Assignments - Modified Foods

Team Assignment: Genetically Modified Foods

Problem Statement

Bioengineered food is controversial, whether it is sold at the grocery store or served in quick service restaurants. Some people believe genetic engineering will increase the quality and quantity of available foods. Some see environmental advantages. Others feel that these foods are dangerous to both consumers and the environment.

For many, the prospect of genetically engineered or modified foods (GE or GM) offers the promise of a way to feed the rapidly expanding world population of humans, expected to increase from the current 6 billion souls to 12 billion in the next 50 years. For others, genetically engineered foods are threatening and suggest a scary vision of scientists producing foods that will cause serious damage to people and the environment. "Frankenfoods" is a term that has been coined in Europe for foods that have been altered genetically. There is a fear of the "genie getting out of the bottle," as when engineered salmon escape from their pens and cross breed with the native stock of river-running salmon. Europeans have developed an aversion to the use of seeds or foods which reflect manipulation of the genetic code. These concerns are now being heard in the United States and elsewhere.

NewLeaf Potatoes is a good example of a controversial food. The purpose of the modification developed by Monsanto and used by Simplot, an agribusiness that grows and processes potatoes, is to produce a potato with greater resistance to pests. NewLeaf potatoes can reduce the amount of insecticide needed to control the Colorado potato beetle and green peach aphid, which are major problem pests for potato growers. NewLeaf Potatoes offer the possibility of great reductions in the use of pesticides. But does the product have drawbacks?

Some people focus on the risks (scientific or economic):

• McDonalds Corporation has told its potato supplier, JR Simplot Company of Boise, Idaho to discontinue the use of GE potatoes for its french fry products.
• Gerber Baby Foods and Frito-Lay have pledged to avoid use of genetically modified (GM) foods in any of their products.
• A number of prominent chefs have spoken out against GM foods.

Various consumer and environmental groups have been most unhappy about GE and GM foods and have demanded that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reconsider how these foods are regulated prior to being introduced into the marketplace. The FDA responded in May of 2000, and issued plans about how it will strengthen pre-market review of bioengineered food. Consumer groups were not impressed with FDA's response and continue to petition for stronger regulations.

Questions to Consider

1. How would the use of GM foods improve life in the US?
2. How would the use of GM foods improve life in the rest of the world?
3. What are the potential problems with GM foods?
4. From a global perspective, who benefits and who is harmed by the use of biotechnology to modify the foods we consume?

Team Task

As a team, ask what you know and need to know about GM foods in order to answer the above questions. Make a chart of your learning issues: those topics your team needs to know more about. Assign questions to individuals, who will report back on their findings at the next class meeting. Keep track of where you find information, as you may need to cite sources later on. Evaluate web resources for quality, reliability, authority.

To see the entire assignment, including tables for evaluation, click here.

[Submitted by Stephen Bernhardt]

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