'Agriscience Bus' Takes Teachers For a Ride

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'Agriscience Bus' Takes Teachers For a Ride

 

By Jane Garrison, Conscious Choice

November 19, 2003

 

When the topic of genetically modified foods came up in the teachers' lounge one

day, my friend Tom (not his real name) chimed in, " It's like when nectarines

were made from peaches and plums. " He said he had learned this on the

" Agriscience Bus. "

 

 

 

Having a working knowledge of genetically modified foods and knowing the fallacy

of that analogy, I asked other previous Agriscience Bus participants about it.

They all had the same impression, saying things like, " The course really opened

my eyes to biotechnology " and " Some important biotech research is making big

differences in improving the world's food supply. " I asked whether any fellow

course participants had brought up concerns over genetically modified organisms

(GMOs). " Well, no, " they answered, " it's hard to know what to ask when a

geneticist is talking. "

 

 

 

I took this as a sign that it was my time to take the Agriscience Bus tour.

 

 

 

Getting to the Kids via the Teachers

 

 

 

I first heard of " Teachers on an Agriscience Bus " about 12 years ago. Teachers

in area school districts spend three days of their summer traveling to farms and

other agriculture-related businesses west of Chicago.

 

 

 

The Agriscience Bus is an appealing three-day summer course offering guided

tours of various agribusiness venues in a travel bus, comfortable overnight

accommodations, generous meals, and the chance to hang out with colleagues. It's

fully sponsored by local ag organizations and free to the teachers (with college

and professional credit available for a tuition fee).

 

 

 

At our first meeting we were showered with stacks of class materials from every

area ag-related organization I could imagine – from the Illinois Pork Producers

Association to the DuPage County Farm Bureau. We received beautiful posters for

our classrooms, lesson plan ideas, and free samples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opening Message of the " Biotechnology Basics Activity Book "

 

 

 

 

Hi Kids,

 

 

 

This is an activity book for young people like you about biotechnology – a

really neat topic. Why is it such a neat topic? Because biotechnology is helping

to improve the health of the Earth and the people who call it home. In this

book, you will take a closer look at biotechnology. You will see that

biotechnology is being used to figure out how to: 1) grow more food; 2) help the

environment; and 3) grow more nutritious food that improves our health. As you

work through the puzzles in this book, you will learn more about biotechnology

and all of the wonderful ways it can help people live better lives in a

healthier world.

 

 

 

Have Fun!

 

 

 

– sponsored by the Council For Biotechnology Information, an industry trade

group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Included among these materials were copies of the AgMag and the Biotechnology

Activity Book – provided by Monsanto and the Council for Biotechnology

Information and geared to children. Nothing aggravates me more than the

assumption that teachers of children are willing and blind messengers of

anything put in front of them. Having said that, these materials include

statements such as, " My teacher says biotechnology is helping scientists make

edible medicine! " and " Seeds with special qualities could allow farmers to grow

plants that are more nutritious, more resistant to pests, and more productive. "

 

 

 

I also learned at the meeting that 641 area teachers have participated in the

Agriscience Bus since the course tour started in 1991. Creation of this teacher

" education " was based on a perceived need for agricultural literacy among young

school students – and it was decided the best way to reach the students was

through teachers.

 

 

 

Several highly regarded and dedicated area farmers had been involved in the

development of this bus tour program. So, I asked myself, could this really be a

" corporate conspiracy " ? Good people had put it together. Nonetheless, literally,

tens of thousands of kids were getting its message as a result of this teacher

education program.

 

 

 

No Room for Dissent

 

 

 

Nearly all of the tour stops focused on " advanced technological aspects " of the

agriculture industry – which meant biotechnology and factory farms.

 

 

 

Still, it didn't come as a surprise to me that 80 percent of the grain fed to

most hogs is genetically modified or that the mass production of meat means that

a sow typically produces five artificially inseminated litters of 8-11 pigs

before her productivity declines.

 

 

 

Neither was I surprised that the farmers I met are thoughtful and intelligent

people of high character who possess a sense of responsibility for the

population as well as for the environment. I already knew these things.

 

 

 

The surprise came on the bus. Our instructor was a friendly guy who directs our

county's farm bureau. His blend of agriculture and political science experience

made him perfect for his job. Our tight schedule didn't allow much time for

group discussions so he suggested that we talk together on the bus. Yet when I

indicated that I would like to discuss the controversy over genetically modified

crops, the friendliness switched to off. He snapped, " Not on this bus. Not while

we're paying for it. That's not on the syllabus. "

 

 

 

So much for post-graduate course work that engages in lively debate! It was

clear that the only way we teachers were going to hear the arguments against

GMOs was if they were discussed " off the bus. " Fat chance. Monsanto was our next

stop.

 

 

 

Our tour of Monsanto's research facility began with a " wagon ride " out to the

test soybean fields. Our guide, a charming Brazilian scientist sang the praises

of " Roundup Ready " soybeans and Bt (GMO) corn. " Farmers can now spend their

summers in Florida instead of in their fields pulling weeds, " he happily

exclaimed.

