Blog Post P3

As I began brainstorming P3 topics, I intended to stay within the realm of ethics in higher education. At first I considered coming up with a research question about the trend toward online classes at college, both because it interested me somewhat and I hadn't already used the topic when writing P1 or P2. However, the fact that I hadn't already written about the issue meant that it interested me the least out of the topics presented by the EHE. I reasoned that if I'm going to be working on a paper for 7-8 pages, it should be something I'm genuinely interested in (no offense to ethics in higher education!) so I wound up looking for something outside the course theme.

The agrochemical company Monsanto and all the controversy surrounding it has been interesting to me for a while, so that's the topic I've selected. There's no shortage of information condemning Monsanto's business practices but while browsing around the web I found this article that presented a case for Monsanto being unjustly painted as a corporate boogeyman of genetically modified food. I plan to look further into this possibility; while there can be no argument that Monsanto has questionable and unethical business practices, is it possible that it has become a scapegoat for public opinion?

Potential stakeholders might be Monsanto itself, the farmers that use its seeds in America or other countries, (India, Latin America, etc.) news outlets that have printed negative articles on the company, businesses affiliated with Monsanto, and rival companies involved in GMO food products, among others. Choosing a stakeholder that agrees or disagrees with my cause is difficult at the moment, because until I research the issue in depth I don't know fully what my standpoint is. I may very well find that Monsanto has been in no way unjustly crucified for its business methods, and deserves every bit of vitriol thrown its way. Or, of course, I may come to agree with the author of the article I linked above after looking through all the facts and sources I can find. Whichever side I wind up arguing for in the second part of P3, I think that choosing a stakeholder that disagrees with my opinion will work the best. I doubt I'll have a "solution" to the problem that I can try to convince an agreeable stakeholder to implement, so arguing my case to a stakeholder that disagrees seems like it would make the writing process go more smoothly

My concerns for P3 are mostly centered around the length requirement for the second part. I know that we'll have a long time to work on it, but as a freshman I've never written a paper that long before and its daunting. I'll certainly have to be sure not to procrastinate. You've also made it clear in class that you're aware of how overwhelming the idea of a paper that long might be, so I hope that the classes we have during that time will help with the writing process.