GMO writng
For this writing assignment you need to pick a Genetically Modified Plant or other food organism that is used in some form of food and is approved to be used in the US. I will provide you the list of approved GMOs in the US from the US Department of Agriculture: Corn, Soybean, Cotton, Tomato, Potato, Rapseed, Canola, Alfalfa, Papaya, Squash, Apple, Beet, Sugarbeet, Alfalfa, Rice, Rose, Flax, Plum, Tobacco and Cichorium Intybus (Please note some are approved but not currently being grown). However if you pick something that is not on the list but still approved in the US (such as an animal) I am perfectly fine with that.
**NOTE: If you go with something listed in your textbook, you will need to provide more details and information and use additional sources than your textbook otherwise you will have 1 or more points deducted from the individual sections in the rubric**
1. What is your food/plant used for? Please keep in mind that this is not a simple as it sounds some crops are used for more than just human consumption. Be creative with this.
2. Identify when this food/plant GMO was first approved for commercial use in the united states.
3. Create a table or paragraph in your document that includes the following: list genetic traits/modifications that are found in your food/crop that is not found in non-GMOs. Please include where this trait/gene came from (cisgenic, transgenic or intragenic), what is the gene name, what does it do in the organism, what organisms is it from. What is the purpose for these modifications (Be specific for each one). If you do make a table, this table should include a title and you also must discuss the table in your writing as well.
4. How might you determine if an organism (say a plant) has been genetically modified? Please be specific. What type of negative control would you need to perform to show your results are correct?
5. You must also address the following:
(a) Before this assignment and testblock, where you aware of the amount of GMOs in the US? What is your opinion on GMOs, Would you eat one? Is it possible that you have eaten a GMO without knowing?
(b) Discuss one scientific issue and one social issue that is associated with use of GMOs. Please keep in mind that a discussion means to discuss BOTH sides of an issue (for and against) not just one side. Please make sure to reference appropriately around the scientific and social issues.
Formatting of this writing assignment
1. The minimum number of words for this writing assignment is 250 words (not including references)
2. 1 inch margins, double spaced, Use a font size of 12 point. Font choices can be Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana.
3. References must be cited appropriately and you must use either APA or MLA style. References must include primary articles in addition to review papers. For this case, because of social issues, you may reference magazine articles other than scientific journals. You CANNOT reference a wikipedia article.
4. Please do not plagiarize as that will result in an automatic F on the assignment. You also may not directly quote text. Please remember your plagiarism tutorial.
5. You must submit this online either in .DOC, .DOCX, or .PDF format. No other format will be allowed.
Additional Resources to help get you start
1. This assignment is a mixture of science and society. Therefore, I will allow non-science resources especially for # 4 above. To help get you started, please read this Time Magazine article:
https://time.com/3840073/gmo-food-charts/
Links to an external site.
I strongly recommend reading the entire article. However, keep in mind this is written for the general public and is not as descriptive as it should be for a science article so I recommend that you spend time to pull additional information for your assignment.
2. The FDA is our national group that monitors all crops/foods in our country. They have a webpage devoted to GMOs and Plant Biotechnology: https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/agricultural-biotechnology
Links to an external site.
SJSU Biological Sciences Librarian: Yen Tran, yen.tran@sjsu.edu
SJSU Writing Center: https://www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter/
(Links to an external site.)