 

 

 

When I asked how non-GMO farmers keep their fields from being contaminated by

GMO pollen, his explanation stressed the technology's approval by the U.S.

Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency (how could the

government be wrong?!). He admitted that 1-2 percent of pollen could conceivably

make its way to neighboring plants – but that planting 15 days after the GMO

crops are planted helps alleviate the chances of contamination.

 

 

 

A more formal presentation followed, presented by a plaid shirt-clad geneticist

who attempted to approach the GMO controversy head-on, relating its nickname of

" Frankenfood " with a chuckle and pointing out that the European refusal to

legalize GMOs was purely political and economic manipulation intended to drive

down U.S. GMO prices. One teacher asked about the monarch butterfly research and

he discredited it as " poorly planned and irrelevant...that test did not take

into account the timing of monarchs' milkweed diet with the GMO plants' pollen

dispersal. " Another teacher brought up the StarLink/Taco Bell issue, and his

explanation emphasized the " very small " probability that GMO corn could cause a

problem.

 

 

 

" So what's the big controversy? " queried one teacher.

 

 

 

" People don't like the idea that there are food products that have DNA from

another organism, " he replied. " There is no concern that human bodies cannot

break down the Bt [GMOS]. "

 

 

 

The polite side of me was saying, " Stay in your seat, Jane. " But the " know

thyself " side made me stand up. I was aware of the lack of research pointing to

human safety and, in a bold move, I piped up to make this point citing

Monsanto's " Right to Know " safety sign, prominently displayed on the wall of the

pole barn in which we were seated.

 

 

 

Our speaker acknowledged that long-term effects on health and the environment

are not known and that Monsanto directs millions of dollars toward lobbying the

Food and Drug Administration to prevent the labeling of GMO foods. I told him

that it's unconscionable that the public is serving as guinea pigs in this giant

human experiment, and we have no idea how GMOs will effect us, our children, our

grandchildren, and ecosystems.

 

 

 

There was no response from our speaker; there was no response from the audience.

 

 

 

Later, a teacher quietly suggested that I shop at Whole Foods Market. Another

teacher said she was interested in more information about GMOs and a friend

teasingly called me " gutsy. " My bus partner, a young social sciences teacher of

like mind, quietly thanked me. On the other hand, our bus guide remarked that I

didn't have to " put down " our host; that " we do the best we can with what we

have. " And later, in a course evaluation a participant wrote, " Some teachers are

clueless as to proper behavior. "

 

 

 

However, in that same evaluation, someone suggested a trip to an organic farm

and another pointed out the importance of discussing the ethics of

biotechnology, neither of which had been addressed during the tour.

 

 

 

The last stop of that day was an award-winning feedlot farm, on which hundreds

of cattle are fed until ready for market. This business – run by a respected,

close-knit local family – is state-of-the-art with everything from Global

Positioning Satellite on its tractors to ultrasound testing for predicting

optimum cattle size for quality cuts of meat.

 

 

 

The impact of consumer demand was glaringly clear on this factory farm –

Holstein cattle, known as dairy cattle, are now raised and butchered for beef

because Wal-Mart customers are scrambling for the unique shape of their rib

eyes. The farm grows a field of non-GMO soybeans to sell to the European market.

" This is a capitalist country and we're in the business of making food for

people, " explained one of the farmers. " If consumers demand something – and we

can provide it safely and legally while making a profit – we'll produce it. "

 

 

 

The Media Package

 

 

 

The tour served to show that the power of the biotech industry and industry

giants such as Monsanto is far-reaching – and that local Chicago media play a

big part in that. For instance, one of our tour stops was at WGN-AM, known for

its local color and syndicated farm reports and owned by the Chicago Tribune

Company. On our last day, we met the two gentlemen with memorable voices who

present WGN's daily farm reports, broadcast nationwide. A teacher asked, " What

are some of the most controversial issues facing agriculture today? "

 

 

 

" Some amazing and wonderful things are being done with biotechnology, " one of

the reporters replied. " Most of the protests are emotion-based; you don't hear

much concern in the U.S. In fact, the most recent protest had only about 600

people. That's compared to how many million U.S. citizens who have no problem

with it? "

 

 

 

Is there a chance that Monsanto is a WGN client?

 

 

 

One of the stated objectives of the three-day tour is " to provide relevant

teaching and curriculum materials that be integrated into various subject matter

disciplines. "

 

 

 

It could be a tough row to hoe if a teacher comes away not wanting to integrate

the ideas espoused during the Agriscience Bus tour. Why? Participating teachers

must make this commitment: " ALL staff will be required to develop curriculum

materials using information obtained from the trip program. "

 

 

 

Jane Garrison, mother of two, teaches fourth grade in a west Chicago suburb.

 

 

 

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