READING ACTIVITY 8.1: “GMOs: Fooling—Er, ‘Feeding’—The World for 20 Years”

Skills Focus

· Understanding words and phrases in context

· Applying study skills to reading material: outlining and mapping

1. Read the passage and answer the following questions without using a dictionary, encyclopedia, or the Internet:

1. What are GMO seeds?

2. Explain what is meant by “GE crops increase the use of harmful agrichemicals. Industry people try to put this myth over by touting the ‘Bt gene’ from the Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria which produces a toxin lethal to some corn and cotton worms.”

2. Create a mind map of GRAIN’s essay to help you identify and understand the various concepts the author introduces to explain why we are not doing more to stop the use of GE seed production and the relationship each of these concepts has to each other. Write a paragraph discussing the discoveries you made about the reading by using this technique.