Student Name:

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. Each student must come to the discussion prepared
with written responses to each of the 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?
If I were arguing about the benefits of GMOs, some claims I will have is that GMOs
can actually help in ways in the environment and our health because people who
make GMO made them able to stay protected and away of nasty insects, pests,
viruses, and diseases. By getting resistance to those things, we made it able to grow
more of those crops that were filled with those four things and made it able for us to
be able to grow and eat those stuff that we are using today. Genetically modified
crops can now feed people and save people from starvation. Another claim is that
GMOs can be used for a good cause to help our issues like peoples health, hunger,
health conditions, crop-life, and more. GMO can have vitamins and nutrients to help
with peoples issues. GMO can help make our animals, foods grow bigger and more
nutritious to feed more people or to actually feed people. Some crops we have today
are actually like how they are because of GMO. GMO foods have been engineered to
be more nutritious in terms of mineral or vitamin content (Pros & Cons). Another
claim is that foods can be GM to be drought resistant and withstand climate
conditions. So we can use less water for our crops because currently, California is in a
drought and we need water to not run out. So if there is a problem the environment in
a place that makes it unable for plants to grow or makes it hard. Then GM plants to
withstand climate conditions which could help the environment.
If I were arguing about the concerns of GMOs, some claims I will have is that GMOs
they dont have enough research and information on GMO. Some people think that
people know what they are doing when they are genetically engineering organisms
but they dont have enough research and information on genetic engineering and
what the possible outcomes could be and they dont really understand how it could
affect the environment and ecosystems. Researchers found out that Bt corn pollen
can kill monarch caterpillars and could hurt our environment and ecosystem(s). there
has not been enough testing of GMOs and no real long term testing to detect possible problems
(GMOs Pros and Cons). pollen from Bt corn may have toxic effects on larvae of the monarch
butterfly (Monarch Bt). Another claim is that GMO is not being labeled on our food. People
want to know whether or not if the food they are buying is genetically modified food.
America accepts GMO and is used almost in all of our foods. 91% of American citizens
want GMO labeled in their foods. Another claim is that research studies had figured
out that GMO can kill animals which is not a good thing. GM food that could be getting
fed to animals could kill them. Imagine if your favorite animal, your spirit animal, your cat,
dog or pet is being fed GM food which could possibly end up hurting them and killing them.
Resistance might be resistant to animals that get harmed to that resistant plant although they
didnt mean to make it resistant to that animal so it could be poison to that plant and that is
what happens. Animals that eat crops that make their own Bt-toxin pesticide which killed the
sheep that ate that plant. Nearly 10,000 sheep had died a few days after eating that cotton.
The estimated 10,000 sheep that died in India within 5-7 days of grazing on GM

cotton plants engineered to produce their own Bt-toxin pesticide (Good and Bad
GMO). Another claim is that GM food can cause problems to animals, including
humans. GM foods caused deaths, organ problems, body part problems, sickness,
smaller brains, pre-cancerous cell growths, livers, and testicles, damaged immune
system, and atrophied livers to animals. animals showed pre-cancerous cell growths,
smaller brains, livers and testicles, partially atrophied livers, and damaged to the
immune system (Good and Bad GMO). Another claim is that the FDA has no GMO
safety testing requirements. GM ingredients can be placed in our local grocery stores
and our foods. the FDA has absolutely no GMO safety testing requirements,
and GM ingredients are found in almost all prepared foods that line the grocery
shelves in the stores Another claim is that genes can get into the wild and relatable
plants and mix genes together and that could lead to a problem. Genetically modified
genes can get into the wild and get into organisms that animals eat and could harm
them and affect them. For plants, they can create super weeds, get into field
neighbors or other crops that they can possibly reach that doesnt need a gene that
has been inserted when it got modified or could end up being dangerous and harmful
if that gene gets inserted just like how genes we eat from GM foods can end up being
in our plasma. So it may get into the wild and cause wild problems like Bt. It can save
a lot of money to farmers to not use resistance.
So I found more concerns than benefits.
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?
If I were president of the United States then I will first do an act to get people to eat
different stuff and stuff/vitamins they need because I feel that they are like that
because of what they do and their diet. But I will encourage GMO, not a lot but just for
crops and farming to grow more and bigger crops to feed people but just changing the
speed, growth, and amount of the crop gives. I will make sure experimenting goes on and
researching happens so we would know what we are doing is safe or unsafe because we
need to be careful. there has not been enough testing of GMOs and no real long term

testing to detect possible problems (GMOs Pros and Cons).

3.
Considering GMO foods you have researched, which do you believe is
most beneficial (helpful) to a civilization and why?
I think maize (corn) is the most beneficial GMO food. I say this because corn is used in
pretty much every food we eat today. Without it being genetically modified to be in form
of today,there would be pests and insects eating our corn and making it nasty and non- GM
corn could have gone wrong and now or earlier, when GM corn was made it is now used in
many stuff we humans eat.

4.
civilization and why?

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

I will say that foods that could produce their own stuff like Bt or related stuff could be
harmful to the civilization. Animals that eat those type of plants could get poisoned and killed by Bt.
Those animals that get killed can affect other animals and the environment, and ecosystems. pollen

from Bt corn may have toxic effects on larvae of the monarch butterfly (Monarch Bt). It has also
been found that Bt can kill other/more animals.