Genetically Modified Foods Rhetorical Analysis

In “The Threats from Genetically Modified Foods”, Robin Mather effectively brings awareness to the harmful side effects of genetically modified foods. She shares genetically modified foods are foods with an altered genetic make-up and therefore, is banned in several countries. Also, the pesticides used in genetically modified foods yield harmful side effects to animals and humans. On top of health hazards, the process of labeling these foods are not as costly as the Federal Drug Administration declares. Furthermore, she discredits the FDA’s credibility by revealing the bovine growth hormone (produced in cow’s pituitary glands and is a genetic modification) raises the risk of cancer; although, the FDA approves it. Subsequently, she goes on to

She effectively makes an argument to inform and persuade her audience of the threats associated with genetically modified foods. She strides to influence her readers to accept a claim as reasonable based on reliable evidence. For instance, Mathers reinforces her statement concerning the reason GMO’s are not labelled is due to the biotech industry convincing the Food and Drug Administration they are not significantly altered however, the FDA does not perform their own independent testing (Mathers 43). The FDA instead relies on the observations of the manufacturers which causes the audience to question its trustworthiness. This approach aids Mathers by damaging the FDA’s credibility. Furthermore, she enlightens her readers by revealing “Many other countries require labeling and some countries have banned all GM foods” (Mathers 43). This triggers the readers to question whether GMOs are as safe as they claim. In a logical aspect, why would other places around the world enforce stricter regulations on GMOs if they are insignificantly different than organic foods. By notifying her audience how other nations distinguish GMOs, she effectively forces her readers to interrogate how innocent are GM