"Biotechnology(by-o-tek-nawl-a-gee) helps to grow foods with special qualities. These foods might not look any different, but they have an added benefit for those who eat them."
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Hey kids - Click here to enter: **"Food of the Future" Contest**
Kids! Create the "Food of the Future" for a chance to win a $10,000 college scholarship!
And just for entering, we'll send you a FREE copy of "Look Closer at Biotechnology" filled with fun educational activities for you to learn more about the future of food.
What can biotechnology do?
Imagine this: you go to the doctor for a check-up, and instead of giving you a shot, he feeds you a banana! This banana looks just like the kind your mom would buy at the grocery store, but it has special qualities that can keep you from getting a disease.
Does this sound like a dream come true? It could be. In fact, scientists are already working hard to make bananas and other foods that can help keep people from getting diseases, just like a shot would.
In some poorer parts of the world, millions of kids can't even afford to go to the doctor for shots that could save their lives. For them, this banana could mean much more. Giving them foods made with this banana would be easier than giving them a shot, and that could mean a longer, healthier life.
To make this banana, scientists are using something called biotechnology. Biotechnology(by-o-tek-nawl-a-gee) helps to grow foods with special qualities. These foods might not look any different, but they have an added benefit for those who eat them.
Scientists are using biotechnology to figure out how to:
1.Help the environment. Foods that need less help from the farmer and fewer resources to grow can help make farming more earth-friendly.
2.Grow more nutritious food that would help improve our health. Increasing the amount of vitamins and minerals in food could help people to get the nutrients they need. Also, edible medicines like the one described above could even save lives around the world.
3.Grow more food without using more land.
4.Make foods stay fresh for longer periods of time.
5.Help crops grow in places where it's hard to grow food. For example, some plants will be able to grow even during a heavy drought, which can help make the best use of available water.
You and your parents can learn more about the ways biotechnology is helping make our food better by exploring Biotech and You! on www.whybiotech.com.
What About the "Food of the Future" Contest?
Create the "Food of the Future" for a chance to win a $10,000 college scholarship!
It's easy - here's how:
1. Start by learning about biotechnology with your parents by visiting http://www.whybiotech.com. That may help give you some ideas for your "Food of the Future."
2. Print out an official entry form by clicking here. Or, you can call 202.467.6565 and request that an entry form be sent to your home.
3. Draw a picture of your "Food of the Future" in the space provided. Here are some questions to get you thinking:
* If you could grow a food that would help the environment, what would it do? For example, would it clean up pollution?
* If you could grow a food that would cure a disease, what would it be?
* Is there a food you wish would stay fresh longer?
* If you could change a food so it would grow anywhere, what would it be? Where could it grow?
* If you could make a food taste better, what would it be and how would it taste?
4. Tell us about your "Food of the Future" in 50 - 100 words in the space provided. Tell us what it's called, how it would help people, how it looks and tastes, and why it's better.
5. For the complete, official contest rules, click here.
6. Ask for your parent or guardian's permission to enter the contest and have them sign the bottom of the entry form. Sorry, but we can't accept entries without the signature of your parent or guardian.
7. Mail your completed entry form before September 25, 2001 to: "Food of the Future" Contest, 676 N. St. Clair, #1000, Chicago, IL 60611
After we receive your entry, we'll send you a FREE copy of "Look Closer at Biotechnology" filled with fun educational activities for you to learn more about the future of food!
(Contest begins May 31, 2001. Entries must be postmarked by 9/25/01 and received by 9/30/01; Open to U.S. residents, 8-12 years old as of May 31, 2001)
SPONSOR: Council for Biotechnology Information, P.O. Box 34380, Washington, D.C. 20043-0380
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About Us
http://www.whybiotech.com/en/whoarewe/default.asp?MID=2
Welcome to whybiotech.com.
The Council for Biotechnology Information was founded in April 2000 by leading biotechnology companies to create a comprehensive communication campaign about biotechnology. The council is committed to providing objective, balanced information to help you better understand and appreciate the benefits biotechnology offers, as well as to encourage informed debate about the issues it raises. The founding companies are Aventis, BASF, Bayer, Dow, Dupont, Monsanto and Syngenta. Two trade associations, the American Crop Protection Association and Biotechnology Industry Organization, also are members.