write a response to Norman Borlaughs letter to the Independent newspaper.

note: needs a lot of in text citations. 

Your goal for this assignment is to write a response to Norman Borlaugh’s letter to the Independent newspaper. Using the readings we have done in class and by drawing on sources you have identified through your own research, try to evaluate the legacy that GM crops might have on world agricultural systems. Are they good, bad or just plain complicated?

They exact way you choose to organize your response is up to you (hence the lack of clearly allocated points below), but make sure you should assess the risks and known benefits of GM crops in terms of the environment, production and social impacts. You should also outline a clear position, on what points do you agree with Borlaugh and on what points do you disagree. Substantiate your arguments for this agreement or disagreement.

Other questions to think about as you structure this essay:

1.) Identify who the main players are on either side of the debate. What blind spots might each side have?

2.) Do you think that the United States should be donating GM crops as aid to other countries? What are the benefits and risks for both the United States and the receiving nations?

3.) Is transgenic modification the same as the domestication? Based on your knowledge of the first part of class, how does it differ?

4.) Provide suggestions as to how humans might better begin to interact with these crops.

Hint: make sure to also define in your essay what a GM crop is and what it is not.

Formatting guidelines:

Make sure to cite at least five different sources in your paper using a standard citation style such as Current Anthropology. 7 pages, 12pt, double-spaced, Times font, 1” margins.