To Meat or Not to Meat? There is No Question.
Two strips of crispy hickory-smoked bacon and a thick, tender, juicy beef patty, topped with gooey cheddar cheese and served on warm grilled buns, with fresh crisp lettuce and cherry red sliced tomatoes, describes the perfect combination of ingredients for a delicious bacon cheeseburger. As a meat lover, it is hard to resist the delectable and intoxicating flavors that meat provides in a meal. If ever presented with the idea of whether or not I should consider an alternative diet to meat eating, it would definitely take a lot of convincing to even persuade me to consider doing such a change. In her essay, writer Marjorie Garretson presents an opinion piece illustrating her reasoning’s for adopting
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According to Garretson, vegetarians are healthier than meat eaters. She claims that they also have decreased diseases and longer lifespans. Garretson further argues that the choice of vegetarianism results in less water and energy use, and would also result in less fecal pollution to our water supply. Lastly, she suggests that the choice of vegetarianism would decrease the animal abuse currently practiced in factory farms. She describes factory farm conditions, laments that animals are brutally slaughtered when they are no longer productive, and details how chickens and cows receive hormones to increase their …show more content…
The types of evidence provided throughout the essay, primarily consists of facts, examples, and descriptions, with only one account of statistics provided. For the most part, the evidence given, is unreliable and does not prove to be credible or strong enough to be taken into consideration as sound proof to Garretson’s claims on vegetarianism. An example of an unreliable instance of evidence presented by Garretson, can be seen through her first fact. At the beginning of her essay, Garretson reasons that vegetarians are healthier than meat eaters and lists supposed benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle, which she says includes “a lower body mass index, significantly decreased cancer rates…longer life expectancies, and [avoidance] of Alzheimer’s disease and osteoporosis”. (162) Although these claims sound promising as supportive evidence for vegetarianism, there is one major problem regarding the reliability of the statement; there is no citation to verify the truth of it. The claim that she has made here, is not considered common knowledge, but is a broad and significant claim that challenge conventional thinking, therefore, there is no way for the reader to know if the statement is true or not. In order for her claim to be regarded with more credibility and strength,
Against Meat Or Not? In the article “Against Meat” written by Jonathan Safran Foer, the author attempts to state why he becomes a vegetarian. Foer begins by telling an emotional story of his grandmother’s relationship to food. Then he presents his own muddled relationship with vegetarianism up through parenthood.
Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma tells how omnivores have a variety of foods to choose from, whether they are nutritious or not. The lack of steadying culture of food leaves us especially vulnerable to the blandishments of the food industry to exacerbate our anxieties about what to eat, the better to then assuage them with new products (5). That is true indeed. There is an abundance of food in America, so how are the options limited?
Summary In this article “Against Meat” Jonathan Safran Foer describes his personal experience with struggling whether he eats meat or not and what he went through to become a vegetarian, his main reason was he didn’t want animals to suffer. Foer had a lot of influence in his life, starting with his grandmother who he considered her as a role model he loved her passion with food, although she had one recipe
Is eating meat a detrimental threat to the environment? This debate over meat’s involvement in the global warming crisis was what inspired Nicolette Hahn Niman to write, “The Carnivore’s Dilemma.” Niman hoped writing, “The Carnivore’s Dilemma,” would cause her audience to understand that eating meat, raised on traditional farms, was a superior alternative to vegetarianism. Niman supported her claim by explaining how industrialized farms and vegetarians produce more of the three greenhouse gases that caused global warming, than that produced by traditional farms. Niman’s article fell short of being effective due to flaws in her supporting evidence and conclusion.
“Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat”, is a famous quote by the well known philosopher Socrates, who believed this is the perspective we should take when we are eating food. Unfortunately, the times have changed and so has the way we eat. We no longer have to go hunting for our food, or grow crops to receive all of our fruits and vegetables. Because we have become a society that has grown into the new world of technology, there would be no need to rely on ourselves for what we need-- we can simply gather our resources from other people. In the book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, written by Michael Pollan, takes us on a journey full of concerns of the “Food Industrial Complex”.
