Is Your Food Actually Food?


As you reach for that granola bar in your backpack, do you ever look at what ingredients are used to make that bar? Or what about those strawberries you bought from the store? It's fruit so it has to be good for you right? If only that were the case. Looking at labels as you walk through the store, food located in all sections, from snacks to fruits and vegetables are being genetically modified, but it was not always this way.

For my paradigm shift essay, I am going to focus on the rise of genetically modified food from 1940 to present day. Specifically, at this point my thesis is the rise in the use of genetic modification can be traced back from the 1940's to present day and has come about as a result of the green revolution and eventual FDA approval. I plan on focusing my essay on the causes of utilizing genetic modifications of food, what genetic modification entails, and the effects that genetic modification has had on both human health and society as a whole.
Large GMO Apple Compared to Small Regular Apples
Photo Credit: Leigh Erin Connealy
First, I will begin by explaining what genetic modification of food is as well as what it entails. I will also discuss the history of it and how genetic modification came about, then transitioning into the causes of this trend. Specifically, the causes I will analyze are the rise of genetic modification following the green revolution during the 1940's and 50's in order to accommodate for a growing global population and the FDA approval of Flavr Savr in grocery stores in order to keep tomatoes more ripe longer.

I then plan on transitioning into the effects that genetic modification have had on human health and within society. Specifically, the concerns of people as the long term effects of the chemicals used in genetic modification are unknown. Also, the controversy that is more prevalent nowadays as to whether genetic modification of food should be outlawed as some countries in Europe do not allow many of the chemicals that are placed in food in the United States.



Resources:

Leary, Warren E. “F.D.A. Approves Altered Tomato That Will Remain Fresh Longer.” The New York       Times, The New York Times, 18 May 1994, www.nytimes.com/1994/05/19/us/fda-approves
     -altered-tomato-that-will-remain-fresh-longer.html.

Maghari, Behrokh Mohajer, and Ali M. Ardekani. “Genetically Modified Foods and Social                        Concerns.” Avicenna Journal of Medical Biotechnology, Avicenna Research Institute, 
      2011, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3558185/.

Writer, Amanda Briney Contributing. “All You Wanted to Know About the Green                                      Revolution.”ThoughtCo, www.thoughtco.com/green-revolution-overview-1434948.



Comments

  1. Matthew MouckOctober 19, 2017 at 6:58 AM

    As a biochemistry major who has followed GMOs for awhile, I know that the shift you have identified is incredibly significant. There is so much research available for you to analyze that you will not have an issue with sources. And I think it definitely fulfills the criterion of being significant in the sense that it has surfaced on major media outlets as a form of debate, specifically about labeling products as having contained GMOs. So, the significance of this topic has already been proven by how well known of a topic it is.

    ReplyDelete
  2. bevOctober 19, 2017 at 7:00 AM

    With the advent of CRISPR technology, GMOs are only gonna become more pervasive in our lives. This topic is really solid, as you will definitely have no trouble establishing that it exists. However, such an essay would run the risk of being one-sided (which is totally fine but you run the risk of losing the persuasiveness of the essay towards those who are proponents of GMO food).

    ReplyDelete
  3. Charles RyanOctober 19, 2017 at 7:04 AM

    Your thesis says that GMO's "has come about as a result of the green revolution". Is this true? I think your topic is good and that you will be able to track the evolution of GMO's very well. Google bananas. The real banana was wiped out by disease in the 1980's (I think) so all of the bananas that we eat are actually a GMO strain that was developed as the banana was dying out. I encourage you to include a paragraph or two about the counter argument for GMO's and whether you think they will become necessary in the coming years.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownOctober 19, 2017 at 12:52 PM

    In you thesis you mention that this shift is "a result of the green revolution and eventual FDA approval," which can be confusing to people that don't know about the history of GMOs and what these specific things that you mention are. I think it would be very helpful for your essay to begin with a timeline through history of GMOs in our foods, similar to how one of the sample essays we read began with a timeline. I also think that bringing up the counterpoint to this argument, that GMO use in foods should not be on the rise and we should stop it from expanding, would be beneficial so that the reader can see both sides of the story.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Robin KramerOctober 20, 2017 at 1:44 PM

    Kaitlyn, your classmates gave you some good things to consider in their comments above. I think this topic has a lot of potential. To prevent it from becoming just a dry history of how GMO's came into play and what they are, though, please make sure that you deeply tap into significance. It's not just about creating plentiful food for our ever-growing population. It also taps into the ideas of whether consumers have the right to know what their food is "made" of.

    So, essentially, you're not trying to defend or critique GMO's in this paper. Nor are you just trying to tell us what they are. Rather, you need to tap into how they've risen (which is more of a technological advancement than cultural one, by the way), and *then* really get at why it matters for culture.

    Does that make sense?

    ReplyDelete

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