A Rhetorical Analysis Of TED Talk By Birke Baehr

The articles “Organic foods: Are they safer? More nutritious?”, by the Mayo Clinic Staff and “Is organic better for your health? A look at milk, meat, eggs, produce and fish”, by Tamer Haspel, delve into whether or not the products produced by organic farming are more nutritious and or safer than those produced by conventional farming.

Many people in America believe that we should eat healthier foods. However, a large portion of the advertising created for food in America is focused on unhealthy foods and products, many of which are nutritionally poor and easily accessible to much of the population. This results in a contradictory ideal towards improvement of health, where individuals will constantly eat unhealthy foods and struggle to lose the weight that they will knowingly gain. If people in the modern American society were to focus more on consuming organic foods and products, people would be healthier, reducing high medical costs and improving the overall well-being of Americans. The benefits of organic foods should also be introduced to children in schools so they

Due to reading “Stuffed and Starved” by Raj Patel this semester, I learned about how foods are produced and impact the world. Ever since I visited the farmer’s market in October, I became more aware of whether or not I am consuming genetically modified crops. Raj Patel revealed some of the many truths about the Green Revolution regarding genetically modified crops that influenced my choice of eating. Prior to reading the section of the book that made me aware of what I am eating, I believed that genetically modified crops were more beneficial than harmful to everyone. Not only did the genetically modified crops produce a higher yield to feed people, but the negative impact of technology outweighed its benefit. For example, Patel states, “domestic

“Eat your vegetables, they're good for you”, The words a kid never wants to hear. People scan food packages for whole grains and fibers, avoid sugar, and don’t even think about buying something with trans fats. Just when people thought they knew how to eat healthy, there's another problem: Genetically Modified Organisms. Some opponents would have you believe these ingredients are the dietary curse of the decade. How concerned should people really be though? This is one of the most debated questions around the world. Many environmental organizations protest against genetic engineering, but numerous companies continue to use it in food production. The issue of Genetically Modified foods has been investigated by many different scientists for many

Whether Americans realize it or not, most of them consume genetically modified organisms every time they eat a snack or a meal. According to Robin Mather’s article “The Threats from Genetically Modified Foods”, “you’re eating genetically modified foods almost daily unless you grow all of the food or always buy organic” (Mather). This can be a scary thought for those who know about the numerous effects of GMOs or those who didn’t know what was in the food they’ve been ingesting for years. When Nielsen selected 1,200 Americans for a survey on GMOs for The Wall Street Journal, “61% of consumers had heard of GMOs and nearly half of those people said they avoid eating them” (Gasparro). The only difficulty with avoiding genetically modified organisms is that they make up approximately eighty percent of the ingredients used in processed foods that put together most of the regular American diet (Gasparro). The reason that genetically modified organisms are in most processed foods is because most processed foods contain corn or high fructose corn syrup that comes from genetically modified corn plants. Of all the corn, soybeans, sugar beet, and canola crops grown in the United States, over ninety percent of those crops are grown from genetically altered seeds (Gasparro). Ever since 1996, when genetically modified plants were first commercially grown for the public, the use of genetically modified seeds has been on a sharp increase (Charman). Although the use of genetically modified

Personally, I am fortunate to live in an area that has a fairly wide array of organic foods. There is a healthy mix of large supermarkets and small, independent grocers that sell organic foods.

The author describes a global food revolution that began years ago from New York and Paris to London and Toronto. Consumers are becoming aware of the food they are purchasing at their local grocery store and realizing the grocery store is just a facade. Many small time organic farms started disappearing because of the mass producing large scale industrial farms which became possible after the industrial revolution. Large scale industrial farms are producing food in large quantities with low quality while polluting the earth and harming consumers because they are focused on one thing: profit. It makes it difficult for grocery stores to say no to these industrial farms just because of how cheap and convenient their product is. It also allows the grocery stores to supply produce year-round that normally would not be in season in a specific area. The sustainable factors and health of the consumers and the planet were of no concern when it came to higher produce yields and lower costs for both the conventional industrial farms and grocery stores. In 1996, industrial farms introduced genetically modified crops to increase yields and make more profit. Since then, more than 70% of foods produced contain genetically altered ingredients which has led to consumers being more prone to illnesses like cancer, diabetes, and obesity. This idea from Food and the City makes me furious because there are so many processed foods today that are hard to get away from. Mass industrial farms and manufacturers have found ways to extend food’s shelf life and alter the basic ingredients that would normally be considered healthy. With all of the additives, who knows what the food actually is and the harm it could do to your

There are many issues going on in the public sphere, but the one I want to address would be if women are equally qualified as men for higher paying professional jobs. One text that helps support this issue is a video I found on TED Talk given by Debbie Sterling. In the video, Debbie asked the audience a series of questions about engineers, and then she goes on and explains how difficult it is for women to become engineers because they are set to a social bias. Debbie Sterling discussed that most girls initially view themselves as being a princess and more suited for traditional female roles in the workforce. This behavior and attitude begins at a very early stage and can be associated with how they played as a child and adapted to the social norm. I picked this specific text because I

