Kammer 1

Tessa Kammer

Professor Bocchino

Writing 2

09 December 2019

Recipe for Disaster: GMO Food

The academic scholarly article of “Food Safety: Importance of Composition for

Assessing Genetically Modified Cassava (Manihot Esculenta Crantz)​,​” written by Van Rijssen et

al​., ​uses descriptive data and scientific jargon to depict the developmental characteristics of

GMO products and their make-up​.1 The writing conventions of the scholarly peer-reviewed

article are incredibly dense​, having a ​purely academic tone and heavily evidence-based

foundation​.​ Transforming the academic genre of a chemistry research paper into a non-academic

cook-book recipe requires a change in genre conventions​.​ Cook-book recipes are known for their

eye-catching colors, organizational structure, and general audience​.​ Cook-book recipes vary

from scientific research papers because they are non-academic versus the traditional academic

set-up when talking about genetically modified foods. The unusual genre translation will bend

the laws of organization and constraints to change the format. In order to translate the two

genres, from research to recipe, the approach to the audience has to adjust. Although the

language has to remain scientific, the change in sentence structure creates a broad audience that a

cook-book recipe has.

1
​Van Rijssen et al, "Food Safety: Importance of Composition for Assessing Genetically Modified Cassava
(Manihot Esculenta Crantz)," ​Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry​ 61, no. 35 (2013): 8333-8339,
https://doi.org/10.1021/jf401153x
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The argument of food safety with GMO versus non-GMO food broadcasts through the

evidence​. ​These elements are the “uniting forces”2 of the scholarly article, making it different

from other works​.​ The genre conventions of evidence and jargon depict the unique features of

the scholarly, science-based, article​.​ The “cyanogenic glycoside cataboliz[ation] to

α-hydroxynitriles”3 describes the genetically modifying process correctly, but it is difficult for a

general audience to understand​.​ The importance of accuracy outweighs the need for surface level

comprehension​. ​Emphasizing the “high levels of cyanogenic glycoside toxicants”4 shows how

elitist chemistry academic writing is within their discourse community​.​ Overall, the main

components of the scholarly peer-reviewed article have to do with the content itself, the

chemistry jargon, and the evidence type. The clarity between author, subject, and audience is not

as evident as the recipe genre.

Translating into a non-academic source requires a change in the genre conventions​.​ The

final translation will mirror a cook-book recipe format​.​ Universally, the genre conventions of

recipes include their unique organization of columns and structure of title, “ingredients,”5

“preparation,”6 and “directions​.​”7 The distinctive arrangement juxtaposes that of the

peer-reviewed chemistry article, organized by their topic of discussion in paragraph form​.​ The

2
Ann Johns, “Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice: Membership, Conflict, and Diversity,” ​Reader
Journal​, 51-61
3
​Rijssen et al., “Food Safety,” ​8334
4
Rijssen et al., “Food Safety,” ​8334
5
Meredith Coe, “Leftover Turkey Croquettes,” ​Taste of Home​, 1 Jan. 2018,
www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/leftover-turkey-croquettes/
6
Chris Salicrup, “Paprika-Spiced Chicken With Lemon Yogurt And Crispy Potatoes Recipe by Tasty,” ​Tasty.co,​
Tasty, 1 Feb. 2018, tasty.co/recipe/paprika-spiced-chicken-with-lemon-yogurt-and-crispy-potatoes
7
Sunny Jin,“You Won't Be Able to Get Enough of the Bourbon-Molasses Glaze on These Pork Chops,” ​Country
Living,​ Country Living, 31 Oct. 2019,
www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/a29626870/pork-chops-with-bourbon-molasses-glaze-recipe/
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jargon in recipes is not food-specific​.​ Instead, the language in recipes is all-inclusive because of

the general audience​.​ The audience, unlike that of an academic article, does not have a restrictive

discourse community but an open community​.​ Cook-book recipes have to be universally

inclusive so that anyone can follow the easy step-by-step instructions, unlike the academic

explanation of genetically modified food​.​ In addition to the context and layout of the genre,

appearance provides a vital role in distinguishing the recipe genre​.​ Bright colors used in pictures

and bolded text provide striking visuals, enhancing the appearance of the genre​.​ Eye-catching

characteristics pull in the audience almost equally as much as the subject of the recipe; for

example, a picture of a dessert might draw in the reader more than the title would.8 Structure,

organization, and presentation all build on each other to form the recognizable cook-book recipe

genre​.

The shift from a peer-reviewed scholarly article to a cook-book recipe changes a majority

of genre conventions, including those components of organization and structure​.​ ​The original

set-up goes from paragraph format into column arrangement, with pictures taking up most of the

upper or right side of the page​.9 Essential features labeled as title, ingredients, and directions,

replace the paragraph summaries​.​ Adding color throughout the piece, in the picture and section

headings, creates a visual component necessary for recipes and capturing the reader’s attention​.

