 |
|
Biotechnology vs. Sustainability: What Do Students Think?
May 27, 2008College students in a Sustainable Agriculture course were surveyed before and after taking the class. Students' exposure to the ideas of sustainability, as well as biotechnology-related topics, provided them with a chance to state their views as they completed homework and exams and participated in discussions.
William A. Anderson, Professor of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, conducted the survey and shares the results, which are published in the 2008 Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education.
Students were asked to agree or disagree with 17 statements related to sustainable agriculture and biotechnology during the first class session and again during the last session. This helped the instructor to learn their understanding of the topics, to reveal their opinions toward topic-related statements (many of which were controversial), and to stimulate their interest in the course.
At the start of the class, some students believed that biotechnology products and practices were beneficial to agriculture's sustainability efforts. They supported the use of genetically modified crops, and they did not believe that biotechnology contributed much to food allergy problems or toxins in the environment.
Other students were less comfortable with biotechnology. They noted problems with the decline in biodiversity, safety and reliability, patents, consumer acceptance issues, as well as other environmental, societal, and economic concerns.
"At first, students were neutral about organic farms as fully sustainable businesses, but they rejected that idea later," Anderson says. "They discovered that organic farmers, like conventional farmers, are continually striving to make their operations more sustainable."
The theory that students would likely soften their stances and adopt a more middle, uncertain, or neutral ground related to the more controversial survey statements turned out to be incorrect. Instead, students tended to agree or disagree more strongly in many cases.
The Sustainable Agriculture course, after development and approval by the university, attracted more students than expected, not just the handful who had requested it. Most course participants came from conventional farming backgrounds, rather than organic, and most likely this influenced their acceptance of biotechnology as they strived to find a place for it in sustainable systems.
"I feel that it is critically important for faculty to expose today's students to both sustainable agricultural systems and agricultural biotechnology without introducing personal biases. Students should interject their own educated voices into the evolving debate," concludes Anderson.
The full article is available for no charge for 30 days following the date of this summary. View the abstract at http://www.jnrlse.org/pdf/2008/E07-0021.pdf. After 30 days it will be available at the Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education website, www.jnrlse.org. Go to http://www.jnrlse.org/issues/ (Click on the Year, "View Article List," and scroll down to article abstract).
Today's educators are looking to the Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education, http://www.jnrlse.org for the latest teaching techniques in the life sciences, natural resources, and agriculture. The journal is continuously updated online during the year and one hard copy is published in December by the American Society of Agronomy.
The American Society of Agronomy (ASA) www.agronomy.org, is a scientific society helping its 8,000+ members advance the disciplines and practices of agronomy by supporting professional growth and science policy initiatives, and by providing quality, research-based publications and a variety of member services.
The American Society of Agronomy (ASA)
At the start of the class, some students believed that biotechnology products and practices were beneficial to agriculture's sustainability efforts. They supported the use of genetically modified crops, and they did not believe that biotechnology contributed much to food allergy problems or toxins in the environment.
Other students were less comfortable with biotechnology. They noted problems with the decline in biodiversity, safety and reliability, patents, consumer acceptance issues, as well as other environmental, societal, and economic concerns.
"At first, students were neutral about organic farms as fully sustainable businesses, but they rejected that idea later," Anderson says. "They discovered that organic farmers, like conventional farmers, are continually striving to make their operations more sustainable."
The theory that students would likely soften their stances and adopt a more middle, uncertain, or neutral ground related to the more controversial survey statements turned out to be incorrect. Instead, students tended to agree or disagree more strongly in many cases.
The Sustainable Agriculture course, after development and approval by the university, attracted more students than expected, not just the handful who had requested it. Most course participants came from conventional farming backgrounds, rather than organic, and most likely this influenced their acceptance of biotechnology as they strived to find a place for it in sustainable systems.
"I feel that it is critically important for faculty to expose today's students to both sustainable agricultural systems and agricultural biotechnology without introducing personal biases. Students should interject their own educated voices into the evolving debate," concludes Anderson.
The full article is available for no charge for 30 days following the date of this summary. View the abstract at http://www.jnrlse.org/pdf/2008/E07-0021.pdf. After 30 days it will be available at the Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education website, www.jnrlse.org. Go to http://www.jnrlse.org/issues/ (Click on the Year, "View Article List," and scroll down to article abstract).
Today's educators are looking to the Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education, http://www.jnrlse.org for the latest teaching techniques in the life sciences, natural resources, and agriculture. The journal is continuously updated online during the year and one hard copy is published in December by the American Society of Agronomy.
The American Society of Agronomy (ASA) www.agronomy.org, is a scientific society helping its 8,000+ members advance the disciplines and practices of agronomy by supporting professional growth and science policy initiatives, and by providing quality, research-based publications and a variety of member services.
