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Utah State University

Genetic Engineering This is a project resulting from the “ Workshop for Teachers” to provide in Agriculture teaching materials for genetic engineering topics.

Please direct any feedback to ASTE graduate student Olivia Horning at [email protected]

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1 Lesson 5: Gavrilescu, M. (2010). Environmental : achievements, opportunities and challenges. Dynamic biochemistry, process biotechnology and molecular , 4(1), 1-36.

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Lesson 1 Objectives

Lesson 2 1. Distinguish between the pros and cons of vaccine producing food. Lesson 3 2. Define bioethics and relate the field of study to vaccine producing food.

Lesson 4 3. Explain why lab safety is important in genetic engineering. 4. Sketch the three spheres of sustainability and define each part. Lesson 5 5. List the three components of agricultural ethics and summarize each part. Lesson 6 6. Develop an argument for GMO crops and against GMO crops.

Lesson 7 7. Give an example of a concern related to the following categories: ecologic, economic

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Lesson 1 Vaccine Producing Food

Lesson 2 • Foods can be genetically engineered to contain vaccines, also Lesson 3 known as “edible vaccines”, which could be easier to deliver Lesson 4 vaccines to children.

Lesson 5 • Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not? Create a pros and cons list to share with the class. Lesson 6

Lesson 7

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Lesson 1 What is Bioethics?

Lesson 2 • The origin of the term is in the article “Bioethics, the Science Lesson 3 of Survival” where Van Rensselaer Potter defines the term as: Lesson 4 • “A science of survival must be more than science alone, and I

Lesson 5 therefore propose the term ‘bioethics’ in order to emphasize the two most important ingredients in achieving the new Lesson 6 wisdom that is so desperately needed: biological knowledge Lesson 7 and human values.” • Biology + ethics = bioethics

5 Genetic Engineering in Bioethics Agriculture

Lesson 1 What is Bioethics?

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Lesson 7

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Lesson 1 Safety and Ethics

Lesson 2 • Because of the dangers associated with genetic engineering, Lesson 3 laboratory procedures such as researcher protection from Lesson 4 infection and keeping all microbes in the lab.

Lesson 5 • Genetic crippling is when microbe strains used in experiments involving recombinant DNA are unable to survive outside the Lesson 6 lab, but dangerous experiments can be banned. Lesson 7

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Lesson 1 Safety and Ethics

Lesson 2 • Should humans have the ability to create new organisms or Lesson 3 alter an existing organism’s genes? Lesson 4 • Is it unethical, or has it been done through artificial selection

Lesson 5 for centuries? (Pearson Education, 2016)

Lesson 6

Lesson 7

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Lesson 1 3 Spheres of Sustainability

Lesson 2 • Draw the following Lesson 3 diagram and write in the definitions for each circle Lesson 4 part. Lesson 5 • Discuss as a class. Additional information Lesson 6 found here:

Lesson 7 – https://www.e- education.psu.edu/e me807/node/575

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Lesson 1 3 Legged Milking Stool

Lesson 2 • “Agricultural ethics is like a three-legged milking stool. One appendage Lesson 3 rests in health, another in environment, and the third is planted firmly in the social, cultural and historical meanings of rural life. Medically-based Lesson 4 dietary advice may be grounded in a concern for human health, but it has Lesson 5 the potential for both cultural and environmental reverberations. Agricultural and food issues have a natural place in the bioethics Lesson 6 spectrum, even when bioethics is conceived narrowly in terms of human health. But a complete understanding of these issues will require insight Lesson 7 from all three legs of the agricultural ethics stool.” – Paul B. Thompson, Michigan State University

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Lesson 1 3 Legged Milking Stool

Lesson 2 • Draw the following diagram Lesson 3 and write in the definition for each leg. Lesson 4 • Discuss as a class. Additional Lesson 5 information found here: Agriculture and Food Issues in Lesson 6 the Bioethics Spectrum, by

Lesson 7 Paul B. – http://www.bioethics.msu.edu/i mages/stories/file/MHR/mhr_25_ 3.pdf

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Lesson 1 2015 Acres

Lesson 2 • 444 million acres of GMOS grown in 2015, 1% decrease from Lesson 3 2014. Lesson 4 • 457 million acres grown in 2016 around the world Lesson 5 • Grown in 28 countries, developing countries, >18millin

Lesson 6 farmers • Global cultivated crop land = 9% Lesson 7 • 5 countries growing 90% of gmo crops in 2015, 91% in 2016: USA, Brazil, Argentina, India, Canada

12 http://time.com/3840073/gmo-food-charts/

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Lesson 1 Benefits/Supporters

Lesson 2 • Environmental, Health, Economic, world problem solving Lesson 3

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Lesson 1 Benefits/Supporters

Lesson 2 • Supporters say the technology will be better for the environment Lesson 3 • Fewer chemicals are used with herbicide resistance compared to

Lesson 4 conventional crops • Herbicide resistant crops, like roundup ready corn or soybeans Lesson 5 • Insect resistant crops, like bt corn and bt

