• Broad goals
• Issues Covered
• Detailed Content
• Education outcomes expected
• Respect for differing perspectives on biotechnology

Agriculture and food production systems increasingly rely on a diverse array of biotechnologies to increase outputs, assure quality, and reduce costs. Mechanization provided the first major wave of technology in the last century, but genetics and chemistry have become prominent since World War II. They have led to major increases of agricultural productivity, but also to new or expanded environmental and humanitarian problems.

Mechanization provided the first major wave of technology in the last century, but genetics and chemistry have become prominent since World War II. They have led to major increases of agricultural productivity, but also to new or expanded environmental and humanitarian problems. They have continued to help increase productivity from agriculture and led to some large reductions of environmental impact from conventional agriculture. However, significant numbers of citizens oppose or have serious concerns about the use of genetic engineering in agriculture and natural resources. Many have even turned away from conventionally produced foods and even medicines, in favor of alternatives such as organic agriculture and herbal remedies. This has occurred in response to concerns about food safety and impact on the environment, as well as about adequacy of government oversight, social equity, patenting of genes, and corporate control of production systems in a globalized world. Opinion polls have also shown that most citizens have a very poor understanding of basic genetic, chemical, and environmental sciences from which to make sound judgments.

The key goal of this class is to increase the science and social literacy of students with respect to "high technology" production methods in agriculture, particularly the use of modern genetics and chemistry. The class will examine both benefits and harms to societies and the environment, and means for making intelligent choices. The class uses biotechnologies, broadly defined, to include genetics and chemistry for the purpose of modifying the physiology, survival, economics, and environmental impacts of agricultural organisms, pests, and related ecological services. We see this class as a "prism" with which to look at the bigger issue of how we can use technology to both conserve and sustainably utilize the natural resources on which societies depend. By bringing together an interdisciplinary team of faculty that have diverse expertise and perspectives, we hope to provide students with the information they need to make wise choices, critically evaluate the quality of information provided to them, and ask meaningful questions. With the diverse claims of miracle crops and dangers from food becoming commonplace, citizens need a reliable base of information to make informed decisions what they want their food and environments to look like.

• What are the underlying biological and chemical concepts?
• How do the technologies work? How do plants and animals differ in methods?
• How are benefits and safety evaluated and regulated?
• Who gets to decide what's OK and what is not in food and farming?
• Can science really evaluate all the risks and benefits? What are the assumptions made along the way?
• What have the technologies given to society?
• What are the costs to society and the environment of dependence on technology?
• Are natural chemicals and genes safer or better than artificial ones? How can we decide?
• What are the unknown, future risks from starting to go down this path?
• What are the costs and risks of deciding to do without them?
• Can society manage risks and benefits wisely, choosing the beneficial applications and turning away from or restricting the hazardous?
• Who benefits and who loses among the rich and poor in societies and among countries?
• How can reliable information, and an accurate context for evaluation, be identified amidst the highly biased, and often self-serving information, provided by those with strong ideological biases and vested interests in the outcome?
• How can ethical decisions be made with respect to what technologies are acceptable and what are not? Are animals and plants fundamentally different in this respect?

Genetic engineering (GE) is the isolation, modification, and asexual transfer of genes between species, and is commonly referred to as genetic modification (GM) in much of the world outside the USA. GMOs means "genetically modified organisms." GE methods can be used to modify a number of different traits of food and fiber crops, and the possibilities are increasing rapidly as the "genome revolution" in biology progresses. More than 50 different GM varieties have been authorized for commercial use in the United States, and some have had major environmental benefits in the form of pesticide reduction and reduced soil tillage. However, some segments of the community, and many countries in the world, are concerned that these newly modified crops may be hazardous to human health and the environment, or cause socioeconomic harms and ethical transgressions.

Chemicals, synthetic and natural, have been used to control pests and fertilize crops, for thousands of years. However, the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides on a large scale has greatly accelerated in recent decades. This has created valuable tools for managing major human diseases such as malaria, and has greatly reduced the risk of famine via increased agricultural production, but it has also created many new problems in the form of environmental pollution and human toxicities.

The goal of this class is to examine the diverse issues and views that surround genetic engineering and use of agrochemicals, and the benefits and risks they hold for society. We will explore:

• History of agriculture and its many biotechnologies
• Natural and synthetic chemicals used by humans
• Ethical, ideological, and scientific views about organic, sustainable, and conventional agricultural systems
• Regulation of food and environmental safety by government agencies
• Case studies of the benefits and concerns about diverse genetically engineered crops and chemical products
• Gene flow and "contamination" of organic and conventional crops by transgenes and chemicals
• Prospects and dangers of producing healthier foods and cheaper medicines via GMO crops
• Potential of biotechnologies to help the poor and developing world
• Ethical, social, business, and legal issues

At the end of the class, students should be able to describe:

• How organisms have been domesticated, cultivated, and genetically manipulated via conventional breeding, and how biotechnology is similar and different
• The basic methods used to isolate and manipulate genes, and transfer them into plants, animals, and microbes
• The kinds of GE organisms in commercial use, and on the horizon for use in the near to mid-term, including insect-resistant corn, herbicide-resistant crops, medicine-producing livestock, and growth-enhanced fish
• How genetic engineering has modified agricultural practices with respect to pesticide use, soil conservation, water quality, and other environmental measures
• How chemicals are classified and defined in terms of toxicity and nutritional safety
• How environmental impacts of chemical use are studied and analyzed
• How chemical uses have led to unintended consequences, and how these lessons have informed subsequent laws and regulations
• How the toxicity of synthetic and natural chemicals compares and is regulated by governments
• How GE organisms are tested for food and environmental safety in the USA, the government regulatory bodies involved, and their requirements
• How ethical values and perspectives affect social and personal acceptance of GM crops
• How the interests and values of populations in the poor and developing world differ from those in the developed world with respect to GM crops
• The reasons for serious and legitimate concerns by organic farmers and some activist groups about GM crops
• Ability to critically analyze claims made by companies, scientists, and government agencies about food and environmental safety of new agricultural technologies

Biotechnologies mean very different things to different people. How people react depends on their religious beliefs, philosophical perspectives, and level of familiarity with the science and technology. People hold diverse and often spiritual views toward food, environment, and the biological world. Discussions can therefore easily become heated and personal.

In this class, all perspectives are to be welcomed and respected. The focus of this class is on the science and ethics underlying genetic and chemical biotechnologies, however, our personal views will color how we interpret technical information, as well as the degree of uncertainty we are willing to accept when making decisions about food and environmental safety. Science delivers information, but never certainty. There will often be disagreement about regulatory decisions and the adequacy of science underlying new technology. Let's listen carefully and respectfully to other's views, and try to understand motivation as well as logic, before stating our own views. In all cases a civil and respectful tone during discussions will be required.