The American Society of Agronomy (ASA)
Sustainable Agriculture Current Events and Sustainable Agriculture News RSSLong feared extinct, rare bird rediscovered
Known to science only by two specimens described in 1900, a critically endangered crow has re-emerged on a remote, mountainous Indonesian island thanks in part to a Michigan State University scientist.
WCMC-Q researchers unlock genetic secrets of date palm
Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar have mapped a draft version of the date palm genome, unlocking many of its genetic secrets.
Greatest thing since sliced bread: New data offer important clues toward improving wheat yields
Breed a better crop of wheat? That's exactly what a team of researchers from Kansas State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture hope their research will lead to.
Queen's researchers provide solution to world's worst mass poisoning case
A solution to the world's worst case of ongoing mass poisoning, linked to rising cancer rates in Southern Asia, has been developed by researchers from Queen's University Belfast.
Keeping yields, profits and water quality high
One of the key questions facing agriculturalists in the 21st century is how to produce adequate amounts of food and farm income while protecting environmental quality.
New study finds genetically engineered crops could play a role in sustainable agriculture
Genetically modified (GM) crops may contribute to increased productivity in sustainable agriculture, according to a groundbreaking study published in the June 8 issue of the journal Science.
Many weather factors needed for accurate climate change predictions
Current climate change impact models that consider only one weather variable, such as increasing temperature, sometimes spawn unsubstantiated doomsday predictions, according to researchers at Purdue and North Carolina universities.
New study confirms the ecological virtues of organic farming
Organic farming has long been touted as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional agriculture.
Sustainable agriculture: Canadian institute offers definition, recommends path
A landmark discussion paper, published by the Agricultural Institute of Canada, proposes that the GST or some other levy be applied to groceries to help achieve sustainable agriculture and staunch a potentially disastrous collapse of smaller sized farms.
Plant genes identified that can form basis for crops better adapted to environmental conditions
Roots are crucial for the development of strong, healthy crops. But until recently, exactly which genes are involved in the development of roots was still a mystery.
More Sustainable Agriculture Current Events and Sustainable Agriculture News Articles
 |
Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture (Our Sustainable Future) by John E. Ikerd (Author) With the decline of family farms and rural communities and the rise of corporate farming and the resulting environmental degradation, American agriculture is in crisis. But this crisis offers the opportunity to rethink agriculture in sustainable terms. Here one of the most eloquent and influential proponents of sustainable agriculture explains what this means. These engaging essays describe what sustainable agriculture is, why it began, and how it can succeed. Together they constitute a clear and compelling vision for rebalancing the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of agriculture to meet the needs of the present without compromising the future. In Crisis and Opportunity, John E. Ikerd outlines the consequences of agricultural industrialization, then details the methods that... |
 |
Agroecology: The Science Of Sustainable Agriculture, Second Edition by Miguel A Altieri (Author) This new edition builds on the explosion of research on sustainable agriculture since the late 1980s. By separating myth from reality, Miguel Altieri extracts the key principles of sustainable agriculture and expounds on management systems that “really work.” Providing case studies of sustainable rural development in developing countries, he goes beyond a mere description of practices to include data that reveal the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of alternative projects.Each chapter of Agroecology has been enriched and updated with the latest research results from around the world. New emphasis has been placed on such issues as the ecological economics of agriculture, policy changes needed for promoting sustainable agriculture, rural development in the Third World, the role... |
 |
Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen's Guide to Community Supported Agriculture, Revised and Expanded by Elizabeth Henderson (Author), Robyn Van En (Author) To an increasing number of American families the CSA (community supported agriculture) is the answer to the globalization of our food supply. The premise is simple: create a partnership between local farmers and nearby consumers, who become members or subscribers in support of the farm. In exchange for paying in advance—at the beginning of the growing season, when the farm needs financing—CSA members receive the freshest, healthiest produce throughout the season and keep money, jobs, and farms in their own community. In this thoroughly revised and expanded edition of a Chelsea Green classic, authors Henderson and Van En provide new insight into making CSA not only a viable economic model, but the right choice for food lovers and farmers alike. Thinking and buying local is quickly... |
 |
