1. 3 Debates responsesWrite a paragraph response to each of the debates. First, before reading the debate, note if you are for or against the statement. Then note if your position changed or remained the same after you read the debate (after reading the debate, do you agree more with the pro or con position?) Give any insights on the debate or debate topic.2. DiscussionRead The Omnivore’s Dilemma (134-184)a. The use of whole grains and unprocessed organic ingredients was identified as “brown food.” What was some of the symbolic significance of brown foods? (see bottom of page143). Though those who rebelled against “plastic food” may not have done so on a scientific basis, why might it have turned out that they were right about brown foods being healthier? Which assumptions of theirs do you think were valid, and which may not have been? Do you find brown food appealing? Why or why not?b.Also post a paragraph response to one of the other postings by your classmates. Make clear which comment you are responding to. You may agree, disagree, ask a question, or try to come up with a transition connecting two of the ideas in different postings.3.Logical Fallacy Worksheet (See the last attachment for the book might used for this assignment)Please type in your own example for each of the following logical fallacies, and submit by Fri. 3/22. You should think of your own example and not take it from another source. Your example doesn’t have to be on course content, but should provide a statement that is an example of the given type of flawed thinking.
debate_7.2.docx
debate_7.3.docx
debate_3.2.docx
logical_fallacy_worksheet.docx
avoidingflawedlogic.pdf
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Debate 7.2
Debate Topic 7.2 – Social problems, like alcoholism and obesity, have been caused
by the cheap availability of corn products, such as corn alcohol and high fructose corn
syrup.
Jeong:
CON – No, Alcoholism and obesity are not occurred because of cheap availability of
corn products.
My position is against the statement which is “Social problems, like alcoholism and
obesity, have been caused by the cheap availability of corn products, such as corn
alcohol and high fructose corn syrup”. I totally disagree that social problems such as
alcoholism or obesity have been influenced by food products which are being offered
with low-cost. Social problems related to the production of foods are related to
customers’ needs. Since customers’ expectations toward food companies have
changed throughout the history, the companies which run for their profits have to
change the production of foods.
It is a simple and basic economical concept that the increase of demands causes the
increase of supplies. In this situation, it is necessary to make products in lower price
for companies to survive in the competitive market. It can be true that cheap
availability of food products caused more customers’ demands, but the change of food
production is more related to the change of customers’ consumption pattern. “Why
not get people to pay just a few pennies more or a substantially bigger bottle?” It is
definitely true that customers tend to think it is economical and effective to spend on
few more pennies for bigger products, so it is an inevitable fact that companies want
to get more profits by offering bigger size of products with effective price than
keeping original size of products with lower price.
Additionally, since the process of transporting food products have been changed,
companies which are influenced by food resources system have to necessarily change
their food production. As the process of transporting food resources was getting
“more compact and portable”, the price of food resources was automatically changed
and that directly influenced the production pattern of companies. In other words, food
resources production systems started to allow people to transport food products after
they made changes in chemical composition of products such as corns or whiskey and
that allowed people to transport the products easily. Easier transportation of products
let companies get the products in lower price and that allowed them to increase the
production.
However, either the change of customers’ expectations toward companies or the
change of food resources production cannot be fundamental reasons of the change of
food products market. The fundamental factor is food companies’ approach to get
more profits as society has changed. As companies have been offered food resources
in lower price, they have tended to increase the size of products rather than offered
customers the products in lower price while they have been getting resources of food
production in lower price.
Hongjie:
Pro
It is true that the falling price of corn has caused alcoholism and obesity. Corn
is the king in the U.S. the US is the only place in the world that has the climate, soil,
water, and topography to produce corn in the amounts we do. (Truitt.) According to
Pollan “Corn whiskey, suddenly superabundant and cheap, became the drink of
choice” (Pollan.) As she implies, corn production goes up, the price of corn naturally
goes down. Some businessmen were trying to find another way to get rid of their
surplus corn.
The first way was to put the corn into beer. The reason that people tried to put it
into beer was that it changed the taste of beer. “Corn adds a slightly sweet smoothness
to the beer and is often included in light lagers and cream style ales. It can also be
used to lighten a fuller, denser English style beer. It is hard to taste an actual corn
flavor in most beers, however, its impact results in smoother, light beers. Rice is even
less flavorful than corn and produces a dry, clean taste” (Eddings.) Adding corn into
beer did increase sweetness in beer, which lured more people into buying alcohol,
thereby reducing stocks of corn.
