2nd Argument Outline
Due Monday, October 6
Eating is something that we all do several times each day. We eat not just for sustenance, but also as a source of pleasure and, often, as a time of companionship.
Collectively, the choices we make about food have a major impact on our lives, on the lives of others, and on the economy. Until this decade, farming has always been the largest industry on a global scale. Agriculture still makes up about 36% of the global economy.
In spite of the central place of food in our lives, we tend not to think about what we eat, where it comes from, how it was made, or why we’ve chosen to eat it. Even philosophers have perhaps not paid as much attention to the role of food in human life as they ought.
This assignment has more room for originality than the previous one. Following the general argument outline format, construct an argument defending a stance that is related to food choices or food production. You may make use of any ethical framework we’ve covered so far (deontology, consequentialism, virtue ethics) or you may express your own ethical reasoning. You may focus on personal moral choice or on social policies.
Also, this is an opportunity to explore the justification for a position that you may not have thought through before. For instance, you may choose to defend vegetarianism even though you are not yourself a committed vegetarian.
You are responsible for doing any necessary web research. But do not copy anyone else’s words off the Internet—express the ideas in your own way. Cite your sources, please.
Here are some possible topics with a few links to get you started:
— vegetarianism
— buying local agricultural products, reducing food miles, and slow food
— organic farming
— farm subsidies
— farmworker rights
— biotechnology and food
— famine reduction
— food security (including access to food, control over pathogens, and control over toxics)
— obesity and diet-related illness
— fair trade
— agriculture and biodiversity
— treatment of farm animals
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