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King corn [DVD] : you are what you eat
Fueled by curiosity and a dash of naiveté, college buddies Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis return to their ancestral home of Greene, Iowa, to find out how the modest corn kernel conquered America. With the help of real farmers, powerful fertilizer, government aid, and genetically modified seeds, the friends manage to grow one acre of corn. Along the way, they unlock the hidden truths about America's modern food system.
GMO OMG [DVD]
Director and concerned father Jeremy Seifert is in search of answers. How do GMOs affect our children, the health of our planet, and our freedom of choice? And perhaps the ultimate question, which Seifert tests himself: is it even possible to reject the food system currently in place, or have we lost something we can't gain back? These and other questions take Seifert on a journey from his family's table to Haiti, Paris, Norway, and the lobby of agra-giant Monsanto, from which he is unceremoniously ejected. Along the way we gain insight into a question that is of growing concern to citizens the world over: what's on your plate?
Food, Inc. [DVD]
Explores the U.S. commercial food industry, examining corporate control of supply and market. The film seeks to demonstrate how the incentive for corporate profit can overwhelm consumer health needs, as well as the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and the environment. Reveals various details of food ingredients and additives, and how contemporary mass production methods of food affects U.S. culture.
Films on Demand offers a wide variety of educational streaming videos and is accessible on campus and off. All of these videos can be found by searching in the Library's One Search box, and each one will have a direct link to the video.
Featured Videos:
Genetically Modified Foods
From Title: TEDTalks: Michael Specter—The Danger of Science Denial
GMO Food by
GMO Food: A Reference Handbook offers an in-depth discussion of genetically modified food. It covers the history of, opposition to, regulation of, and labeling of genetic modifications, along with the potential benefits and harm involved. GMO Food: A Reference Handbook is intended to serve as a research guide for young adults in high school and beyond. Students at all grade levels should be able to use the book as an introduction to the history of genetic engineering of organisms and the use of this technology for the development of new forms of crops and foods. They will learn briefly about historic methods of plant and animal modification (such as cross-breeding) and, in more detail, how discoveries since the late nineteenth century have greatly changed the process of plant and animal modification. These discoveries include important steps forward in genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetic engineering, and related fields. They will also learn about the variety of social, political, philosophical, economic, and other issues that have arisen alongside these scientific advances, as well as about some of the laws, regulations, and other solutions that have been developed for dealing with the range of attitudes about genetically modified foods. The second edition covers developments since 2014. Provides readers with the basic background they need about genetically modified foods in order to understand current issues Includes additional readings, a comprehensive chronology, a glossary, and other features to aid students' understanding of current issues and guide them in designing and conducting their own research Offers ideas for additional research from a list of important individuals and organizations Rounds out the author's expertise in perspectives essays that show readers a diversity of viewpoints
Seeds of Science: Why We Got It So Wrong On GMOs by
InSeeds of Science, eco-activist Mark Lynas lifts the lid on the controversial story and misunderstood science of GMOs. In the mid-1990s, as the global media stirred up a panic about the risks of genetically modified crops, Lynas destroyed crop fields and spoke out in the press...until he realized he was wrong. This book explains why. Twenty years after GMO crops became a source of controversy, scientists are working hard to devise new farming methods that will meet the world's food requirements while causing the minimum amount of ecological harm. We're now discovering that the environmentalist mainstream might have misjudged the GMO issue completely, and as a consequence we have forfeited two decades' worth of scientific progress in perhaps the most vital area of human need: food. No one is more aware of this fact than Mark Lynas. Starting out as one of the leading activists in the fight against GMOs-from destroying experimental crop fields to leading the charge in the press-in 2013 Lynas famously admitted that he got it all wrong. Lynas takes us back to the origins of the technology, and examines the histories of the people and companies who pioneered it. He explains what lead him to question his assumptions on GMOs, and how he is currently tracking poverty by using genetic modification to encourage better harvests. Seeds of Science provides an explanation of the research that has enabled this technology-something which led to countless misconceptions about a field that could provide perhaps the only solution to a planet with a population of ten billion people.
Food Fight by
In the past two decades, GMOs have come to dominate the American diet. Advocates hail them as the future of food, an enhanced method of crop breeding that can help feed an ever-increasing global population and adapt to a changing environment. Critics, meanwhile, call for their banishment, insisting GMOs were designed by overeager scientists and greedy corporations and force us to rely on cheap, unhealthy, processed food. Here noted environment writer McKay Jenkins examines the rise of GMOs - and their future.
What's So Controversial about Genetically Modified Food? by
The rampant use of genetically modified food incites fierce and seemingly intractable debates among environmental activists, scientists, government regulators, and representatives of the food and agriculture industries. While some portray GMOs as scientific progress, others frame them as a form of perverted science. But why, exactly, are they so controversial? This timely and balanced book explores the science--and myth--that surrounds genetically modified food in order to help us understand just what's at stake. John T. Lang begins by grounding the debates in the biology and chemistry behind genetic modification. He then shows how food is deeply imbued with religious, social, cultural, and ethical meanings, which bring a variety of non-scientific issues to the forefront and make genetically modified food a proxy for larger debates regarding topics such as globalization and corporate greed. Centrally, he contends that the controversies surrounding the technology reflect ongoing tensions between social and political power, democratic practice, and corporate responsibility. As Lang illustrates, while modern, mechanized, and genetically enhanced production has given the consumer an unprecedented variety and quantity of food, it has also introduced new social and environmental vulnerabilities and uncertainties into the global food system. Bringing together science, politics, economics, and culture, this book offers a deeply informed look at an important aspect of modern agriculture. It will prove invaluable to anyone who shops at the grocery store, whether they like the benefits that genetic modification has to offer or fear that nature is something we should have left alone.
Modified : GMOs and the threat to our food, our land, our future by
Caitlin Shetterly discovered the importance of GMOs the hard way. Shortly after she learned that her son had an alarming sensitivity to GMO corn, she was told that she had the same condition, and her family's daily existence changed forever. Modified delves deep into the heart of the matter - from the cornfields of Nebraska to the beekeeping conventions in Brussels - to shine a light on the people, the science and the corporations behind the food we serve ourselves and our families every day.
Genetically Modified Food by
*Greenhaven Press's At Issue series provides a wide range of opinions on individual social issues. *Enhancing critical thinking skills, each At Issue volume is an excellent research tool to help readers understand current social issues and prepare reports. *Extensive bibliographies and annotated lists of relevant organizations point to sources for further research.
Food, Inc. : how industrial food is making us sicker, fatter, and poorer-- and what you can do about it by
Food, Inc. is guaranteed to shake up our perceptions of what we eat. This powerful documentary deconstructing the corporate food industry in America was hailed by Entertainment Weekly as "more than a terrific movie--it's an important movie." Aided by expert commentators such as Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, the film poses questions such as: Where has my food come from, and who has processed it? What are the giant agribusinesses and what stake do they have in maintaining the status quo of food production and consumption? How can I feed my family healthy foods affordably? Expanding on the film's themes, the book Food, Inc. will answer those questions through a series of challenging essays by leading experts and thinkers. This book will encourage those inspired by the film to learn more about the issues, and act to change the world.