However, the academic discourse community language has to remain in the transition to

8
Freelance Writing, “When Words Meet Pictures: How to Use Text and Images to Create Striking Articles for
Readers,” FreelanceWriting, July 27, 2016,
https://www.freelancewriting.com/freelancing/when-words-meet-pictures/)
9
​Tyler Kord, “Help! I Want to Introduce a New Recipe to Thanksgiving Without Disrupting Precious Family
Traditions,” Bon Appétit (Bon Appétit, November 20, 2019),
https://www.bonappetit.com/story/how-to-introduce-new-recipes-on-thanksgiving
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adequately describe the process of genetically modified products; without the scientific jargon,

the academic article would get lost within the recipe style​.​ Not all academic conventions can

change; the recipe will miss the crucial factors in explaining genetically modified food​.​ The

importance of accurately describing the procedure of genetically modified food comes with

specific word-choice and description​. ​The rules of jargon can be bent to successfully capture the

thematic idea of GMO products and their ‘recipe for disaster​.​’ Overall appearance changes once

the general format shifts with the organization and structural composition; however, the context

of the piece stayed relatively similar because of the importance of describing the GMO process,

as stated by Rijssen with jargon and professional tone​. The audience is more general in the

translation, while maintaining the same scientific jargon, by reinventing the sentence

structure. Instead of a research structure, the cook-book recipe incorporates a

commanding format- stating precisely what to do with the ingredients in the preparation

section. Step-by-step instructions are vital to recipes, it is what makes it easy for any

reader to pick up and follow the format. Although the chemistry jargon did not change,

the sentence structure around the scientific language did change, making it easier for the

reader to understand the instructions.

The concerns of formatting the recipe genre resolved once using the resources of online

cook-book recipe examples, mimicking the technique of column spacing, main-header inclusion,

and emphasis on color​. ​The critical factors of presence and appearance are what make-up the

recipe genre​.​ On the other hand, the scientific jargon and quantitative evidence are what reflect

the academic science article, relying on content and context instead of display​.​ Highlighting the
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“sense of audience and purpose”10 formulate a cohesive piece of work; mixing the two

components of appearance and content creates the perfect balance in translating the two genres,

between the academic and non-academic formats​.

10
Sandra Giles, “Reflective Writing and the Revision Process: What Were You Thinking?,” ​Reader Journal​, 31-44
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Bibliography

Coe, Meredith. “Leftover Turkey Croquettes.” ​Taste of Home,​ 1 Jan. 2018.

www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/leftover-turkey-croquettes/​ .

Giles, Sandra. “Reflective Writing and the Revision Process: What Were You Thinking?”

Reader

Journal​. 31-44.

Jin, Sunny. “You Won't Be Able to Get Enough of the Bourbon-Molasses Glaze on These Pork

Chops.” ​Country Living​, Country Living. 31 Oct. 2019.

www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/a29626870/pork-chops-with-bourbon-molasses-glaz

e-recipe/​ .

Johns, Ann. “Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice: Membership, Conflict, and

Diversity.” ​Reader Journal​. 51-61.

Kord, Tyler. “Help! I Want to Introduce a New Recipe to Thanksgiving Without Disrupting

Precious Family Traditions.” Bon Appétit (Bon Appétit, November 20, 2019).

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/how-to-introduce-new-recipes-on-thanksgiving​ .

Salicrup, Chris. “Paprika-Spiced Chicken With Lemon Yogurt And Crispy Potatoes Recipe by

Tasty.” ​Tasty.co,​ Tasty. 1 Feb. 2018,

tasty.co/recipe/paprika-spiced-chicken-with-lemon-yogurt-and-crispy-potatoes .

Van Rijssen, Fredrika W Jansen, E Jane Morris, and Jacobus N Eloff. "Food Safety: Importance

of Composition for Assessing Genetically Modified Cassava (Manihot Esculenta

Crantz)." ​Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry​ 61, no. 35 (2013): 8333-8339.
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Writing, Freelance. “When Words Meet Pictures: How to Use Text and Images to Create

Striking Articles for Readers.” FreelanceWriting, July 27, 2016.

https://www.freelancewriting.com/freelancing/when-words-meet-pictures/.
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RECIPE

Recipe for Disaster: GMO 

Foods 
 

Ingredients 
● 4073 mg/kg of dry leaves! 
● 2 cups of sugar! 
● 2 lbs elements of Cyanogenic Glycosides (2R, C, O, and 
CN)! 
● 2 lbs elements of Cyanohydrins (2R, C, OH, and CN)! 
● 2 lbs elements of Hydroxynitrile-lyase 
● 3 cups of CG Toxicants 

Preparation 
1. Bind: ​ Bind the elements of Cyanogenic Glycosides [ Ingredient #3 :) ] into the dry leaves 
[ Ingredient # 1]! 
2. ​ atalyze 1: ​Catalyze the Cyanohydrins [ Ingredient #4 ] with the sugar [ Ingredient #2 ]! 
C
Followed by dissociation at a pH above 6!  
3. Catalyze 2:​ ​Catalyze the hydroxynitrile-lyase [ Ingredient #5 ]! Resulting in the release of 
HCN! 
4. Metabolize: ​Now metabolize the CG toxicants [ Ingredient #6 ] to produce the Cassava Crop! 
5. Processing of Cassava​:​ Process the cassava crop into various forms of products (​BUT ​it may or 
may not sufficiently reduce the levels of toxicants)!  
6. Wait to cool, then serve! 
 
 
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Ready in: ​1 Harvest Season 

Serves: ​Billions of people 
Calories​: Average  

Tips 
Cassava, the main form of genetically modified food, is processed into a wide variety of different 
food and feed products around the world! 

 
Warning 
Genetically Modified Foods have shown an alarming rise in concern within the Food Safety 
Industry!