Micro Eco-Farming: Prospering from Backyard to Small Acreage in Partnership with the Earth by Barbara Berst Adams (Author) Microfarms—or small acreage farms—are gaining popularity across the country for their astoundingly high yields and great tasting produce, as well as their profitability. This handbook reveals the secrets of successful micro eco-farming and explains what eco-farmers need to know to start their own small agribusiness. Questions such as What can be grown? How do farmers reach their markets? and What sustainable production methods can be used? are answered in detail and supported be hundreds of real-life examples. A variety of unusual uses for crops are also provided, including producing organic spa products, building an urban greenhouse, creating a heritage rose farm, or cultivating a connoisseur apple orchard. Ecologists, amateur gardeners, farmers, and those interested in sustainable... |
 |
Sustainable Agriculture and Resistance by Peter Rosset (Author), Fernando Funes (Editor), Luis Garcia (Editor), Martin Bourque (Editor), Nilda Perez (Editor) This is a story of resistance against all odds, of Cuba's remarkable recovery from a food crisis brought on by the collapse of trade relations with the former socialist bloc and the tightening of the U.S. embargo. Unable to import either food or the farm chemicals and machines needed to grow it via conventional agriculture, Cuba turned inward toward self-reliance. Sustainable agriculture, organic farming, urban gardens, smaller farms, animal traction and biological pest control are part of the successful paradigm shift underway in the Cuban countryside. In this book Cuban authors offer details-for the first time in English-of these remarkable achievements, which may serve as guideposts toward healthier, more environmentally friendly and self-reliant farming in countries both North and... |
 |
Green Careers: Sustainable Agriculture Directed By: Michael Dieffenbach Also With: Michael Dieffenbach (Producer), Michael Dieffenbach (Writer) This program provides an inside look at an organic farm and a grocery store and discusses the day-to-day challenges and rewards of working in this field. Organic farming includes a wide range of jobs in production, marketing and distribution. It is a major part of the trend toward a sustainable agriculture that strives to produce healthy food in ways that also maintain the health of the land and farmworkers.Organic farming is a very competitive business, but for people with an interest in growing food, plus muscle power and brains, it can be fulfilling. Many people in this industry grew up on farms, but there are opportunities to start at an entry level and learn the business.Jobs profiled in this program include:Farm Manager, Retail Sales Manager, Organic Produce Buyer.Part of the Green... |
 |
Civic Agriculture: Reconnecting Farm, Food, and Community (Civil Society Series) by Thomas A. Lyson (Author) While the American agricultural and food systems follow a decades-old path of industrialization and globalization, a counter trend has appeared toward localizing some agricultural and food production. Thomas A. Lyson, a scholar-practitioner in the field of community-based food systems, calls this rebirth of locally based agriculture and food production civic agriculture because these activities are tightly linked to a community's social and economic development. Civic agriculture embraces innovative ways to produce, process, and distribute food, and it represents a sustainable alternative to the socially, economically, and environmentally destructive practices associated with conventional large-scale agriculture. Farmers' markets, community gardens, and community-supported agriculture are... |
 |
Acres U.S.A. by Acres U.S.A. Acres U.S.A. is the national magazine of organic and sustainable farming. In continuous publication for over 35 years, Acres U.S.A. reaches more commercial-scale organic and sustainable farmers than any other publication in North America. Begun in 1970, when there were merely a few lone souls practicing eco-agriculture, farming that is both economical and ecological, Acres U.S.A. founder and executive editor Charles Walters recognized how the methodical cheating of small farmers and the enforced swing toward new, chemical agriculture were gears in the same machine, working in tandem to transform the countryside -- and not for the better. Corporate power and public policy were colluding in the destruction of the family farm, and the process of annihilation was gathering speed.... |
 |
Ancient Agriculture: Roots and Application of Sustainable Farming by Gabriel Alonso De Herrera (Author), Bryan Romero (Illustrator), Juan Estevan Arellano (Illustrator) The Art of Agriculture is the first English edition of Obra de Agricultura by Gabriel Alonso de Herrera, an agriculture instruction manual originally written in Granada, Spain, in 1513 and published there in 1539. Herrera, widely considered the Father of Modern Spanish Agriculture, wrote this treatise nearly five centuries ago, thoughtfully recounting traditional farming techniques of the Moors before their expulsion from Spain, the Spanish colonizers in the early 1600s, and the rural Indo-Hispano bioregion spanning northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. |
 |
Sustainable Agriculture, Second Edition (Landlinks Press) by John Mason (Author) The technological revolution in farming practices has allowed us to clear and cultivate more land, grow plants and animals faster, and kill a greater variety of pests and diseases than ever before. Unfortunately, these efficiencies are proving to be unsustainable in the long term and have created problems such as soil structural decline, erosion, salinity, soil acidification, loss of fertility, nutrient loading of waterways, dams and a build up of chemical residues. This book is about foreseeing and understanding such problems and addressing them before it is too late. John Mason examines all these problems and explains the concepts and long-term benefits of sustainable farming systems such as permaculture, biodynamics, organic farming, agroforestry, conservation tillage, and... |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |