And a lesson plan to go with that interesting message.
Nate
Butterfly Killer
Why were Bacillus Thuringeinsis (BT) genes spliced into corn plants? Did
the new gene help solve the problem for which it was intended? According to
some scientists, what potential problem could result from BT producing corn
plants? What was Monsanto's reaction to the initial findings of BT corn
research?
According to Cornell University, how does BT affect humans? Other plants?
Animals? Do you think that genetically engineered corn plants are
preferable to those sprayed with pesticides? Explain. What are the
advantages and disadvantages of each method of pest control? What kinds of
testing do you think needs to take place before a new genetically
engineered plant can be sold for public consumption?
Group students. Refer each group to print and online resources to find at
least two examples of farms that used pesticide sprays and farms that used
genetic engineering to reduce pest infestation. Have groups identify the
problem, cost, and short term and long term side effects of each example.
Direct groups to share their findings. As a class, discuss the differences
between the use of pesticides versus the use of genetic engineering to
reduce pest infestation. Next, have your class create a set of guidelines
for farmers that indicates when to use pesticides and genetically
engineered plants to reduce pest infestation.
LINKS:
http://photoscience.la.asu.edu/photosyn/courses/
BIO_343/lecture/insect.html
http://ianrwww.unl.edu/ianr/pat/pmsgui.htm
http://www.sciam.com/1096issue/1096techbus2.html
http://www.holisticmed.com/ge/pest.html
http://www.lib.uconn.edu/CANR/ces/ipm/ipmglos.htm
>
>
> "we" are already in big trouble...
> i thin i posted sumpin about the plans of monsanto and other bio-tech
> giants--already well advanced--to produce and market crop seed that will
not
> reproduce/seed itself? the terminator gene? reps say they don't have it
YET!
> but dont bet on it... proprietary info is soo hard to get anyway...they
> (monsanto, et al) already produce "round-up" proof crops which prosper
in the
> toxic environment of chemical sprays designed to kill off ALL
competitors,
> along with the fauna which feed upon them (cf: monarch butterflies
> perishing in
> sunflower fields en route to breeding grounds in mexico---which are being
> turned into commercial croplands)...
>
> in the mean time, ...the folks who tacitly control ALL the interactions
on the
> web (ie, programmers, etc) are effectively beyond the ken OR control of
the
> majority of "us" who use it...lay-people CANNOT--and may not-- speak
directly
> to the actual writers or others--problem-solvers and trouble
shooters--because
> we cannot speak their languages, or we speak them so crudely as to be
> effectively illiterate and unintelligible...so the corps hire
intermediaries
> who take our (inane) complaints and translate them into the system lx so
the
> REAL insiders can figger out fixes...
>
> way many of the folk who practice these arcane arts regard the rest of
"us" as
> dispensable and messy intruders into the orderly and regular domains in
which
> they preside (cf: "wet-ware", etc; but what do you call a techie with a
> personality? a couple!)...the disdain with which they regard "us"
uninitiates
> is both palpable and scary, given the amount of influence they exert on
the
> systems upon which all too many of us have become totally dependent ...
they
> have a saying: architecture is/becomes policy; same same for genetics...
>
> Why do quadrupeds lick their genitals? because they can!!! what can be
done
> must be done: that's the mantra of the "scientistic" mind... and if
there'
> even
> the least sense that a dime can be "made" from it, it'll be done and
patented
> before anyone can object. none should or shall weep when the last of this
> blighted species (finally) collapses into death and decay...i only hope
that
> some of the wonder and grandeur will survive "us"...
>