It actually worked. Pollan stated that “Except for a brief respite Sunday
morning in church, Americans simply did not gather-whether for a barn raising or
quilting bee, corn husking or political rally-without passing the whiskey jug” (Pollan.)
As we all know, the price of beer and some of the corn alcohol were always cheaper
than other alcohol like Vodka, Gin and so on. With the cheap price and the good taste
of these corn alcohol, people became crazy about the beer. And this is what the
businessmen wanted. However, this kind of situation would finally cause obesity and
people would become alcoholism. The author also mentioned that you might drink
yourself blind at the price of sixpence. When the prices were, and people could get
more at the same price, they would absolutely eat more and more till they couldn’t
control. And the problem would go back to the corn products again. This was a cycle
that has no end.
Another way for businessmen to earn money is to process the abundant corns
into food with high calories. In the article, the author pointed out that “Today there
are hundreds of things a processor can do with corn: They can use it to make
everything from chicken nuggets and Big Macs to emulsifiers and nutraceuticals…
inducing people to consume more calories than they otherwise might…” (Pollan.)
Thus, this element became one of the reasons that the businessmen used to make
profits. It’s the short-coming of human-beings.
In short, corn products not only led people to be alcoholism but also caused
obesity when their bodies absorb too much. And this was not easy to control once
they were addicted to the sugar of corns.
Work Cited
Eddings Bryce. “Why Some Brewers Use Rice or Corn in Their Beer?”
Thespruceeats. Feb 09, 2019.
https://www.thespruceeats.com/why-do-somebrewers-use-rice-or-corn-in-their(Links to an external site.)
Links to an external site.
beer-353284
Pollan, Michael. “Omnivores Dilemma.” Publisher: Penguin Press. 2007.
Truitt Gary. “Why Do We Grow All This Corn?” Hoosieragtoday. Sep 29, 2013.
Jeong:
Rebuttal and Question.
After I read his/her writing, what I thought at first was that there is only one reason of
he/she agree to this subject. I want to start responding my opinion from greatly basic
idea. We absolutely know the fact that we can eat much calories and much amount of
food, because food resources have been abundant and overflowing in this world as
time goes by. By many of statistics, average weight of year was lower than now, but it
is continuously increasing, and it isin progressyet. For example, there was a great war
in Korea about 70 years ago, all of building and infrastructure were destroyed. So,
people were suffered from poverty and they were not able to eat food as much as they
want. However, Korean have worked hard, and they were able to not only restore
their infra but also, they made the country wealthy and powerful. After long time
passes, they could supply enough nutrients to them. With this historical truth, I
thought that the cheap supplement of corn sweet or something is not the only reason
of alcoholism and obesity. The positive side writer said that “Adding corn into beer
did increase sweetness in beer, which lured more people into buying alcohol, thereby
reducing stocks of corn”. It could be a possible story. Increasing of sweetness in beer
and better taste were able to make people buy more beer, but it doesn’t mean that
alcoholism and obesity were increased.This is logical leap, because it is same with the
story that someone became chubby because he/she ate more delicious hamburger.
With that reason, I don’t agree to the main theme and I thought there is some logical
error in his/her opinion.
Question:
Do you think there is not any fault on industries behaviors? I think the reason
increasing of demand of corn product is up to industry.
Honngjie:
Rebuttal and question:
Jeong said that“the increase of demands causes the increase of supplies. In this
situation, it is necessary to make products in lower price for companies to survive in
the competitive market.” He stated that is the companies tries to lower price to attract
the consumer and survive in the competition. I do not think the increase in demands
causes an increase in supplies. We should switch the concept-the increase in supplies
causes an increase in demand. The reason why businessman put corn into food was
because of the surplus of corn. They did not think to compare to other companies at
first. Because of the surplus of corn so that people would buy more and more food in
the restaurant. According to Pollan “It turns out the price of a calorie of sugar or fat
has plummeted since the 1970s. One reason that obesity and diabetes become more
prevalent the further down the socioeconomic scale you look is that the industrial
food chain has made energy-dense foods the cheapest foods in the market, when
measured in terms of cost per calorie” (Pollan.) When the price of corn goes down,
food made by corn-mostly the high calorie-goes down automatically. As a result,
people will buy more and more food because of the low price. Then, the number of
obesities has gone up.
