1. What factors influence your family’s choices about what to eat?

2. Take a look at this chart from the New York Times showing the prices of different foods over the last three decades. Describe any patterns you see in the data. Which foods are the most/least expensive today? Which are made with ingredients subsidized by the government? How does this information relate to what the Gonzalez family describes in the video (Hispanic mother, father and two daughters)?

3. Look through this list of corn derived foods/ingredients and then look at several labels on food from your kitchen cabinets or refrigerator/freezer. Then read through these questions and write a response incorporating them.

How frequently do you eat foods with these ingredients?
How do you feel about the idea that corn has been “hiding” in these foods, often behind different names?
How frequently do you and your family read the Nutrition Facts panels on the foods they eat?
How much do you and your family want to know about the ingredients in their food?
Who should decide what information is provided on food labels? Consumers? The government? The food industry?

4. Take a quiz about genetically modified food (GMO). How did you do?

5. Look through the pros and cons about GMO from The Human Genome Project. Then read through these questions and write a response incorporating them.

When companies have invested resources in developing genetic material, should they have the right to patent it? Why or why not?
How might keeping seeds in the public domain affect innovation in biotechnology?
What would happen if genetically modified seeds fail or become vulnerable to certain pests or crop diseases? What is the relationship between biodiversity and food security?