Biotechnology & Bioengineered Foods

Catalog description

Sustainable agriculture. Genetically modified organisms. Social justice. Organic food. Biotechnology. You've heard these buzzwords, but what do they mean? Does sustainable mean organic? What does biotechnology have to do with social justice? Should I eat GMOs? Should I avoid them? This course will explore how biotechnology can be used to engineer foods, and how food biotechnology can be used to work toward sustainability and social justice. We will have to not only learn some science but also grapple with the definitions of terms that are used to mean different things by different people. Together, we will practice dissecting scientific claims, discussing sometimes controversial topics, and thinking about how we approach wicked problems related to our foods.