Lecture Structure, Assigned Readings, and Discussion Questions FES/TOX 434/535 & MCB 535 – Winter 2018 Week 1 Lectures 1: Introduction • 1a Strauss personal introduction • 1b Buermeyer personal introduction • 1b Class overview Lecture 1 readings • We can reprogram life. How to do it wisely (Juan Enriquez, TED Talk, 2015) • Why do many deny science? (Joel Achenbach, Nat Geo 2015) • Americans don't trust scientists' take on food issues (Dan Charles. The Salt, 2016) • The Trump administrations false promise to America (Food Tank, 2017) Lectures 2: Common biotech, genetics and genomic concepts • 2a Biotech in common use – food and pharma • 2b Genetic and genomic concepts Lecture 2 readings • You can thank genetic engineering for your delicious cheese (Levi Gadye, io9, 2015) • Are GMOs Good or Bad? Genetic Engineering & Our Food (Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell, YouTube 2017) • Genetically engineered crops: experiences and prospects (The National Academies of Sciences Engineering Medicine, 2016) Discussion 1: GM and transgenic crops social views Discussion 1 readings • Mark Lynas’s lecture to Oxford Farming (2013) • Smelling a rat (J.L.P., The Economist, 2013) • Why GMOs are “bad” (SciShow, YouTube, 2015) Discussion 1 questions • What does Mark Lynas’s mean by “naturalistic fallacy”? Why does he call vandalism against GM crops akin to burning books? • What can we learn from the controversy over the Seralini publication? • What are the similarities and differences between GE and conventional breeding method? Do you think the conclusion provided in SciShow is well-supported? Week 2 Lecture 3: Sustainability • 3a Key issues of sustainability • 3b Traits that affect sustainability Lecture 3 readings • GM crops, the environment and sustainable food production (Peter H. Raven, Transgenic Research, 2013) • Plating up solutions (Tara Garnett, Science, 2016) • Vegetarian or omnivore: The environmental implications of diet (Tamar Haspel, The Washington Post, 2014) • Comparative impacts of conventional and organic systems Env Res Lett 2017 (read abstract only) Lecture 4: Genetic improvements in agriculture • 4a Plant domestication • 4b Green revolution and modern plant breeding Lecture 4 readings • Green Revolution: Curse or blessing? (IFPRI, 2002) • Norman Borlaug: The genius behind the green revolution (Henry I. Miller, Forbes, 2012) • Evolution, consequences and future of plant and animal domestication (Jared Diamond, Nature, 2002) • Popped secret: The mysterious origin of corn (HHMI BioInteractive, 2016) • What fruits and vegetables looked like before we domesticated them (Youtube, Business Insider) Discussion 2: Key issues of sustainability Discussion 2 readings • Making the case for sustainability from industrial agriculture (Tom Nordhaus, GLP, 2017) • How will we survive when the population hits 10 billion – Mann - TED 2018? • Does GMO corn increase crop yields? (Paul McDivitt, GLP 2018) Discussion 2 questions • What is the main purpose of agriculture? Why does Nordhaus argue that misunderstanding of (industrial) agriculture has often led to misguided advocacies? • According to Nordhaus, what principles should we consider to promote sustainable agriculture? • What are the different ways GM crops can contribute or distract from sustainability? Week 3 Lecture 5: Fundamentals of toxicology • 5a TOX Basics: Dose Response • 5b TOX Basics: Risk and exposure Lecture 5 readings • Mother Nature? More like ‘Mad Scientist Mama’ — creator of chemicals good and bad for humans (Steve Savage, GLP, 2017) • Mycotoxin reduction in Bt corn: potential economic, health, and regulatory impacts (Felicia Wu, ISB, 2006) • Biomonitoring of environmental chemicals (Dennis Paustenbach and David Galbraith, Environ Health Perspect., 2006) Lectures 6: Genetic engineering methods and extent of GE crops • 6a Genetic engineering methods • 6b Bt crops • 6c Extent and diversity of GE crops Lecture 6 readings • Agrobacterium gene insertion (YouTube, 2008) • History of agricultural biotechnology: how crop development has evolved (Ania Wieczorek and Mark Wright, Nature Education, 2013) • A meta-analysis of the impacts of genetically modified crops (abstract only) (Klümper and Qaim, PloS one, 2014) • Insect Resistance to Genetically Engineered Crops: Successes and Failures (Tabashnik, et al, press summary of Nature article, 2014) Discussion 3: Chemicals and cancer risk Discussion 3 reading • Toxicity of natural vs. synthetic pesticides – NY Times blog 2007 • Paracelsus to parascience: the environmental cancer distraction (Bruce N Ames and Lois Swirsky Gold, Mutation Research, 2000) • Glyphosate, Ben and Jerrys, and the NY Times Flap (Kevin Folta, GLP, 2017) Discussion 3 questions • After reading Ames and Gold’s article, what do you think about