1. Lesson 2: How Does Your Garden Grow? Agribusiness and Industrial Food

2. What Is Your Mental Image of a Farm? Please Draw it on a Blank Sheet of Paper. Farm Image

3. 1919 – 1 out of 4 Americans lived on a farm. Farmers raised cattle, chicken and hogs. People ate real food! Grew apples, wheat, oats, potatoes, grapes, cherries and corn. Lots of open space for animals to roam and plants to grow. Kept seeds for next year growing season. Old MacDonald Farms

4. Large Agribusiness Farms New “McDonald” Farms

5. Farms that are large-scale business operations What is Agribusiness?

6. Series of farms that turn raw ingredients into finished food. Industrial Food Chain Use Hybrid Seeds or genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) Crops planted close together Ride tractors or use planes to spray plants Use Pesticides* and chemicals Plants Harvested using Big Machines Irradiate Foods Agribusiness

7. Artificial substances used to prevent, destroy or repel pests such as insects or animals from destroying plants. definition: pesticides

8. Quadruples the amount of crop produced. Conventional Farming Methods=  High Yield  Cheaper Prices Why Would Farms Use Pesticides?

9. Plants created in a laboratory. Do not occur naturally. What are Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s)?

10. Do not require pesticides Larger crop yields Longer shelf lives Better quality food crops Higher nutrition Supporters: GMO’s Create Resistant Genes Food is inexpensive Crops resistant to disease and insects Generally weather resistant  Can tolerate extremes

11. FACT: Have not been proven safe Long-term health effects are unknown  Have links to cancer Leads to food allergies Disturbs normal cell functioning Lowers the nutritional value of foods Non-Supporters of GMO’s Increases resistance to antibiotics GMO plant dust can spread Food producers don’t want them labelled – why not? Already labelled in more than 40 countries Compromises moral and ethical beliefs Encourages corporate control of the food supply

12. Founded in 1901 Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri In approximately 80 countries – unknown number of employees $11 billion dollar company Large acre crops Biotech agricultural seeds – GMO’s and Hybrids Vegetable seed breeding Weed control seeds Biggest Producer of GMO Seeds Monsanto

13. Exposing foods to radiation (x-rays) to destroy bacteria, germs, microorganisms and insects. Used to prolong the shelf life of food. Meats, fruits and vegetables and flour. Food Irradiation

14. What is Your Perception of this Symbol?

15. Damages the Quality of Food Causes “free radicals”* to form Depletes nutrients Long-term effects are unknown Food Irradiation Concerns

16. Unstable particles formed by the process of oxidation Oxidation occurs when oxygen combines with radiation, pollution, tobacco smoke and high fat foods. definition: free radicals

17. Less than 2% Less than 1% Claim it as an Occupation What Percent of the U.S. Population Still Lives on Farms?

18. Draw Your Image of an Agribusiness Farm Compare and contrast against your first image  Are there any similarities?  What are the major differences?  Which farm do you prefer and why? Farm Drawing 2

19. #1. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) Identify the top 10 genetically modified foods and list them on the worksheet given. Suggested Activities #2. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) Check labels of foods at home or in the grocery store to see if they have been genetically modified. Your teacher will explain what to look for.