DINING  ON  DNA
A WebQuest Designed by
M. Yeates
for Food Science
INTRODUCTION
Fifteen years ago, scientists developed the techniques to insert genes into plant crops to give the plants new traits. This brought
about food biotechnology, the practice of taking a gene with a desirable benefit from one plant and removing it or inserting it into another to produce a better product.
Crops can produce their own pesticides to reduce the need for insecticide sprays. Other genes can be inserted that make a plant resistant to viruses or fungi, or that make a plant resistant to herbicides that are ordinarily used to kill weeds in that crop field. Vegetables can be developed with delayed ripening qualities to improve their taste and freshness, or they can be enhanced to have higher nutritional value. This is
important in a world with a growing population and where people are starving.
But many people have questions regarding the safety of genetically modified foods. Are
these foods safe to eat and safe for the environment? What safeguards are in place to assure that these foods are safe?
Currently, one-third of the corn and one-half of all soybeans and cotton grown in the U.S. are genetically modified. Therefore, ingesting food made from genetically engineered crops is almost inevitable. Are genetically modified foods labeled as such? What do we as consumers need to know about genetically engineered food?
TASK
As you complete this WebQuest, you will introduce yourself to the current information about genetic engineering of food crops. You will need to understand why genes in plants are changed and
what the possible side effects might be, if any. Then you will take your knowledge and use it in several ways.

First, you will decide what the general public should be aware of concerning genetically modified foods. What benefits should they know about, and what, if any, negative aspects should they know about? Should consumers expect genetically engineered foods to be labeled as such? What can you conclude about genetically modified foods?

Then you will present this information to the public using computer presentation software, to potentially be put on our school's web pages.

Finally, you will email officials in your state and Federal governments telling them your position on genetically engineered foods and if you believe they should be identified
on product labels.
It is important that as you proceed you gather lots of information before you come to any conclusions or opinions about this subject. Try not to make a quick evaluation and then back that up with facts that you pick and choose from here or there. Instead, try to put your feelings and conclusions off until you have lots of information first.
RESOURCES
The following links will be useful to you in completing this WebQuest
Group A
U.S. House of Representative Committee on Science Report

Smith Report, Seeds of Opportunity

FDA to Strengthen Pre-Market Review of Bioengineered Foods

Biotech: Promise For a Better Tomorrow

Benefits of Agricultural Biotechnology

Biotechnology and The World Food Supply

Group B
ABC News Clips on GMF (requires REAL Player G2)

What's Wrong With Genetic Engineering?

Allergies to Transgenic Foods - Questions of Policy

FDA Documents in Genetically Engineered Foods

You may also find information in your classroom and in the library.
PROCESS

1. Choose a group of 3-4 other students to work with.

2. Each group member should decide upon two of the above resources to investigate thoroughly, one article from Group A and one article from Group B.
3. Make a presentation to your group of at least 8-10 minutes explaining what you learned about genetic engineering, crops, food, labeling or policies.When you are done with the presentation, hand in materials (fact sheets, posters, etc.) that you used in making your presentation.

4.Now in your group, come together on a consensus of what the general pubic should know about genetically modified foods, if they should be labeled, and your group's opinion and conclusions about genetic engineering of crops.

5. In your group, decide what  should go into your computer presentation to inform the public about this important topic. Prepare your computer presentation using text and graphics to make it interesting.
6. Write a personal email to a Senator or Congressional Representative from your state, or to the President or Vice President of the United States, or to the House Committee on Science and Agreiculture, or to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry. These can all be accessed by clicking here. The email should express your conclusions and opinions on genetically modified foods and if they should be labeled as such. Print out a copy of the email to turn in.  Do not send email until you have been instructed to do so.
EVALUATION

The grade on the WebQuest will be based on your work in all three areas indicated above: the information the public should know, the presentation, and your email to an official in the government. A rubric will be used to determine the grade.
CONCLUSION

Once you have completed this WebQuest on genetically engineered agriculture and our food, you will have a better understanding of several things about current biotechnology. First, you will be aware of many of the benefits and some of the resulting questions that need to be addressed when considering to genetically modify a plant. Second, you will learn some of the specific biotechnology applications that are currently being used already in our food - there are thousands of products already for sale that contain genetically engineered foods. Can you name some of them? Third you will learn how other people think about genetically engineered food and what they think about its use and sale. Finally, you will express your opinion to a representative of the U.S. government so that you might even influence the future of this important area in modern technology. You might want to explore some other areas of biotechnology once you have completed this WebQuest.
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