Quit Being Afraid Of Gmos By Samira Bandaru

In the persuasive article “Quit Being Afraid of GMOs”, Writer Samira Bandaru responds to the exigence and constraints of a rhetorical situation related to negative perceptions of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The article’s exigence is the widespread belief that GMOs pose a threat to one’s health and the environment. This negative perception prompts Bandaru to argue that GMOs can have health benefits and could help counter worldwide struggles like malnutrition, which is especially key as the world’s population rises. For example, Bandaru mentions that modifying grains to increase iron amounts in flour reduces anemia, the world’s “most common nutritional disorder”, showing that GMOs can offer solutions to major, worldwide dilemmas.

However, the fear of possible disadvantages resulting from GMOs often overshadows these benefits, so Bandaru publishes the article to bring them more attention.
The main constraint preventing the acceptance of Bandaru’s beliefs is that GMOs have a strong negative connotation. GMOs are rarely depicted in a positive light because they are considered unnatural and potentially dangerous. In contrast, organic products, which are not genetically modified, are seen positively, and most assume that they are superior to GMOs, despite a lack of evidence to prove that organic products are beneficial. Although Bandaru points out a number of advantages to GMOs, audience members may still choose to err on the side of caution and refrain from consuming GMOs to avoid health related disadvantages since no study has proved that GMOs are safe for their health and the environment. An additional constraint is that the audience’s members have enough money to access periodicals, so they likely live in developed countries where food shortages do not directly affect them, making causes like malnutrition, the main affliction GMOs can aid, unlikely to motivate them. The negative connotation of GMOs is the exigence of Bandaru’s article and creates some of its constraints because a positive view of GMOs is radically different from common beliefs.