labeling "all natural"? Is it a type of misleading label that FDA should prohibit? • Ames and Gold mentions that chromosome damage can occur from vitamin deficiencies, similar to that caused by radiation. How does this influence your view on cancer prevention and the term “carcinogens”? • What are the “gold standards” for scientific information? Why does Folta think they have melted today? • If you were a consumer of B&J, does the presence of a trace amount of glyphosate in the ice cream bother you? Why or why not? Week 4 Lectures 7: Gene flow and herbicide tolerant crops • 7a Overview of gene flow and herbicide resistant crops • 7b Examples, coexistence, and adventitious presence Lecture 7 readings • The impact of asynchronous approvals for biotech crops on agricultural sustainability, trade, and innovation (CAST, 2016) (Read Pages 2-3 “The Issue” and Page 8 “Conclusion”) • Why Monsanto thought weeds would never defeat Roundup (Dan Charles, NPR’s The Salt, 2012) • Genetically engineered crops and pesticide use in U.S. maize and soybeans (abstract only) (Perry et al, Science, 2016) • The dicamba fiasco and new GE herbicide tolerant crops (Caitlyn Dewey, GLP, 2017) Lecture 8: Intellectual property • 8a IP basics • 8b IP issues – Biotech and gene flow Lecture 8 readings • Acceptable intellectual property (Stephen Hilgartner, Cornell University, 2006) • Arrested development (Terra, 2014) • Farmer's fight with Monsanto reaches the supreme court (Dan Charles, The Salt, 2013) • I’m a farmer and I signed a contract with Monsanto (GLP, 2016) Discussion 4: Vandana Shiva – eco-hero or charlatan? Discussion 4 readings • Seeds of doubt (Michael Specter, Annals of Science, 2014) • Seeds of truth (Vandana Shiva, Permaculture News, 2014) • New Yorker editor David Remnick responds to Vandana Shiva criticism of Michael Specter’s profile (David Remnick, The New Yorker, 2014) • The complicated truth behind GMO cotton in India (Mark Lynas, Cornell Alliance for Science, 2018) Discussion 4 questions • Do you think that there are greater risks or greater benefits from nutrient biofortification of crops by GE methods compared to conventional breeding? Why? • Do you believe that the controversy surrounding GMOs in the Western hemisphere, and especially in Europe, is hurting the potential of biofortified GMO crops like Golden Rice to help the poor? Do you think it is right for Greenpeace and other anti-GMO organizations to dismiss, and in some cases to actively create dissent against Golden Rice and other biofortified GMO crops as sources of nutrition? • After having read the critique and responses to the Specter article in the New Yorker, do you regard Vandana Shiva as a hero or a villain or some of both? Why? Week 5 Lecture 9: Pesticides and regulation • 9a Pesticide basics: Value and history • 9b Pesticide regulation Lecture 9 readings • What is 'natural' food? A riddle wrapped in notions of good and evil (Alan Levinovitz, The Salt, 2016) • Tackling toxics (Arlene Blum, Science, 2016) • ‘No justification’ for total ban on neonics, say farm leaders (Farmers Weekly 2018) • How activists hijack regulators and demonize chemicals (Ivo Vegter, Daily Maverick, 2017) Lecture 10: GMO regulations • 10a GMO crop regulations - overview • 10b GMO crop regulation - details Lecture 10 readings • How safe does transgenic food need to be? (Laura DeFrancesco, Nature Biotech, 2013) • Is the Bt protein safe for human consumption? (UCbiotech, 2012) • European court suggests relaxed gene-editing rules (Nature 2018) • What Is a Genetically Modified Crop? A European Ruling Sows Confusion (New York Times 2018) • CRISPR plants now subject to tough GM laws in European Union (Nature 2018) Discussion 5: Pesticide exposure and health Discussion 5 readings • Dietary exposure to pesticide residues from commodities alleged to contain the highest contamination levels (Carl K. Winter and Josh M. Katz, Journal of Toxicology, 2011) • Benefits of pesticides (Purdue University, 2006) Discussion 5 questions • Why do the authors feel that methodology used by EWG is not scientifically valid? Do you agree? Do you concur with the view of the authors that substituting organic forms of the “Dirty Dozen” commodities for conventional forms will not lead to any measurable consumer health benefit? Why or why not? • Do you believe that pesticides provide significant benefits for people? For the environment? Are there more benefits than harm? Are generalities meaningful? When and why? Week 6 Lecture 11 readings • RNAi technology (The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2015) • USDA approves modified potato (Andrew Pollack, NY Times, 2014) • These are not your father's GMOs – MIT Tech Rev 2017 Lecture 12 readings • GE tree brief introduction slides (National Research Council, 2016)