In this article, Tamara Thompson asks common questions regarding genetically modified organisms otherwise known as GMOs. She gives a decent definition of GMOs as plant seeds that are modified to resist certain insects as well as harsh weather conditions. It is a very biased article, drawing attention to the company, Monsanto, in particular. She repeatedly assures her readers that GMOs are safe and that Monsanto currently works to the standards of organizations, such as the Food and Drug Administrations (FDA), Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). She concludes with the benefits of GMOs nutritional value and how they contribute to reducing draws on natural resources such as fossil fuels. This article was beneficial, although biased it gave insight to what companies such as Monsanto want the public to believe. I found this article in Opposing Viewpoints with the search entry being genetically modified foods.

With the world’s population continuing to increase, the demand for food is higher than ever. This increase in food demand also calls for more efficient ways of growing and providing the food. Two methods that are very controversial are the organic and conventional method. While many people support the organic method because of its known benefits, others feel that it is an over inflated industry that cheats consumers out of their money. But recently many studies have disproved those critics. These studies prove that Organic food is a better choice than conventional because it is better for the environment, avoids the use of chemicals, and is generally more beneficial.

In high school I had the opportunity to take an environmental science class that opened my eyes to how society treats our environment. In turn, I realized the repercussions that those actions have on human health. It is necessary that society make an effort to push towards making human health a priority before making a decision on how the environment will be altered. A majority of our society today is either unaware of the damage they are causing or are in denial. Humans were created to live in a natural and organic world, however as time has gone on and as technology has greatly improved, Earth has become extremely inorganic. This is evident in grocery stores and chain supermarkets because anywhere from sixty to seventy percent of the food made available to us is genetically modified. It is crucial that people become more aware of how the environment and human health are linked. As our society continues to become globalized, the food industry is putting our health more at risk. With the fluctuation in economic development and the rapid increase in population, our environment along with our personal health suffers.

Well over eighty percent of crops and foods that people eat every day are genetically modified, many people do not know this. (Clendaniel, “The GMO Foods You Eat Every Day”) Genetically modified foods (GMO’s) can ruin the world and more importantly the physical and mental health of humans. This problem can ultimately lead to the end of the world, people can fix this problem by stop producing GMO foods. The world struggles with whether or not they should eat GMO foods, or if the need to find a way to stop making these types of foods. People need to know that GMO’s put their bodies at risk and that they can cause environmental damage, also a lot of health problems. Everyone needs to come together and get rid of GMO's, so they world will not come

The argument of whether or not people should eat GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) or organic foods has been a debate for a long time. Organic food benefits health far more than genetically modified food that contains pesticides and animals that are raised on antibiotics growth hormones. Non-GMO foods are also safer for the environment in many ways: it conserves water, reduces soil erosion, increases soil fertility, reduces pollution, uses less energy, and does not affect the animals that live close to farms or graze on the farm like birds and chickens (Robinson). Yet GMO’s are beneficial society as food is produced in abundance and due to herbicides plant epidemics are not as common as they use to be. There are both positives and negatives to both sides of the argument, but there is common ground to be reached and identified.

Science, chemical and big name companies had done hazardous experiments with the consumer’s food without the world’s communities approval and it still continues today. Genetically modified organisms have contaminated the food supply. “A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the result of a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and artificially forced in the genes of an unrelated plant or animal” (Seeds of Deception). The results have no health benefits, only financial benefits to the companies that produce them. The genetically modified organisms of animals or plants today hurt the environment and are causing health problems in the nation, and even around the world; a promise which made supposedly better

In the year 2050, nearly 10 billion people will call Earth home. Food producers must increase food production by 70% in order to feed the increasing population (Rangel, 2015, para. 20). A solution to increase the production from farms across the globe is to genetically modify food. Scientists can manipulate the genes of different crops to increase the crops size, quantity, shelf life and even resistance to pests. In recent years, genetically modified foods have begun to show up in grocery stores across the globe. Some consumers do not object to eating genetically modified food, but others have started to question how genetically modified food could affect the consumer. Rangel (2015) wrote that genetically modified objects are not new to society and should be nothing to worry about. He stated that humans have altered the genetics of organisms for over 30,000 years through the process of selective breeding or artificial selection (para. 1). Selective breeding may not be conducted in a lab like genetically modified objects (GMO) today, but it is comparable to GMOs because through selective breeding, farmers choose the plants with the most desirable traits and plant the seeds from those plants in order to have an enhanced crop the following year. Even though studies have found pros and cons of genetically modified food, researchers still need to conduct additional studies in order to better understand how genetically modified food could possibly affect the health of humans.