I agree that some companies consider lowering the price to attract the
consumer. However, the main reason for obesity is not just a marketing strategyreducing price. There is a more important reason-the price of corn products are cheap
enough so that most people can afford it. Also, those corn products are tasty. That is
the main reason why people are willing to buy these food foods and are not afraid to
get fat-it is cheap and the foods are also delicious.
Question: Do you think the main reason for obesity is caused by marketing strategy or
the falling price of corn?
Work Cited
Pollan, Michael. “Omnivores Dilemma.” Publisher: Penguin Press. 2007.
Debate 7.3
Debate Topic 7.3 – We should avoid eating fast food because it is unhealthy (and bad
for the workers, the animals, and the environment).
Keita:
Con
People should not avoid eating fast foods. In general, people have a negative image
for fast foods; therefore, why are fast foods considered unhealthy to our bodies? It is
related to ingredients contained in fast foods. An ingredient which is representative of
fast foods would be trans-fat. Researches have already been published that this transfat adversely affects the body. According to the American Heart Association, intake
of trans-fat increases the possibility of heart disease and stroke (Trans Fats).
Furthermore, people believe that fast foods are not a real meal. According to our
textbook, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” Pollan, its author, wrote what his wife thinks
about fast foods. ‘She’s careful about what she eats, and having a fast-food lunch
mean giving up a “real meal,” which seems a shame’ (Pollan 109). Like her, many
people believe that fast foods are unhealthy for our bodies. However, why are fast
foods still loved and eaten by many people?
First, fast foods are evolving every day. In 2015, Food and Drug Administration,
which is a federal agency in the United States of America, banned provisions of meals
which contains trans-fat. In other words, fast foods companies are forced to make
menu changes because of trans-fat (Trans Fat). Thus, fast foods that we can buy at its
restaurants have some changes. An order form FDA only bans trans-fat, but it finally
solves other fast foods problems, such as sodium. Its companies have reduced sodium
when developing new fast foods menus. According to BuzzFeed, there are many
healthy fast foods menus at the storefront. They finally have succeeded in reducing
some unhealthy ingredients as well as eliminating trans-fat (Kylstra). Indeed, “Fast
foods are not good for our bodies.” is a past thing.
Second, fast foods are easy to eat. Moreover, that “easiness” supports many
Americans. For example, time is limited. According to a federal law, which is
established by the American government, “Federal law does not require lunch or
coffee breaks. However, when employers do offer short breaks (usually lasting about
5 to 20 minutes), federal law considers the breaks as compensable work hours that
would be included in the sum of hours worked during the work week and considered
in determining if overtime was worked.” That is people who work have to take lunch
in a short-predetermined time by their companies (U.S.). Indeed, some people say,
“Fast foods are not a real meal,” but fast foods are only a meal which can be eaten
efficiently while the time is short and limited.
Third, not all health problems come from fast foods. In the United States, obesity is
a significant health problem. Its reason is that obesity produces high blood pressure or
heart disease which can kill people. In addition to that, most obese people are in poor
class (Fast Food’s). Thus, many people think that poor makes obese because they eat
cheap fast foods. However, there is a research result that the middle class consumes
fast foods the most. For poor people, fast foods are still expensive (Zagorsky).
Therefore, what are they eating mainly? What they eat daily is snacks like Doritos and
Pringles. The “snacks” and “fast foods” are different things, and “snacks” are a part of
junk foods. What junk foods mean is food with extremely low nutritional value,
sometimes called rich in “empty calories” (Fast Food). Indeed, from these results, it
seems that snacks make people obesity, which is a significant health problem in the
USA, and fast foods are making obesity less than snacks.
In conclusion, people should get rid of the concept what fast foods are. Fast foods
have evolved every day, and healthy menus have created due to the influence of the
FDA. A reason that fast foods are popular is that Americans cannot spend much time
on lunch breaks, so easy-to-eat fast foods are a wonderful meal that they can finish
eating within a short time. Moreover, fast foods are not a root of health hazards, and
snacks do. People should not avoid eating fast foods.
Hirotaka:
Pro
We should avoid eating fast food because it is unhealthy based upon three significant
reasons: fast food contains a cancerous substance called trans-fats and a lot of
preservatives and it is a source of cheap and high calories. In the book, the author
talks about his wife Judith does not like fast food at all and “having a fast-food lunch
meant giving up a “real meal,” which seemed a shame” (Pollan, 109). As she implies,
fast food has already become edible chemicals, not a “real meal”. There are some
reasons why fast food has been so popular: it’s convenient, cheap, and tasty. We can
find one anywhere for a quick meal, and some of fast food restaurants open 24 hours a
day. Fast food eaters no longer need to think about what to eat every day.
