Argumentation, Critical Thinking & Debate

Case: Golden Rice

Assignment: Your group will be assigned a role at an upcoming hearing by the Rockefeller Foundation review board. You will EITHER be advocating for or against the Foundation continuing to fund the development of genetically modified "golden rice," intended to provide vitamin A to malnourished children in developing countries, OR you will be the Board itself, responsible for questioning the advocates and making a final decision.

Details:

1. To learn more about Golden Rice and the controversy surrounding it, see:

• Case Study: Golden Rice. This is a text-based write up of our case; click on the images to get more information.
• Golden Rice This is an interactive version of the case, including video and lots of links (some broken, alas). You'll need to log in with USERNAME guest and PASSWORD guest. Also make sure you modify your browser's preferences to allow pop-up windows.

2. The roles in this case will be:

• The Rockefeller Foundation
• The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
• Philippine Partnership for Development Farmer-Research Scientists (MASIPAG)
• The Humanitarian Board for Golden Rice/Ingo Potrykus (Poe-try-kus)
• Friends of the Earth (FOE)

Your group's role will be assigned in class Friday, 8 Sep.

3. In class on 24 September, the Rockefeller Foundation will be holding a public hearing. Each advocacy group will have ten minutes total. The Foundation Board can ask questions at any time during the presentation. But it's likely that the advocacy group will be allowed to make a brief (under 2 minutes) opening statement without interruption. Please re-read One Minute Eloquence for a reminder of how to make a powerful but brief statement. At the end of the hearing, the Board will have ten minutes to formulate and then announce its decision and reasons.

Assessment: Your arguments should be clear and well supported, drawing from reliable sources.

Due: In class, Mon 24 September.

NOTE If there is a quiz on this reading, it will be after your group is assigned its role in the debate. The quiz will ask you to explain your group's basic position. A good answer will be something like "My group is for/against/neutral on Golden Rice, because...."--inserting a good one sentence explanation of why your group thinks the way it does.