Expert Letter
Dear _______,
For years GMOs have been in the lives of millions of consumers, but suddenly the public is outraged and protesting against GMOs. Our group high school sophomore students from Kearny SCT in San Diego are researching GMOs. We are creating a project to present in a community street fair using tools such as a website to educate the public on the topic known as GMOs. The point of this project is to inform the public about the truth to GMOs. We are using Google to research information, but we would really appreciate information from an expert source rather than a search engine that leads us to websites full of biased opinions.
Something our group is interested in would be the process of making a GMO. We've learned that in some GM food people can find nutrients, but we do not quite understand the process of creating a GMO. Basically we would like to know the process of creating GMOs and how they are tested for nutrient density or shelf-life.
Another thing we would like to know is how would you determine which genes to mix into the organism for the outcome that you're looking for? For example, we are interested in seeing what foods would be mixed to create a nutrient-rich item. Something else we would like to know is what happens if a fruit rejects the genes being injected? Would the new gene just not take effect, or would there be a chemical reaction? We still have many questions surrounding the creation of GMOs.
Since our project is environment-based, we would like to know how the creation of GMOs impact the environment. We noticed in some pictures that are about the topic of GMOs had people in full body suits whenever they were near the crops, but we assumed that related to pesticides were recently sprayed. What we are asking is are the full body suits needed if pesticides were not recently sprayed?
Something else we have noticed is how many countries are banning GMOs. What is your professional opinion on GMOs vs. organic food? Our goal is to gain a better understanding about GMOs and in turn educate the public. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read our letter, we really appreciate it.
Sincerely,
The GMO team:
Lakaya Smith, Marybelle Panlilio, Alina Ly, and John Bennet
For years GMOs have been in the lives of millions of consumers, but suddenly the public is outraged and protesting against GMOs. Our group high school sophomore students from Kearny SCT in San Diego are researching GMOs. We are creating a project to present in a community street fair using tools such as a website to educate the public on the topic known as GMOs. The point of this project is to inform the public about the truth to GMOs. We are using Google to research information, but we would really appreciate information from an expert source rather than a search engine that leads us to websites full of biased opinions.
Something our group is interested in would be the process of making a GMO. We've learned that in some GM food people can find nutrients, but we do not quite understand the process of creating a GMO. Basically we would like to know the process of creating GMOs and how they are tested for nutrient density or shelf-life.
Another thing we would like to know is how would you determine which genes to mix into the organism for the outcome that you're looking for? For example, we are interested in seeing what foods would be mixed to create a nutrient-rich item. Something else we would like to know is what happens if a fruit rejects the genes being injected? Would the new gene just not take effect, or would there be a chemical reaction? We still have many questions surrounding the creation of GMOs.
Since our project is environment-based, we would like to know how the creation of GMOs impact the environment. We noticed in some pictures that are about the topic of GMOs had people in full body suits whenever they were near the crops, but we assumed that related to pesticides were recently sprayed. What we are asking is are the full body suits needed if pesticides were not recently sprayed?
Something else we have noticed is how many countries are banning GMOs. What is your professional opinion on GMOs vs. organic food? Our goal is to gain a better understanding about GMOs and in turn educate the public. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read our letter, we really appreciate it.
Sincerely,
The GMO team:
Lakaya Smith, Marybelle Panlilio, Alina Ly, and John Bennet
Emailed to: ISAAA, Alison L. Van Eennennaam,
Other experts:
[email protected], [email protected] CSIRO Research Organisation http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/Food-and-Agriculture/Gene-technology.aspx
[email protected] Britannica Entry Biologist (ocean) http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/897705/genetically-modified-organism-GMO
[email protected] USDA ERS Agricultural Economist http://www.ers.usda.gov/ers-staff-directory/jorge-fernandez-cornejo.aspx Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo
[email protected] ISAAA GMO organization http://www.isaaa.org/inbrief/default.asp
[email protected] UCSD Professor, cells and devolopment http://biology.ucsd.edu/research/faculty/mchrispeels
not sure Bioversity International Biodiversity Research Organization http://www.bioversityinternational.org/about-us/who-we-are/
[email protected] UCSD Professor, immunology, cells http://biomedsci.ucsd.edu/faculty/faculty_descrip.aspx?id=116
"[email protected]" USDA ERS Agricultural Economist http://www.ers.usda.gov/ers-staff-directory/lorraine-mitchell.aspx Lorraine Mitchell
[email protected] USDA ERS Agricultural Economist (pest control) http://www.ers.usda.gov/ers-staff-directory/seth-james-wechsler.aspx Seth James Wechsler
[email protected] University of Dundee (eu pdf) Biochemist, http://www.plant.wageningen-ur.nl/projects/angel/Partner3.html Dr. Andrew Flavell
[email protected] University of Cantubury (reference in article) Genetics teacher, horizontal gene transfer/ gm risks http://www.biol.canterbury.ac.nz/people/heinemann.shtml Jack Heinemann
[email protected] Biofortified
[email protected] Environmental Sciences Europe article Research scientist, professor, agriculture http://www.enveurope.com/content/24/1/24 Charles M Benbrook
[email protected] pubmed gm research, health http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18801324 keese
[email protected] University of California, Davis Animal Geonomics and Biotechnology http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/faculty/vaneenennaam/ Alison L. Van Eenennaam
Other experts:
[email protected], [email protected] CSIRO Research Organisation http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/Food-and-Agriculture/Gene-technology.aspx
[email protected] Britannica Entry Biologist (ocean) http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/897705/genetically-modified-organism-GMO
[email protected] USDA ERS Agricultural Economist http://www.ers.usda.gov/ers-staff-directory/jorge-fernandez-cornejo.aspx Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo
[email protected] ISAAA GMO organization http://www.isaaa.org/inbrief/default.asp
[email protected] UCSD Professor, cells and devolopment http://biology.ucsd.edu/research/faculty/mchrispeels
not sure Bioversity International Biodiversity Research Organization http://www.bioversityinternational.org/about-us/who-we-are/
[email protected] UCSD Professor, immunology, cells http://biomedsci.ucsd.edu/faculty/faculty_descrip.aspx?id=116
"[email protected]" USDA ERS Agricultural Economist http://www.ers.usda.gov/ers-staff-directory/lorraine-mitchell.aspx Lorraine Mitchell
[email protected] USDA ERS Agricultural Economist (pest control) http://www.ers.usda.gov/ers-staff-directory/seth-james-wechsler.aspx Seth James Wechsler
[email protected] University of Dundee (eu pdf) Biochemist, http://www.plant.wageningen-ur.nl/projects/angel/Partner3.html Dr. Andrew Flavell
[email protected] University of Cantubury (reference in article) Genetics teacher, horizontal gene transfer/ gm risks http://www.biol.canterbury.ac.nz/people/heinemann.shtml Jack Heinemann
[email protected] Biofortified
[email protected] Environmental Sciences Europe article Research scientist, professor, agriculture http://www.enveurope.com/content/24/1/24 Charles M Benbrook
[email protected] pubmed gm research, health http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18801324 keese
[email protected] University of California, Davis Animal Geonomics and Biotechnology http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/faculty/vaneenennaam/ Alison L. Van Eenennaam