Volume 1, Issue 4
The grass on the other side of the fence may not be greener, but it might help in understanding the neighbors.
Speakers at the recent Bioethics Faculty Retreat held on the Iowa State University campus said looking at both sides of the genetically modified organisms (GMOs) debate could be the key in settling recent debates over the topic.
"Overselling the benefits and not telling enough about the risks [of GMOs] will come back to bite scientists," said Carl Cranor, professor of philosophy at the University of California Berkeley and keynote speaker at the retreat.
The Bioethics Program at ISU sponsored the two-day event on January 4 and 5, which was funded by the Office of Biotechnology, the Plant Sciences Institute and the Agriculture Experiment Station. Almost 50 Iowa State faculty and staff attended.
GMOs are plants, animals, and microorganisms altered by genetic engineering. Environmental groups and others have argued that GMOs are unsafe and unnatural. Advocates say GMOs could improve the quality of life with better food and reduced use of pesticides.
Steven Shafer, of the USDA Office of Risk Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis, discussed how the federal government looks at risk analysis and determines the safety of technology such as GMOs. He said when making risk assessments, the USDA looks at what can go wrong, how likely it is to occur, and if it occurs how bad the effects will be.
"But what can go wrong depends on who you are," he said. He added that the risks of new technologies and their consequences affect some people more than others. Looking at how different people will be affected helps scientists assess the acceptable risk levels of new technologies.
Several Iowa State experts also talked to the audience about GMOs, including Dermot Hayes, associate professor of economics; Stephen Sapp, associate professor of sociology; Eric Abbott, professor of journalism and communications; John Obrycki, professor of entomology; and Gary Comstock, professor of philosophy and religious studies and coordinator of the Bioethics Program.
Comstock said he was pleased with the results of the retreat. "One participant reported that he will give more than 15 presentations on the GMO issue in the near future. He said that as a direct result of what he learned at the retreat, he has decided to dramatically revise his lecture."
To see the PowerPoint slides presented at the retreat by Steven Shafer, go to: www.biotech.iastate.edu/Bioethics/gmosethics/USDA.pdf. (Adobe Acrobat required to view slides.)
Editor's Note: In the November 1999 issue of Bioethics in Brief, Professor Charlotte Bronson allowed us to print a plagiarism worksheet she uses in her classes. Due to the positive response and requests for more, below is the answer key for the previously printed worksheet by Dr. Bronson. Answers are in italics.
Notes about the KEY:
Plagiarism comes in many shades of gray. The purpose of the plagiarism exercise
is to promote discussion and communication among students and faculty about
what constitutes plagiarism. Below are common responses from graduate students
and faculty in the life sciences.
Please read the quotations below:
from: G. S. Johal, S. H. Hulbert, and S. P. Briggs. 1995. Disease lesion mimics
of maize: a model for cell death in plants. BioEssays 17: 685-692.
"A class of maize mutants, collectively known as disease lesion mimics, display discrete disease-like symptoms in the absence of pathogens. It is intriguing that a majority of these lesion mimics behave as dominant gain-of-function mutations. The production of lesions is strongly influenced by light, temperature, developmental state and genetic background. Presently, the biological significance of this lesion mimicry is not clear, although suggestions have been made that they may represent defects in the plants' recognition of, or response to, pathogens."... "In this paper we argue that this might be the case..."
Which of the following fail to give proper credit for the writing and/or ideas
of the original authors?
Thursday, February 17, 2000
8:00 p.m., Lecture, "Globalization, Catholic Teaching and Agriculture,"
Brother David Andrews, C.S.C., executive director of the National Catholic Rural
Life Conference, Sun Room, Memorial Union
Monday, February 21, 2000
4:10 p.m., Lecture, "The challenge of the Food Quality Protection Act:
Risk assessment and pesticide registration," Dr. Robert K. Peterson, Dow
AgriSciences, Indianapolis, Room E-164 Lagomarcino Hall (Will cover risk assessment,
the monarch butterfly/Bt pollen issue, consequences of failing to consider risk
assessment)
Wednesday, February 23, 2000
3:10 p.m., Classroom discussion (Genetics 591), "Consequentialist Objections
to GMOs," Gary Comstock, ISU, 3140 Agronomy
Thursday, February 24, 2000
8:00 p.m., Sigma Xi Lecture, "Human-Caused Climate Warming: Imlications
for Practically Everything," Jerry D. Mahlman, director of the Geophysical
Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and professor at Princeton University, Campanile Room, MU
Monday, February 28, 2000
4:10 p.m., "Insect-plant pathogen interactions and some implications of
Bt corn," Dr. Gary Munkvold, Department of Plant Pathology, ISU, Room E-164
Lagomarcino Hall (Will cover reduction in fungal toxins in Bt corn)
Friday, March 3, 2000
1:00 - 6:00 p.m., Conference: The Science and Controversy of Agricultural GMOs
Saturday, March 4, 2000
9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Conference: The Science and Controversy of Agricultural
GMOs
Monday, March 6, 2000
8:00 p.m., Lecture, "Imagining the Land Series," Pattiann Rogers,
poet and writer, College of Design Auditorium
See our Events page for the latest updates on bioethics-related events around campus.
Published six times per year
by the ISU Office of Biotechnology
and the Bioethics Program.
To subscribe, send an e-mail to: bioethics@iastate.edu
or call 515-294-7356.
Editor: Dena Huisman
Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. Vietnam Era Veteran. Any persons having inquiries concerning this may contact the Director of Affirmative Action, 318 Beardshear Hall, 515-294-7612.
| For Everyone | For the Classroom | For Extension | Activities | Contact Us | Search |
| Office of Biotechnology homepage | Search the Office of Biotechnology homepage |
Published by: Office
of Biotechnology, Bioethics Outreach
Ames, Iowa 50011-3260, (515) 294-9818, biotech@iastate.edu
Questions about the site? E-mail biotech@www.biotech.iastate.edu
Copyright © 2003, Iowa State University. All rights reserved.
Last Update 05/23/03