Most fast food is known to contain the chemical substance trans-fats, which does not
exist in the natural world. Margarine, for example, was advertised as a safer and
cheaper substitute for butter, but research showed that margarine contains trans-fats;
therefore, there is a danger of developing into a cancer. Equally important, it turned
out to be a cancerous substance, causing arterial sclerosis, heart disease, and diabetes
(American Heart Association).
According to a Daily Mali’s article, “A Utah man has unearthed a McDonald’s
hamburger he bought in 1999 – and the sandwich looks exactly the same as the day
[14 years later] it was first flipped” (Daily Mail.com). This should be a surprising fact
for all of us. Any food gets bad soon, especially after opened, even if we keep it in a
fridge; however, preservatives make it possible to be kept as fresh as possible for a
longer period. Although the invention of preservatives was one of the amazing ones
that makes our life easier, it isn’t natural that the food has never gotten bad more than
a decade. We should be aware that fast food contains a lot of preservatives to keep it
fresh and make its taste better.
Fast food eaters do not care about their health much because they are healthy right
now. “In the long run, however, the eater pays a high price for these cheap calories:
obesity, Type Ⅱ diabetes, heart disease” (Pollan, 117). Furthermore, eating fast food
causes one’s blood pressure to rise rapidly, and then it falls rapidly, causing the eaters
to feel sleepy, languor, and have a headache.
As we have discussed so far, there are three major reasons why we should avoid
eating fast food. First, a trans-fat is a cancerous substance that does not exist in the
natural worlds, which causes arterial sclerosis, heart disease, and diabetes. Second, it
is not healthy to have a huge amount of chemical preservatives, some of which have
been reported to develop in to a cancer. Finally, it is a source of cheap and high
calories that make us unhealthy. Although fast food is so convenient, we should be
more careful about what we eat because it is food that builds up our bodies.
Works Cited:
“Fancy a bite? McDonald’s burger bought in Utah in 1999 looks exactly the same as
the day it was first flipped (even after it spent two years in a COAT POCKET).”
Daily Mail.com Published: 22 April 2013. Updated: 24 April 2013. Retrieved from
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2313276/Man-keeps-McDonalds-burger14-years-looks-exactly-the-day-flipped-Utah.html
Pollan, Michael. “Omnivores Dilemma.” Publisher: Penguin Press. 2007
“Trans Fats.” American Heart Association. Last reviewed: 2015. Last Reviewed: Mar
23, 2017. Retrieved from https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eatsmart/fats/trans-fat
(Links to an external site.)
Links to an external site.
Keita:
Rebuttal and Question.
Trans-fat makes a possibility that people become cancer as we mentioned in each our
argument. However, as I said in my argument, companies which provided us meals
with trans-fat should change their menus by the Food and Drug Administration’s
order. Thus, their companies remake the menus to be healthier than ever.
As you mentioned, fast foods also contain additives like trans-fat. However, this is
the same situation, and the FDA also bans the use of some additives because
environmental groups sued. Therefore, those companies are no longer adding some
additives by the order. Indeed, their customer would not eat fast foods with additives.
Calories are the same issue, and their new meals solve this issue. A trend in the
USA is healthy. In other words, people try to get healthy things like going to a gym or
eating more vegetables. A reason that companies with fast foods still popular since
they started their business is that they have the strength to follow the trend. As a
result, when they make a new menu, they are also able to change how much the meal
contains calories.
Q. What does the FDA make an order to a fast foods industry? Why are fast foods
favorite and which economic group eats fast foods the most?
Hirotaka:
Rebuttal and question:
“[Most] obese people are in poor class (Fast Food’s). Thus, many people think that
poor makes obese because they eat cheap fast foods. However, there is a research
result that the middle class consumes fast foods the most…it seems that snacks make
people obesity… and fast foods are making obesity less than snacks.”
According to the study “Socioeconomic Disparities in Health Behaviors”, we can see
the high obesity rate among the poor, but I calculated the mean and standard
deviations for the income level low, middle low, and middle high based on the table 1.
It turned out that almost all numbers are within one standard deviation, so there is no
huge difference between the poor and the middle class in terms of obes …
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