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Lauren Collins English 1102 Instructor: Fran Voltz 9/15/13 EIP Proposal Topic : GMOs or Genetically Modified Organisms Thesis Questions: How should we determine whether it is ethical to use GMOs in industrial agriculture? The reason why I chose to write about GMOs is my high school environmental science teacher. After taking his class, I became interested in environmental issues and how they affect society as a whole. GMOs in particular are an interesting topic to investigate because the general public does not know a lot about them. The science of GMOs is still fairly recent so there is still much to learn about them. Because of the element of the unknown, the issue is still highly debatable. While this issue definitely deals with issues of ethics and morals, it is more concrete than some debatable issues. One of the reasons that this issue was more compelling than others is that the differing points of views are based on scientific fact rather than intangible opinions. As knowledge in this field increases, the questions about GMOs will hold more weight on everyday life. I believe that this issue will greatly grow in importance over the next few years. To be honest, I have very little prior knowledge about my topic. I know the extremely basic scientific concepts behind what GMOs are and how they are used. I also know that some people support their usage and others oppose it. While researching, I hope to gain a greater knowledge of the science behind GMOs, but most importantly I will need to learn more about both sides of the debate.

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Questions of research: 1) What constitutes a GMO? 2) Where are GMOs being used? 3) Who is producing GMOs? 4) When were GMOs first introduced into industrial agriculture? 5) How do GMOs affect humans? 6) What were the original motives behind those who pioneered the field of GMOs, and are those motives still in play today? 7) If GMOs both help and hurt people, which side of the argument outweighs the other? 8) If GMOs stay in use, what will be the long term effects on the health and wellbeing of society and will these effects be the same globally? 9) Who should have the final say on whether or not GMOs should be used? 10) Is there enough scientific evidence to determine the argument either way? I am hoping that since this is a current issue I will be able to find a lot of research in scientific journals and other editorials. I am planning on making use of the wide array of online databases that the university offers, so that I know I have credible information. I am confident that I will be able to find research on the scientific aspects of the topic, but my main worry is that I will not be able to find credible articles discussing the ethics of GMOs use. I want to rely mostly on scientific based opinions and not people speculating who have limited knowledge on the topic.

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If I am forced to narrow my research, I would tighten the geographical scope of the topic. Instead of focusing on GMOs as a global environmental issue, I will focus on how GMOs are being used in America and what role the government is playing in these decisions. If I am forced to widen my research, I will widen the scope of my topic to the ethics of using science to intervene in environmental problems. I could talk about how some people believe in the natural cycles of the earth that need to run their course and how others believe that if humans have the scientific ability to fix our problems then we are morally obligated to. This larger topic would include issues such as GMOs, vaccines, artificial fuel, and habitat restoration. While the decision to either use or not use GMOs lies in the hands of agriculturalists and governmental regulatory agencies, this issue affects most everyone. Any person who buys produce and other foods from stores, is susceptible to the introduction of GMOs. People should care about this subject because it has a direct link to their everyday lives. It is important that as a global society we understand and approve of what we are putting inside our bodies. It is important to be an informed consumer, and the only way to become informed is to do research. We cannot rely on agriculture corporations or the government to supply complete information.