Fraser's utilization of humor works to keep the reader or the audience engaged, makes their work memorable, and provides comic relief which overall, greatly contributes to her arguments for and against vegetarianism. Humor positively contributes to Fraser's overall argument and allows the reader to engage in her writing, without the possibility of them becoming uninterested. Since her essay works to argue for and against vegetarianism; a topic in which plentiful people are listless about, Fraser must employ humor to captivate her audience. For example, Fraser begins to talk percentages, “People who call themselves vegetarians somewhere between 4 and 10 percent of us, depending on the definition; only 1 percent of Americans are vegans, eating no animal products at all” (Fraser 546). Due to the fact that she speaks about numbers in her first three sentences of
In the article, “Is It Possible to be a Conscientious Meat Eater”, the authors argue that processed meat can greatly affect the many things in our everyday life. Sunaura and Alexander’s argument is significantly unreliable because of the certain professions both authors yield. As stated in the article “Sunaura is an artist, writer, and activist in Oakland.” “Alexander’s profession is studying philosophy, and ethics in Athens, Georgia.” This shows that neither of them are qualified to argue in the subject of conscientious meat eaters.
Lee Fulkerson’s Forks Over Knives prevents a radical approach to helping America get healthy and avoid health issues such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. These health issues have plagued America since the invention of fast food and have made America one least healthiest countries in the world. However, the film’s aversion to taking modern medicines and instead relying on a plant based diet to avoid new health issues and reverse existing health made me question the practicableness of having an entirely plant based diet as the film recommends. Additionally, critics of plant based diets such as Connie Diekman at Washington University feel that plant based diets will leave the deprived of nutrients that milk and dairy provide such as calcium. However, the two academic studies I found through my own research support that a plant based diet does lower your risk of heart attack and when done right, does not leave your body lacking critical nutrients.
He presents a compelling argument for why we have to recall lowering or casting off our intake of animal products, the use of evidence and records to guide his claims. for example, Foer cites the fact that animal agriculture is chargeable for more greenhouse gas emissions than all kinds of transportation combined. via presenting this statistic in a clean and concise manner, Foer makes a robust case for the environmental blessings of lowering our meat consumption. Foer additionally appeals to our sense of morality and values. He emphasizes the significance of compassion and duty in our food choices, encouraging readers to remember the ethical implications of consuming meat.
As diets and health become more and more of a public concern in America. Two authors weigh in on their opinions on how the American public should handle the problem of obesity as well as their solutions to the overwhelming issue. In one article, “Against Meat,” published on the New York Times website in 2009, points out that the solution to obesity should be vegetarianism. Johnathan Foer who is a vegetarian, claims that his diet and way of living is his the way of improving health in the American public. Foer’s article provides a sense of humor as well as personal stories to attempt to persuade his audience for the ethical treatment of animals along with his personal solution for his own health and the health of his family.
In today’s world, there is a division among the people in the world regarding whether or not it is ethical to eat meat. After researching about eating meat and vegetarianism, I have come to the conclusion that it is indeed ethical to eat meat in today’s society. Sure, eating meat might have its drawbacks, but I have found that the benefits of eating meat far outweigh the negatives of eating it. Eating meat not only helps improve people’s health, but it also helps strengthen our economy and it has little difference in the environmental impact that involves in the farming of vegetables. Eating too much of anything usually results in a negative outcome.
“I asked myself a question: "Knowing what I know, why am I not a vegetarian?"’ Graham Hill, an inspiring speaker, introduced a new way to eat. During his speech on TED Talk, he explains to his audience how eating meat has affected the world. In a calm and humorous tone, Hill proposes his purpose. He explains to his audience by becoming a “weekday veg” you will live a better live, it’s great compromise that will help people, animals, and the environment.
Vegetarians consume less animal fats and cholesterol and replaces it with more antioxidants and fibers. If more people decided to become vegetarians it would not only improve people’s health but also the environment and the economy. Taking America as an example, the statistics show that nearly 70% of America 's adults are suffering from obesity and one of the consequences of this is getting a heart disease meaning that you most likely have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. This is usually because the typical american diet is not very healthy because of the amount of bad fats and fast food they are consuming. If an american were to change to a vegetarian diet, the majority of the bad fats will be eliminated and replaced by foods that are
Veganism is a foolproof method to provide the answers the Earth needs, especially as the world’s population continues its inefficient and environmentally damaging methods of energy usage. People tend to focus on the political sides of climate change, however, the biggest problem the world faces in energy consumption is not transportation emissions but is how we go about out food systems and daily food choices. Evidence has surfaced about how daily food choices impact the climate severely. According to an assessment by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the livestock sector of global greenhouse gases surpassed that of transportation.
Herbivores do not only take the form of animals, but humans as well. Veganism, “a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.” (The Vegan Society). When people think about a vegan lifestyle, the first question, assumption or judgment is based off their diet. The food choices of a vegan have risen, deep concern, and question regarding whether or not this lifestyle is healthy or not.