With recent simplification of the approval process for genetically engineered crops in the united states, progressively more companies will produce consumer-oriented transgenic fruits and vegetables

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded $730,000 to Boyce Thompson Institute For Plant Research Inc. on April 1, 2026, under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) to fund an education and outreach program in agricultural biotechnology for middle and high school students in underserved rural communities in upstate New York.

The program recruits 100 students annually to grow and evaluate transgenic high-anthocyanin purple tomatoes in a community science initiative organized with New York State 4-H and Norfolk Healthy Produce. Participants, assisted by a professional science communicator, will produce five publicly available online learning modules describing the creation of these tomatoes and other aspects of agricultural biotechnology. Each summer, six high-performing community science participants from the previous year will receive hands-on plant molecular biology training in paid seven-week internships at Boyce Thompson Institute and Cornell University laboratories. Interns will learn scientific methods, present results at a symposium, and develop science communication content to publicize their research or agricultural biotechnology more broadly.

Work is performed in Ithaca, New York. The award period runs from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2030. The program is classified as a Project Grant and aims to promote public appreciation of agricultural biotechnology while training students for careers in the expanding agricultural biotechnology industry.

This transition makes IT imperative to provide information to the general public about the mechanisms of plant genetic engineering and the potential societal benefits of improved food products. At the same time, IT will be necessary to train students for future work in the expanding agricultural biotechnology industry. To meet these needs, we will implement an education and outreach program for middle and high school students from underserved communities in rural upstate new york. In a community science program, which will be organized in collaboration with new york state 4-h and norfolk healthy produce, 100 students each year will grow and evaluate transgenic high-anthocyanin purple tomatoes. With the assistance of a professional science communicator, youths will produce five publicly available online learning modules that describe the creation of these tomatoes and other aspects of agricultural biotechnology. Each summer, six community science participants from the previous year will be selected to receive hands-on plant molecular biology training in laboratories at the boyce thompson institute and cornell university. In this paid seven-week internship, high school students will learn scientific methods and will present their results in a poster at a symposium. Additionally, each student will develop science communication content to publicize their research or, more generally, agricultural biotechnology. With these communication and training approaches, the project will promote appreciation of agricultural biotechnology by the general public.