Name ________________________________________________________ Date _________
The Adoration of Jenna Fox – The GMO Debate
Denman/Sullivan
On page 122 of the novel, Jenna’s dad is justifying his choice to reconstruct Jenna’s skin with Bio Gel. Jenna says, “So
it’s not human skin.” Her father replies, “It is human. Completely human. We’ve been genetically altering plants and
animals for years. It’s nothing new. Tomatoes, for instance. We engineer them to withstand certain pests or to give them
a longer shelf life, but it is still one hundred percent a tomato.”
In today’s world, there is a lot of controversy over Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Many people have engaged
in a debate to decide whether or not GMOs are harmful to humans and whether or not products that contain GMOs should
be labeled. Please use the following sources to fill in information about GMOs in our current society.
Step 1: With your group, you will identify the most important facts from your assigned source. Your
group will present your findings on your assigned source to the class. Use the information presented
to you in class to fill in the following organizer:
Source
Facts From Source:
How these facts contribute to the
debate:
Genetically Modified
Labels: The debate
over Labeling GMOs
(video clip)
http://www.wptv.com
/dpp/news/region_c_
palm_beach_county/
genetically-modifiedlabels-the-debateover-labelling-gmos
3 Things that GMO
Supporters,
opponents agree on
“Frankenfood” Fear:
The GMO Debate
Step 2: Synthesize all of the information given to answer the following questions:
1. What are the benefits of GMOs?
2. Why are people concerned about GMOs?
3. Why is there such a strong debate over GMOs in today’s world?
Step 3: Connect this to the book.
1. Jenna’s dad compares the modification of her skin to the modification of tomatoes years ago.
What does this suggest about the route Mary E. Pearson thinks our current society is going to
take when she adds this to her novel’s exposition?
2. Jenna’s dad claims that with her they have “cracked the code” on page 123. How is today’s
science the premise for this breakthrough?
Step 4: What do you think?
Is this an advancement that is going to revolutionize our future or lead us down a dangerous path?