Harvest Of Fear

Should we Grow GM Crops?


1. What is a GM Crop?
-A GM crop are genetically modified foods that improves agriculture, has many health benefits, but also is harmful to the human body in some ways such as triggering allergies, etc.



2. List 2 arguments FOR the growing of GM crops
-GM crops should be grown because it help underdeveloped countries have the out of food that they need. It also increases the amount of vitamin A in children, which is good, considering that 500,000 kids die fro lack of vitamin A each year.



3. List 2 arguments AGAINST the growing of GM crops.
-GM crops should not be grown because they are too expensive for developing countries. Developed countries such as the U.S., are growing more GM crops because we have enough money to buy it, but other countries do not. Therefore, widening the gap between rich and poor. Another reason not to grow GM crops is because it harms the environment by getting the GM pollen onto monarch larvae, causing only about half to survive.



Engineer a Crop

4. Practice this simulation until you get the largest ears of corn. How many times did it take you?
- It took me four times to get the largest ears of corn.

What’s for Dinner?


5. List two foods and desribe how they are being modified.
- Potatoes are engineered to absorb less oil when fried, making them better for humans to eat. Rennet, a a dried extract used to curdle ,I'll for cheese, is being edified to speed up the cheese making process.




Viewpoints


Do you think food should be labeled if it has been genetically modified? Why or Why not?
- I think genetically edified food should be need because you never know what viewpoints other people have on genetically modified foods. For example, if one person loves to eat genetically modified foods, it wouldn't after if it is labeled or not. But if they are completely against GM crops,they will want to have them labeled. It all depends.

Epigenetics and the Environment

IDENTICAL TWINS: PINPOINTING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ON THE

EPIGENOME

1 and 2- Identical twins are exactly the same when they are first fertilized, with the exact same genomes. Because they will most likely have the same home environment early in life, there will not be much of a change with their physical appearence. Diet, toxins, exercize, and other environmental factors play a part in the changing epigenome. As life goes on, outside choices influence the shape of each twin's epigenome, and impact their physical appearence.

3- An imprinted gene are genes whose expression is determined by the parents who contributed to the fertilization of the egg.

YOUR ENVIRONMENT, YOUR EPIGENOME

1- Factors that could be effecting my epigenome could be diet, stress involving family life, school, etc., being exposed to toxins such as second-hand smoke. Others could be excersize, and more.

LICK YOUR RATS

1- A high nurturing mother will lick their rat pups more often then a low nurturing mother. The pups respond to the licks in a strange manner. Their GR gene begins to become more and more active. By doing this, is changes the way the pups respond to stress. If they have an active GR gene, they will get over stress more easily than an inactive GR gene.

2- Licking by the mother will activate the pups GR gene.

3- During the "Flight of Flight" responce, the hormone cortisol is released into the blood stream of the rat. The cortisol responds the the GR protein causing the cells to send out calming signals. Rats who have a lot of GR protein relax quickly after stress.

4- The nurtured and un-nurtured rats can relate to humans and their interactions with others because if a young human grows up in an unloving family life, they will most likely treat their offspring the same way. Because that is how they were raised, they do not know any other way. If their parents make bad choices and influence drugs and other toxins, they will most likely grow up smoking, of using another type of toxin.

NUTRITION & THE EPIGENOME

1- Diets high in folic acid, B vitamins and SAM-e nutrients can change gene expression, especially during early stages of development when the epigenome is first being established.

2- A mother's diet during pregnancy can change critical things about the offspings epigenome that can last into adulthood. The father's diet and whether is effects the offspring as well is being debated. However, in a small Swedish community, studies have shown that the food sortages or alot of food for the paternal grandfather can effects the lifespans of his grandchilren.

EPIGENETICS & THE HUMAN BRAIN

1-The food we eat effects gene expression by

2- The diets of parents effect the pffspings genome becasue