Student Name: Gavin Zollar

The Big Question:

Considering both points of view, does one sides argument outweigh the others?

Debate Preparation: You will participate in a collaborative

discussion, or debate. On Tuesday, March 1, each student must come to the
discussion prepared with written responses to each of the four questions
below.

Use your Benefits & Concerns research

notes (Google doc) & SQWORL resources http://sqworl.com/vbe0ea to
help guide you.

Include CITATIONS (quoted text from

articles, websites, etc.) as evidence of your claims.

Use the argumentative sentence stems &

transitions (last page) to create strong claims.

Be prepared to argue both sides (Pro or

Con) of Genetically Modified Foods.
Color-Coding: Use the following color-codes for the argument writing
essentials:
Claims (a statement that can be argued and proven with
evidence)
Citations (quoted evidence from another source)
Statistics (facts with numbers based on data collection)
Commenting: Identify in your own writing when you appeal to each
persuasive technique. Instead of color-coding, use the COMMENT button.
Ethos (Credibility, Reputation, Citing from a university
study, etc.)
Logos (Using Logic, Facts, Statistics, Reason, etc.)

etc.)

Pathos (Appealing to Emotions, Imagination, Feelings, Fear,

Answer each question in a detailed paragraph(s) using the directions on page 1:

1.
Considering both points of view (Benefits & Concerns of GMOs), how
does each sides argument outweigh the others?
GMOs have a lot of benefits but they can come with some concerns. GMOs can make crops easier
to grow and make them grow faster. This can benefit the 3,000,000 children that have died from
malnutrition because of lack of nutritional food. GMOs benefit those that eat the plant and those that
harvest them because they are both not ingesting the chemical pesticides. One of the most used genetic
modifications is pest resistance and the GMO replaces the chemical pesticides. But along with the
benefit of pest resistance, there comes a downfall. The pest resistant gene can travel to other plants
and crops and make them pest resistant. Now, what is the big deal about that? Well then when bees
come to pollinate the plant, they cant because the gene kills them thus killing all the bees and stopping
the population growth of crops and other plants.
GMOs can have negative effects too like how lower the natural nutrition aspect when the genes
are manipulated to gain desired trait. They also rise possible toxins that may be harmful towards
humans. GMOs can add vitamins and additive nutritional value to foods that are regularly low in
nutritional value. This can make it easier for children to get their daily dose of nutrition and extra
vitamins. Vitamins and nutrition from veggies can be added to other veggies or fruits so kids dont have
to struggle to eat those veggies they dont want to eat. Parents can depend on their kids to get nutrition
they need from the food they eat.
2.
If you were the President of the United States with a struggling
economy, high obesity, and overpopulation, would you encourage more GMO production or
restrict it?
I would encourage GMO because we could use the GMO that grows crops faster and easier so
that we can grow enough food for all of the people. We could also use pest resistance so that there isnt
the problem with chemical pollution and people becoming intoxicated with chemicals when ingesting the
chemicals. And it would keep the pests away and it eliminates the problems of crops dieing because of
the insects. These GMOs make it so that we can retrieve as much of the crops as possible for all of the
population. In the article, Benefits of Biotechnology/GMO, it says, GMOs have helped feed more than
300 million Americans and a global population of 7 billion of which 1 in 8 suffer from hunger and
malnutrition. The farmers could then sell the crops for less because they are getting so much food
bought from them due to the enlarged population.
3.
Considering GMO foods you have researched, which do you believe is
most beneficial (helpful) to a civilization and why?

I think that the most beneficial GMO that I know of is the genetic modification that makes crops
grow faster and more easily. I think this is the most beneficial because it enables stores to fill up the
shelves faster for all the people because the world is currently overpopulated. This GMO can also make
it possible to grow food for those that are need of food and are starving. One of the most useful GMOs
is pest resistance too because it eliminates chemical pollution which protects the environment. It helps
those that eat the crop because they are not ingesting all the chemicals and it also helps the farmers
that harvest the crops because they arent constantly breathing in the chemicals in the air. Oklahoma
State University says, ... the increase of GMO crops and animals often requires less chemicals, time and
tools, and may help to reduce environmental pollution
4.
civilization and why?

Which GMO foods do you believe is most detrimental (harmful) to a

I think the GMOs that make portions bigger are the most harmful because it makes the animal
suffer and makes the food way more unnatural and it takes away most of the natural nutritional value. It
majorly harms animals that are suffering from GMOs that make them bigger and fatter because they
cant even stand up and they cant live their normal lives. This makes the meat unhealthy and unnatural
because that fat and portion is all a genetic modification. An article called Torturing Animals With
GMOs it says, Piglets experience rapidly deteriorating health, a failure to thrive so severe that they
start breaking down their own tissues and organs self-cannibalizing to survive. All of this caused by
GMO. Animals born from genetically modified parents are born with birth defects and suffer their
whole lives. Imagine not only becoming permanently injured or paralyzed, but being born with a defect
and suffering from it for the rest of your life.