Right to know about GMOs

Jordan Clark

ENC 1102

Dr. Taylor

Stakeholder Analysis

            In order to seek the answer to a question or to change something, people have to ask questions. My question concerning the government and why they overlook health risk concerning genetically modified organisms is no different. The people who seek to challenge the regulation of genetically modified organisms come from many different backgrounds and in many different forms. Some of these groups of interest include the general American public, farmers forced to adopt GM seed methods, companies with modified organisms in their foods and the scientist within the GMO discourse community.

            In reference to the general American public being a stakeholder I mean to refer to those who want to know about the negative stigma behind GMOs since it’s in medicines, foods and other consumable goods within the American market. These people are stakeholders because they are the ones being effected against the lax regulation of genetically modified organisms within the United States. From research I’ve gathered many Americans do not agree with the GMOs in goods that they consume because of their questionability in terms of health. Therefore, many Americans would be interested in this question because they want to know why their voices or not being heard and why their government would be so relaxed on the use of something that has the potential to have health defects. In response to my finding, the American public can not only educate themselves on what GMOs are but, with my findings, begin questioning both the government and the reasons as to why the government the government overlook such policies.

            Another audience member who wants to know why American government policies are overlooked in comparison to other countries is another group who is directly affected by government decision, farmers. Since it isn’t as hard to acquire an abundance of genetically modified seeds, it is often used with GMO companies like Monsanto. With the mass production of such GMO seeds, it’s harder for small time farmers to compete. Thus, many farmers who have not or could not adopt such methods have lost a lot of business or in some cases have shut down. Therefore, many of these people could be stakeholders in order to get answers as to why their livelihood was taken from them. In response to my question, these farmers can begin to respond to the government about their situation with more insight into the perspective of their government opponents.

            Companies would also be an audience that my paper is referring to about the lenient policies in government GMO regulation. By companies, I mean those who have genetically modified organisms within their goods. Such companies are stakeholders because depending on the answer, it can directly affect their business either for the better or the worse. They would be interested in knowing the motives behind GMO government regulation simply because the public and the people who consume their company foods would be interested. In response to my findings, these companies can begin to match demand by either boycotting GMO companies like Monsanto or producing more of their foods.

            The last audience that I would be referring to is the scientist within the GMO community. The scientist who have researched GMOs and have weighed in either their pros, cons or both. These researchers would be stakeholders because regardless of their results, it could skew the overall discourse conversation at hand. Especially so since there has not been proof about GMOs actually being bad for consumers, only potential risks. They’d have particular interest in relaxed government oversight because they have the results proving or disproving the government motives. With such information, they can either back up their claims or discredit another’s conclusion when taking the factual results public. For example, the reason for the government’s lack of labeling GMO products can support the pros to a scientist results.

Genre Analysis

            Often the general public get their information from news outlets either on the television or the internet. Farmers do not communicate much differently, they also use the internet to specifically go on agricultural sites like Agweb, which deals with everything agriculture from farming tips to the business involved in farming. This site even provides a forum for farmers and those a part of the discourse to communicate. Besides sites like this, farmers would also get their news from farming magazines like Acres U.S.A. that talk about the science of farming including those involving chemicals.

            With companies having such a professional setting involving meetings, often they’d get their information through presentations and emails. In order to convince such business people, a good speaker is required along with really good sources and an overall good presentation format. Scientist often read and write up scholarly journals and along with collaborate with each other to gather information. Thus, it is these peer reviewed scholarly journals that most scientist will find to be convincing.

            After further researching about my topics, I decided to narrow my focus audiences down to those who the government effects most when overlooking the regulation of genetically modified organisms.  Those two groups include the general American public and the United States farmers.  These two groups are more important to my subject because it is the people of America who can really demand change from the people who govern them, if change is necessary. Also, I ultimately seek to inform the percentage of American people who do not know about modified organisms because it’s something that they consume daily; that percentage of people can also use what I’ve gathered to develop their own opinions. Farmers are also important because they are the only ones that can truly vouch for what they put in their food, therefore holding a portion of responsibility to what they feed to the public. With GMO regulation being overlooked by the government some farmers are forced to either run out of business or start using modified organisms.  Since GMOs contain a potential health risk, some farmers may not to use engineered organisms but simply do not have a choice. Therefore, I feel like both of these parties benefit most from my research because with it, they can begin to focus their efforts on attacking the reason for lack of government regulation policies, if deemed necessary.

            As mentioned before, I would usually use the internet or television news outlet to discuss my research. Even so, I could probably widen my audience by posting my research in entertaining formats to catch the eye of those on social media. If coming from a news standpoint, my information would be organized in a very neat and organized manner that make my research look professional. If I were to put my research on social media I would also use very bright colors and multiple templates to make the information I’ve gathered look fun and entertaining. Even so, I will still keep the information neat but easier to read and understand to those not use to the dialogue I will be using in my official research paper. Ultimately, I would use the internet to best communicate with people because that is where most people get their information.

            Regardless of if I decided to use news websites or social media, I’d put the same information within either template to connect with my audience. I would start by explaining what GMOs are then I would talk about the pros and cons to GMOs. I would then discuss how other countries deal with GMOs and how they compare to how the United States regulate modified organisms. Most of my research in this format would be cited with links that I got my information from, to make it easier for people to double check my sources.

            After going over how farmers exchange information, I think it would be best to communicate with farmers by posting an article on one of the agricultural sites owned by The Farm Journal such as AgriTalk. AgriTalk, discusses the problems and issues that many farmers alike share. This site is designed like that of a blog, so I would organize my research as according to that format. Although I assume most farmers know what GMOs are I would briefly mention a description discussing GMOs to avoid potential confusion. Second, I would mention how other countries deal with GMOs. I would then include the reasons as to why the government overlooks regulation of modified organisms I comparison to other countries. As you can see, unlike the information I would give out to the general public, I would not give a list of pros and cons to farmers. I would assume most farmers already have an opinion, therefore I’d pitch them an objective argument so focus is not lost on the government. To validate my argument, I’d also link sources to the end of my post to make it easier for audience members to research on their own.