Handout on Genetically Modified
Crops in Society
Dr. Edward Souza, Research Faculty,
Aberdeen Research & Extension Center
Core 155: The Monsters We Make February 15, 2005 Websites Colorado State University Website General information: http://www.colostate.edu/programs/lifesciences/TransgenicCrops/index.html How crops are engineered (Watch the animated demos): http://www.colostate.edu/programs/lifesciences/TransgenicCrops/how.html Current area of transgenic crops: http://www.colostate.edu/programs/lifesciences/TransgenicCrops/current.html#crops Regulation of transgenic crops: http://www.colostate.edu/programs/lifesciences/TransgenicCrops/evaluation.html Risks and concerns: http://www.colostate.edu/programs/lifesciences/TransgenicCrops/risks.html AgBios Website List of Genetically Modified Traits: http://www.agbios.com/dbase.php?action=Synopsis Note: this website lists human induced mutations in crops as ‘genetically modified’. These are usually not included with genetically modified crops, nor are they recognized as genetically engineered crops by US or international law. What to note in these links and some questions to think about: 1) How genetic engineering is similar and different from more conventional improvements of crops? 2) How are these crops regulated? 3) What are the main risks and benefits of transgenic crops that are recognized by the scientific community? 4) What are the current and planned types of genetic engineered crops? 5) Do the issues of risks and benefits change with the type of gene that is used and the crop in which it is used? Essay for Class
Logsdon, Gene. In: Meeting the Expectations of the Land: Essays in Sustainable Agriculture and Stewardship. Edited by Wes Jackson, Wendell Berry, Bruce Colman. San Francisco, North Point Press (January 1, 1985) ISBN: 086547172X UI Library Main Stacks Call Number: S441.M4 1984 Thought questions for the essay by Gene Logsdon: 1) How
would genetically engineered crops fit into the complex biological
relationships described by the author for his farm? 2) At
the end of the essay the author describes the social relationships that
surround shucking and shelling corn in a traditional farming community. How does new technology (in this case a
grain combine) affect the social structure of rural communities? Would genetically engineered crops have
similar effects in rural society?
Urban society? |