Lesson 6

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Lesson 1 Benefits/Supporters

Lesson 2 • Supporters say there are health benefits Lesson 3 • Higher quality and nutritional value, shelf life longer, beets with

Lesson 4 lower calories, lower saturated fat oils, benefitting world’s poor, added vitamins and minerals, , mass producing substances like Lesson 5 pharmaceuticals

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Lesson 1 Benefits/Supporters

Lesson 2 • Supporters say farmers will benefit Lesson 3 • Avoiding losses, single broad-spectrum herbicide reducing land

Lesson 4 degradation, losses reduced from sudden frosts, GM crop yields increasing 5 to 8 percent (corn, cotton, soybeans) Lesson 5

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Lesson 7

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Lesson 1 Benefits/Supporters

Lesson 2 • Supporters say that GM Seeds will aid in feeding the growing world Lesson 3 population

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Lesson 1 Concerns

Lesson 2 • Ecological, health, genetic, contamination, patent, Lesson 3 geopolitical Lesson 4

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Lesson 1 Concerns

Lesson 2 • Opponents say that wildlife could be harmed by GM crops, Lesson 3 resistant ‘Superbugs’ and ‘Superweeds’ (Refugee area is now needed for Bt crops to slow resistant insect development. Bt is a soil bacterium that Lesson 4 organic growers spray on crops as a pesticide, and resistant insects would Lesson 5 nullify this practice. • Super weeds are herbicide resistant due to uncontrollable cross Lesson 6 pollination by wind, birds, insects.

Lesson 7 • “Natural” species competition, creating a loss of diversity. • Non-target species includes harming birds, non pest insects, and animals. Specifically, transgenic Bt corn harming monarch butterfly, known through a Cornell University study. 23 Genetic Engineering in Bioethics Agriculture

Lesson 1 Concerns

Lesson 2 • Opponents say that GM foods could cause health problems Lesson 3 • Animal experiments include: the liver, heart, and brain being smaller, with

Lesson 4 a reduced immune system, in rats fed potatoes with GMO protein. (reword). Antibiotic gut resistance found in mice were the trans-genes Lesson 5 were not degraded in digestion. • Allergies due to proteins, 90% of food allergies are due to proteins. For Lesson 6 example, though, the brazil nut protein in soybean was never on the Lesson 7 market.

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Lesson 1 Concerns

Lesson 2 • Lack of control over location of insertion, which could disrupt other genes. Lesson 3 The role of the gene may be unknown, or have different functions based on the organism. For example, the genet in rats for sense of smell, in Lesson 4 Zebra finches for song learning, and humans for Parkinson’s disease are Lesson 5 the same gene. • Concerns with cross pollination and segregation. Because corn is the most Lesson 6 highly used biopharma crop, there are concerns with cross-pollination

Lesson 7 with plants engineered to contain human antibodies, like contraceptive corn (epicyte gene) and herpes-fighting antibody (human gene). Proposing that there may be inadequate segregation of crops, such as crops for human vs. animal feed with the StarLink corn recall.

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Lesson 1 Concerns

Lesson 2 • Starlink corn is a GMO product FDA approved for animal feed but not Lesson 3 human feed, and found in September of 2000 in human food. $1 billion was lost. Companies affected included Kraft, taco Bell, Mission, and Lesson 4 Kellog’s Lesson 5

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Lesson 1 Economics

Lesson 2 • Opponents say small farmers will be affected negatively by GM crop Lesson 3 technology, making them dependent on big firms.

Lesson 4 • Biotech crops could be too expensive in developing countries. • Increased reliance on monocultures, with 90 % of food being grown from Lesson 5 15 crops.

Lesson 6 • Monoculture crops predisposition for disease and pests due to lack of diversity. Lesson 7

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Lesson 1 Economics

Lesson 2 • Opponents also say that profit driven biotech companies are not Lesson 3 concerned with risk to nature or people.

Lesson 4 • Money invested in research and development needs to be recuperated. • High volume crops are the focus, such as soybeans, corn and cotton, Lesson 5 rather than food crops to help those in poor countries.

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Lesson 1 Patents – Food Inc.

Lesson 2 • Growing and selling patented crops Lesson 3 • Biosurfdom, means that the farmers cannot choose what they grow. GMO

Lesson 4 seed cost being higher in developing countries. The plant variety protection act says that farmers cannot cross pollinate seeds, protecting Lesson 5 GMO crop investors such as .

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Lesson 1 Geopolitical - Pearson

Lesson 2 • Biosafety Protocol was negotiated by 130 countries, but the united states Lesson 3 declined. This requires GM organisms in bulk food shipments to be labeled by exporters, and if a health/environmental risk is imposed Lesson 4 importing courtiers can decline shipments. Lesson 5 • What health/environmental risk are they referring to? • This can cause trade disputes, and European countries have occasionally Lesson 6 refused united states crops. Lesson 7

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Lesson 1 • Pearson Education

Lesson 2 • Campbell Essential Biology (6th Ed.) by Simon, Reece, & Dickey. Lesson 3

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