-line sources to
exchange information for specific purposes.
c) Use word-processing software
to produce a multi-page document.
Conclusion:
Upon
completing this project you and your teammates will have examined a national
(and increasingly global) social problem and how it affects young people right
here in the