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Team:Harvard/human practices/vision
From 2010.igem.org
human practices background our vision the iGarden kit virtual iGarden opinion poll recycling references
Our Vision
As our population increases and our food needs change in response to external and internal pressures, the need for the engineering of food will become ever more necessary. In looking at the controversy and debate surrounding the issue of genetically modified food today it is apparent that the current proprietary, secretive and corporate nature of how genetic engineering is done has had a large impact on the current negative perception that is dominant in society. With this in mind, we have developed the iGEM iGarden project to respond and move away from this negative association.
iGarden is Personal
At the heart of iGarden, beyond the science, lies the desire to make our food interesting and maybe even fun! We envision the iGarden to a fully customizable kit: the ability to change any plant characteristic you can think of in a simple and quick manner, and that can be done in your backyard.
In our current design we have focused on three variables in particular: taste, color and allergies. We have chosen these three areas to focus on as we believe they cover a very broad spectrum what is possible in terms of plant alterations. By making plants look different, taste different and be accessible to more people, in many ways these initial changes are a microcosm of the changes we want to induce in the GM community: a new look, a new set of principles and available to everyone.
We do, however, fully expect more opportunities for alterations to become available in the future. We hope that iGarden owners will be able to swap and trade plants characteristics with other owners, or make their own changes and additions to their home garden by themselves. In this way, we will be developing a kit that, hopefully, will contain something of interest for everyone!
iGarden is Safe
From the beginning, the concept of the iGarden system has incorporated the idea of a “Genetic Fence.” We fully recognize that safety and containment of GM plants is of utmost importance and have designed our project around this. To address the issue, the Genetic Fence we have designed allows iGarden plants to grow only in the presence of a particular harmless molecule, thus containing the plants to a defined area and preventing unintentional spread of both plant-life and/or genetic material.
iGarden is Open-Source
Conforming with the ethos of iGEM, everything in the iGarden project is open-source and modular - all components of our project are characterized and available to public. In this way, the iGarden is available to everyone and the basis of the science behind the ideas is readily accessible and critiqued. By creating a project that is driven by interest and excitement for the future of plant engineering rather than profit, we hope to eradicate much of the “big-business” perspective of Genetic Engineering.
iGarden is Educational
The opportunity to personally genetically modify food provides a unique and interactive method for educating individuals about GM foods. By choosing customizable attributes and witnessing the plants grow, the gardener gains insight into genetic engineering through an organic lens. No longer will genetic engineering be restricted to large corporations and scientists. Instead, iGarden aims to democratize the process of creating GM foods by giving the public the tools to create their own! There’s no better way to learn about GM foods than to modify, grow, and eat your own!
