Summary Of We Re Having The Wrong By Caitlin Dewey

The term GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) is a generally feared acronym. Many people in the United States are repulsed by the process of creating GMOs, while some argue that GMOs can be used for agricultural advancements such as drought issues or nutritional deficiency. In an article entitled “We’re Having the Wrong Argument About GMOs” by Caitlin Dewey, she attempts to make her voice heard in the widely controversial argument about GMOs. In this article, she interviews McKay Jenkins, a journalist that has spent many years researching GMOs.
Her article was published in The Washington Post; which many consider to be a pro-left, or liberal newspaper and website. The audience she is hoping to reach in this article is the average

consumer. The article discusses how the general public is concerned about the misinformation circulating around GMOs. Dewey asserts that many people are so focused on the idea of GMOs causing cancer, that they are not able to see the bigger picture. McKay answers the question about what should be the primary concern of GMOs: “I believe it all comes down to somehow getting the reins on the companies and the industries that have essentially dictated federal food policy for a very long time.” (Dewey Para 21) She goes onto say that the current GMO production is not sustainable or good for the environment.
To summarize, Caitlin Dewey’s “We’re Having the Wrong Argument About GMOs”, provides the reader with new knowledge about more pressing issues and concerns in regard to how GMOs are affecting our nation and our world.

Dewey makes very strong and factual claims to persuade the reader to consider their misconceptions about GMOs. Prior to reading this article, I did not think GMOs were anything to concern myself with. After reading and thinking about Dewey’s article, I have come to believe that GMOs are something that should be researched and developed further into a sustainable process that benefits everyone globally.
GMOs have the potential to maintain and develop higher sustainability for crops, healthier foods, and decrease world hunger. The GMO process provides a quick and easy way to produce crops. Caitlin Dewey makes the point that GMO technology is enabling industrialized farming to not only expand, but grow crops very quickly. Some argue that this puts many small farmers out of business and they would be correct. In choosing any career, if you’re not meeting the demands of your employer then almost always you will be replaced. This seems to be a bit harsh, but it is what humanity must do in order to become more

sustainable.
Dewey makes another strong argument that some of the reasons that obesity is a problem in our country is our obsession with soft drinks, fast food, and processed foods.

These foods consist primarily of corn and soybeans. “The corn is processed into high-fructose corn syrup, which goes into sodas; the corn and soybeans go into feeding the animals that become fast-food hamburgers or chicken nuggets.” (Dewey Para. 17) While she is correct, she does not speculate how we could instead generate highly nutritious foods with the use of GMOs. I believe that with more support and research, nutritious foods would ameliorate the obesity problem in this nation, thus resulting in a healthier population of both adults and

children.
The concept of making nutritious food and making it quickly brings up the hope of reducing world hunger. The immediate and pressing issue of starving people all over the earth all boils down to the accessibility of food and the location that an individual lives in. If there are numerous villages and towns in an unfertile land that are far from a food supplier, then it will be difficult for those living in those villages to grow or even purchase their own crops. “The goal is sustainability. The goal is not some kind of purity. We’ve got a lot of people to feed, and we have a lot of brilliant people working on this technology.” (Dewey Para. 25) What Dewey says here is that providing food for these villages and towns is absolutely within the realm of possibility, and that it may happen sooner than we think.
As the three of these concepts are further explored and developed, I predict that there will be a global sigh of relief. As the global population continues to explode, an abundance of sustainable crops can provide the vast amounts of food required for the coming years. As a result, healthy and nutritious foods will become easily accessible worldwide, which would create an elimination of world hunger. Each of the concepts outlined in this article piggy back on each another. If GMOs are outlawed internationally, then the hope of sustainable crops for those who are the most desperate for nutrition will be tragically eliminated. In the United States, if there are no healthy and easily accessible options, obesity in our country will continue to rise at a rapid rate. Additionally, if there are no accessible, nutritious food resources, world hunger will not only remain the same, it will increase.
To conclude, Caitlin Dewey has made many good arguments both for and against GMOs and their continued production. She pleads with the reader to consider each of the different options available as they consider what is good and what is bad about GMOs. I believe that she would her reader to be more well-informed, but also she feels like there aren’t many more options for GMOs. She does not go into how GMOs could be used to create healthier foods, when this is a distinct possibility. As further research and development is made in the study of GMOs, it can not only help the Earth sustain its human population, but it will also exceed expectations, with the hope that world hunger and obesity will be drastically reduced. Only time will tell if this admirable idea will become a beautiful reality.