Genetically Modified Organisms: A Rhetorical Analysis

The author, Matthew Feldmann identifies that there have been recent arguments about the safety of GMOs, or Genetically Modified Organisms. He particularly notes that most debate has come in the areas of crops, specifically rice and soybeans, some of the staple crops of diets worldwide. He uses the rhetorical device of logos, a way of persuading the targeted audience by employing reason or logic, by claiming that although “foods derived from GM crops have been consumed by hundreds of millions of people across the world for more than 15 years,” the public remains mostly uninformed of what GM plants actually are, thereby unknowing of the potential advantages, disadvantages, and range of applications for which they can be used (Key, Ma, Drake). …show more content…
Using one major claim of the critics, he identifies the risks of GM crops adversely affecting humans, animals, and the environment. In rebuttal however, he brings up the food shortages in developing countries and the specific ways of countering them with GM crops. In considering both sides of the argument and objectively comparing them, he can effectively develop his argument from an unbiased viewpoint. However, he does note that in favor of GM crops, humans have already been genetically engineering crops for generations, selectively breeding different crops, such as corn, to become larger and more nutritious. Additionally, he uses statistics in proving that farmers who use insect-resistant variants of common crops spend an average of “$2.80 to $14.50 per acre” less on pesticides, saving them money to feed back into the next crop and to reduce the use of harmful chemicals on the food they produce (Key, Ma, Drake). By relating to past examples of human involvement in the food they eat, Feldmann successfully argues that there is really nothing to worry about for genetically engineered crops, since we have already eaten them for so