Team:UGA/Human Practices
Human Practices
Visiting Local Peanut Farms
Given the potential impact our project can have on the production of peanuts within the state of Georgia, we visited local peanut farms in Athens and the surrounding area. We initiated an open discussion with local farmers about their views on not only our project but GMOs in general. After discussing our ideas of wanting to enhance peanut production, many of the farmers that we interacted supported our efforts. They said that a new variety of peanuts would not only be healthier for our society but also save the time and financial resources being poured into AFB1 detection today. However, one challenge that we will face going into this is backlash from many corners of society for producing a “genetically modified organism”. This led us to the second component of our human practices…
Panel on GMOs
We took the local peanut farmers’ advice seriously and collaborated with the American Society of Law, Medicine, & Ethics to organize a panel on the ethics of GMOs. We invited professors, lawyers, FDA workers, and other experts in the fields of agrobiotechnology and food insecurity to discuss the merits of engineering a new genetically modified crop. This challenged the way many students viewed GMOs and campus and (hopefully) helped dispel the stigma around GMOs. Our hope is that panels and discussions like this will lead to consumers making better choices in the markets and not following the bandwagon of condemning GMOs under blanket generalizations.
Outreach
Biotechnology Boot Camp with Lambert
Over the summer, we collaborated with the LHS iGEM Team and assisted them with their annual Biotechnology Boot Camp. We gave a lecture to rising 8th and 9th graders on basic synthetic biology concepts (transcription, translation, DNA replication, gene constructs, etc..). We also presented our project and facilitated meaningful relationships with the incoming students, helping them find their passion for synthetic biology.