finish two responses
Debate 7.2 Group Presentation on The Omnivore’s Dilemma pp. 85-108
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Order Paper NowPresenters for this Debate: Jeonghyun Jo and Hongjie Kuang
- On this discussion board, the presenters on this section of The Omnivore’s Dilemma will post their presentation and discussion questions for the class, by Thurs. 3/14. Presenters, or I, will post the statement, or proposition, that they have chosen to work on. Each presenter will post the equivalent of 1.5 pages on their position, labelled “pro” (for) or “con” against their chosen statement. After reading their opponent’s statement, the presenters should post their rebuttal (response to; attempt to argue against) their opponent’s presentation and a discussion question for the class, labelled “rebuttal and discussion question.”
- Students, you are required to write a paragraph response to debate 7.2 and send it to the debate 7.2 classmate responses by Thurs. 3/21. 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. Give any insights on the debate or debate topic.
- After I read students’ paragraph responses to the debate, I’ll send a summary to the class.
- Presenters, after I send the summary to the class, send a paragraph about your experience doing the debate and my summary to debate 7.2 classmate responses.
eong Hyun Jo
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.
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 syrupâ€. 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 portableâ€, 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.
Collapse SubdiscussionHongjie Kuang
Hongjie Kuang
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 strategy-reducing 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.
Hongjie Kuang
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 (100).
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-some-brewers-use-rice-or-corn-in-their- (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.
https://www.hoosieragtoday.com/why-do-we-grow-all-…
Jeong Hyun Jo
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 cornâ€. 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.
Debate 7.3: Group Presentation on OD 109-133
44 unread replies.44 replies.
Debate 7.3 Group Presentation on The Omnivore’s Dilemma pp. 109-133
Presenters for this Debate: Hirotaka Suzuki and Keita Fujiyama
- On this discussion board, the presenters on this section of The Omnivore’s Dilemma will post their presentation and discussion questions for the class, by Thurs. 3/14. Presenters, or I, will post the statement, or proposition, that they have chosen to work on. Each presenter will post the equivalent of 1.5 pages on their position, labelled “pro” (for) or “con” against their chosen statement. After reading their opponent’s statement, the presenters should post their rebuttal (response to; attempt to argue against) their opponent’s presentation and a discussion question for the class, labelled “rebuttal and discussion question.”
- Students, you are required to write a paragraph response to debate 7.3 and send it to the debate 7.3 classmate responses by Thurs. 3/21. 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. Give any insights on the debate or debate topic.
- After I read students’ paragraph responses to the debate, I’ll send a summary to the class.
- Presenters, after I send a summary to the class, send a paragraph about your experience doing the debate and my summary to debate 7.3 classmate responses.
Keita Fujiyama
–Our Debate Topic–
We should avoid eating fast food because it is unhealthy (and bad for the workers, the animals, and the environment).
—-
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 trans-fat 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.
Work Cited
“Fast Food and Junk Food: Is There Any Difference.†Healthy Blog, Healthy & Organic Food, 22AD, foodtolive.com/healthy-blog/fast-food-junk-food-difference/ (Links to an external site.).
“Fast Food’s Best Customers Aren’t Poor People.†The Huffington Post, The Huffington Post, 7 Dec. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/08/fast-food-middle-class-poor_n_1081904.html (Links to an external site.).
Kylstra, Carolyn. “26 Fast-Food Lunches That Are Actually Healthy.†BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed, 11 Sept. 2018, www.buzzfeed.com/carolynkylstra/healthy-fast-food-yes-for-real (Links to an external site.).
Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Penguin, 2007.
“Trans Fats.†American Heart Association, American Heart Association, www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/fats/trans-fat (Links to an external site.).
“Trans Fat.†U S. Food and Drug Administration, U S. Food and Drug Administration, www.fda.gov/Food/ucm292278.htm (Links to an external site.).
“U.S. Department of Labor.†United States Department of Labor, United States Department of Labor, www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/breaks (Links to an external site.).
Zagorsky, Jay L., and Patricia Smith. “Do Poor People Eat More Junk Food than Wealthier Americans?†The Conversation, The Conversation, 14 Jan. 2019, theconversation.com/do-poor-people-eat-more-junk-food-than-wealthier-americans-79154 (Links to an external site.).
Edited by Keita Fujiyama on Mar 12 at 10pm
Hirotaka Suzuki
Hirotaka Suzuki
Rebuttal
“[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.â€
According to the study “Socioeconomic Disparities in Health Behaviorsâ€, 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 obesity. By your logic, if it is true that “the middle class consumes fast foods the mostâ€, the obesity rate among the middle class should be much lower than the poor class; however, the data showed that the middle class has as high levels of obesity as the poor.
“[P]eople who work have to take lunch in a short-predetermined time by their companies… [F]ast foods are only a meal which can be eaten efficiently while the time is short and limited.â€
Fast food is not the only thing to eat when you do not have time. If you have time to buy fast food, you can make something at home and bring it for lunch like sandwiches. If you cannot wake up a little bit early to make your lunch, that is another issue.
“They [fast food companies] 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.â€
In the article, Carolyn Kylstra mainly talks about how to have healthier meals in fast food restaurants. For example, she does not recommend that we order any soda, fries, apple pies, and salad dressings in McDonald’s. This does not mean fast food is healthy. In reality, the vast majority of people order a combo in McDonald’s.
Discussion Question
What can we do to avoid eating fast food?
Works Cited
“Socioeconomic Disparities in Health Behaviors” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC31697…
Hirotaka Suzuki
Debate 7.3
Topic: We should avoid eating fast food because it is unhealthy (and bad for the workers, the animals, and the environment).
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 mealâ€. 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 e
