1. 1. Why was the potato blight (disease) that struck Ireland in the 19th Important Vocabulary:
Century so much more disastrous than the same blight that struck
Peru as the same time? • patent – exclusive ownership rights
granted to an inventor
• genetic engineering - a way of
directly manipulating genetic material
in a cell or organism to produce
2. What did Dr. Chakrabarty and General Electric Company succeed in desired traits
doing in 1978? What did this lead to during the 1980s (during the • GMO – Genetically Modified
Republican Reagan administration)? Organisms
• saved seed – seeds farmers keep to
plant again the next season
• monoculture – growing a single crop in
3. What did Monsanto (a pesticide company) do during the 1990s (the a large area
Democratic Clinton Administration)?
4. According to Percy Schmeiser, how did early European settlers in the Americas develop their farming?
5. What happened to Percy Schmeister?
6. What happened to farmers who used Monsanto?
7. What implications does the court ruling in Monsanto v. Schmeiser have for farmers around the world?
8. According to Fred Kirschenmann, what responsibility did farmers in a community have in the past when they
introduced a potentially hazardous element (like cows that can eat neighbors’ fields) into a new community?
How was this changed with the Monsanto v. Schmeiser case?
9. Compare and contrast the responses of the European, Japanese’, and American public’s response to
genetically engineered foods.
European:
Japanese:
American:
10. What is a “superweed”?
11. What are “Land Races”?

2. 12. Why is it cheaper for Mexicans to buy and consume American Yellow Corn than it is for them to consume
Mexican Land Race Corn?
13. How much has the switch to genetically modified crops cost North America in its trade to Europe?
14. Compare and contrast government agricultural subsidies in Europe, the USA, and Canada and Mexico.
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15. How have modern farming skills changed from traditional farming skills?
16. What led to tension between the USA and Thailand in 2002?
17. In the 1970s American universities studied, and were very critical of, genetically modified crops. How did
corporate interests silence university criticism?
18. What happened to scientists who questioned the safety of genetically modified products?
19. How has the patent of genes influenced research into cures for cancer?
20. What are the disadvantages to consumers of the consolidation of food corporations?
21. What marketing technique has the biotech industry used to generate support for genetically modified
crops?
22. What is the real problem of international hunger?
23. What happens in LDCs when governments in MDCs subsidize agriculture?
24. What is the “terminator technology”?
25. What is the biggest danger of testing genetically modified in fields?
26. What are some of the other genetically modified organisms that are awaiting patents?
27. Describe “sustainable agriculture”?

3. Fold and glue this part of the page into your notebook
Additional Questions
28. Should companies be allowed to patent living organisms?