Nicholas Darvish
Dr. Lashley
ENGL 317-012
May 12th, 2017
Formal Report
Dear Reader,
I apologize for submitting this assignment late, but I hope the quality of the paper compensates for
the 14-15 days past its deadline. For my formal report I chose to do Genetically Modified Organisms.
And while I do feel like I could have had more fun writing about a study I am interested in (the
emergence of rap music affecting youth and society, social inequality in America), I felt like doing a
research paper on something I have already written about for sake of convenience—which was not
the case regardless.
Before I continue I would like to mention that I was fairly large 4 years ago, and for a long time, have
been passionate about health and wellness. Once I found out what a GMO was (much later after I
lost 30 pounds) I was really disgusted. Back when I did my research 2 years ago, I found out there
was some large percentage of people who did not know what a GMO was. So I really wanted to get
further in depth on that side of GMOs. However, I just had hard writers block. I did not know how
much further I could elaborate on health risks alone. I decided to include more than health risks, and
researched another generic stance on GMOs: the increased food supply.
I think the idea that GMOs can save a third world country is amazing. What was interesting to me
was that GMOs were made to help kill pests and disease in our food supply/crops. If we did not have
GMOs killing off those diseases, our food supply would be down, and we could not imagine to feed
the world by 2050. My goal for the paper then became that I personally wanted to conduct research
for the purpose of sharing knowledge and being able to take an objective stance on something I felt
strongly against.
I spent a lot of time researching and writing this report. In this project I really appreciated this whole
writing process, in the sense that I had the opportunity to become knowledgeable and proud of my
work. Putting together a 20 page report is one of the more difficult assignments I have had in my
college career, but I am glad as a class we all got to work together. It seemed like a lot of people
were engaged with other’s projects, and everyone asked great questions that enabled everyone to
maximize the opportunity and purpose of this assignment. I tried my best to format this project, and
make easy to read. I could not figure out how to start the page numbers where I wanted them to, so
bear with me!
You really seem like you are also into wellness. I hope that this report may now make GMOs draw
more attention to you, and that you got something out of this.
Sincerely,
Nicholas Darvish
2
Nicholas Darvish
707 York Road
Towson, MD, 21252
NicholasBDarvish@Gmail.com
(443) – 878 – 8316
May 16, 2017
Dr. Katherine Lashely
123 York Road
Towson, MD 21252
Dear Dr. Lashley,
Per your request, I have prepared a formal report of my choosing: Genetically Modified
Organisms. I conducted research to discover their positive and negative effects to the world
we live in, as well as social and legal issues within the subject. My report takes an objective
approach on the subject, and given my findings, I give my own personal stance on whether
genetically modified organism are for the better or worse in my conclusion.
Scientists, who favor GMOs, use specific biotechnology to unnaturally develop an organism,
by transplanting another organism’s genes into the former. Amongst the uses of GMOs,
human consumption is one of them. GMOs are used on our crops to protect them from
pesticides. This in turn allows farmers to maintain and yield a large harvest. However, it is
proven that GMOs are toxic to non-human beings, and there is no long-term data to prove the
effect on animals, does not apply to humans. Most consumers are unaware of these studies,
and are not fully aware of what they are consuming, which raises plenty of social, legal, and
ethical dilemmas.
My research, through empirically reviewed literature, exploits the pros and cons of the use of
GMOs, and allows the reader to form an educated opinion on the matter. Additionally, the
reader will become more aware of the vast amounts of genetically modified food we are
served. I hope you find my research interesting, and my report serves strong knowledge.
Please contact me if you have any suggestions.
Sincerely,
Nicholas Darvish
3
Genetically Modified Organisms & Foods: Are They Beneficial or
Harmful?
Written by: Nicholas Darvish
Towson University: ENGL 317.012
Prepared For:
Dr. K. Lashley
Towson University, ENGL 317.012
Table of Contents
4
List of Abbreviations & Illustrations 5
Abstract 6
Executive Summary 7
Introduction 8-12
Background 8
GMOs in the food supply 9-10
Labelling GMOs 10-11
Problem Statement 11
Purpose 11
Scope 12
Discussion 12-16
Positive Impacts 12-13
Increase food production 12
Environmental health 13
Negative Impacts 13-14
Health Impact 13
Gene Diversity 14
Social and Legal Issues 15-16
Legal Guidelines 15
Labelling 15-16
Conclusion 16-17
Recommendations 17
References 18-19
5
List of Illustrations & Abbreviations
