week 5 Final paper

docx

School

Ashford University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

103

Subject

Philosophy

Date

Oct 30, 2023

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by ChiefStarWalrus42

Howard 1 GMO’s and the Bandwagon that has Followed Justine Howard University of Arizona Global Campus PHI103: Informal Logic Sarah Babbitt October 16, 2023

Howard 2 Introduction Over the last thirty years, GMOs has yet to gain the trust of a majority of the population. Although only backed by speculation, many shoppers will pass on a food option once it is discovered that the source derived from a GMO product. It even goes as far as many popular brands advertising that their products contain “No GMOs,” in order to gain the trust of their potential consumer. There has been studies conducted that compare cancer rates of cancer rising in areas that do not consume a lot of GMOs compared to areas that do consume GMOs and the rate of these concerning health issues rose at the same percentages (FDA). Much of the doubt that has arose about GMOs is just speculation that continues to spread throughout social groups and online with bandwagon fallacies. First Argument 1.) GMOs undergo tests to ensure public safety before being released to the general public.

Howard 3 2.) Cancer rates have risen the same in areas that do not consume GMOs, so it is safe to assume that GMOs are not the cause of this rise. 3.) GMOs could solve the issue of food production and supply food faster than natural harvest times. 4.) GMOs could save the meat market as many people are predicting that it will no longer be able to be available if something does not change. 5.) Some GMOs were created to solve problems of disease within fruit, or to increase vitamin/nutrient content. 6.) GMOs have broadened the range of options at the grocery store by creating new versions of fruit/vegetables and by increasing yields on species that already existed. Conclusion: GMOs are safe and are being created to solve different issues within the food production industry. Opposing Argument 1.) GMOs have not been around long enough for the studies to be completely accurate for predicting the heath issues they may be causing. 2.) You should not mess with nature because you never know the type of effects it can cause Conclusion: GMOs have not been around long enough for the studies to be completely accurate for predicting health issues that they could be causing. Analysis of Arguments The argument presented that is for the use of GMOs is valid. The premises support the conclusion, and all of the premises are valid as well. The argument is backed by scientific research, and this makes it a strong argument. The argument is really hard to disagree with one realizes that the facts presented would make it hard to disagree with the use of GMOs. The

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Howard 4 solution of food security being able to be guaranteed to everyone alone would make GMOs a hero to many parts of the world. Increasing vitamin content in foods is another huge plus. To actually get all the recommended vitamins most people take a multivitamin, but maybe one day that would not be as necessary. There is mostly speculation on the opposite side of this argument. The reason people do not trust GMOs, is simply because they believe that the studies that have been conducted can not be accurate for not increasing health risks. Some speculate that there would need to be more time pass to be able to properly evaluate if there was any difference from one generation that consumed GMOs, to another that did not. While there may be some truth to this, who knows until that amount of time has passed. This creates an appeal to ignorance fallacy, because the only argument is speculating something without any evidence available to back the claims that are being presented. Another fallacy that makes this view gain such a popularity amount society is the bandwagon effect. People decide not to trust it because their peers do not trust them as well, thus falling victim of the bandwagon fallacy. With this being said one can see that the argument is not valid and the argument is also weak. With no valid facts that back this side of the argument it makes one wonder why this opinion has held such a popular opinion throughout the years. Presentation of Argument 1.) The common support in the opposition of GMOs is caused by a lack of knowledge on the subject. 2.) To ensure public trust on GMOs education about their proven safety needs to be spread to the general public.

Howard 5 3.) If there was a media attempt on the subject then the knowledge could be spread through the use of billboards, radio ads, or maybe just ads placed inside grocery stores themselves so that everyone has access to this information. 4.) The layer of trust might be harder to break in other countries that do not sell GMOs as a whole, but this is still possible through proper steps with legislation. Conclusion: The distrust of GMOs is caused by the lack of education on the subject, and if the public was educated about the safety of GMOs then they could learn to trust them as a whole. Objections Against GMOs There is always a worry of the unknown, we avoid problems every day to avoid the possible unfavorable outcome. Even though a car accident is not guaranteed, we wear seat belts whenever we are driving in a car to ensure a higher chance of safety in an accident. The distrust of GMOs is kind of like this. Why would we attempt to changeï our food supply when we already have food that has been consumed for hundreds of years without it causing any known issues? According to Seralini, there needs to be more studies conducted over the possible effects from several changes that have possibly been the cause of many health issues rising in our society. GMOs along with pesticides used on our food is two of the subjects highlighted that could lead to the cause of various health issues rising such as cancer. Until studies are updated further than just comparing rising cancer rates of other countries, we can not guarantee the safety of these options until new studies are performed being conducted to compare the health of individuals that regularly consumed GMO products to those that do not ever consume these products.

Howard 6 Although there is always a possibility that new studies could debunk evidence that previous studies have proclaimed, it is unlikely since the inception of GMO products is going on thirty years now. Multiple studies have been conducted including studies that are conducted prior to every new product being released before it is approved for human consumption (FDA). It is safe to trust these alterations because many of the changes just helped the consumer to absorb more nutrients than the versions that were already in existence. There will always be an option to appeal to ignorance, but after several studies have been conducted these opinions are just mearly drawing speculation rather than following any actual truth within their arguments. Conclusion With todays’ society it is no wonder some are less likely to want to trust individuals with new products being released. There is a new class action lawsuit getting started/approved every day for things that companies should not have done in order to gain a profit. In the case of GMOs, this is not the case. GMOs help to increase yields by building immunities to disease that would otherwise wipe out a harvest. Several studies have been conducted in order to ensure the safety of consumers prior to GMOs being released for consumers to purchase. Studies have shown that many health issues are rising at the same level in other areas of the world that do not consume GMOs leading one to believe that GMOs can not be the cause of this rise. All in all GMOs are a safe option that has been backed by science and several agencies that have assured these products for safety.

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Howard 7 References GMOS and Your Health - U.S. Food and Drug Administration . FDA. (n.d.). https://www.fda.gov/media/135280/download Percentage of GMO foods in the US . (n.d.). Nutrition Link Services. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://www.nutritionlinkservices.com/how-bad-are-gmos/. Séralini, G.-E., de Vendômois, J. S., Cellier, D., Sultan, C., Buiatti, M., Gallagher, L., Antoniou, M., & Dronamraju, K. R. (2009). How subchronic and chronic health effects can be neglected for gmos, pesticides or chemicals. International Journal of Biological Sciences , 438–443. https://doi.org/10.7150/ijbs.5.438