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Comparing An Animals Place By Pollan And Hurst

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In the articles “An Animals Place,” by Michael Pollan, and “The Omnivore’s Delusion: Against the Agri-intellectuals,” by Blake Hurst, the controversial methods of farming in today’s society are examined. Modern farming methods are a relevant topic of discussion because the foods that people consume have a direct impact on their health, therefore they should be aware of the procedures that farming methods employ. Pollan and Hurst have differing beliefs on farming methods, but similar interests in the environment, people, and animals.
In the article “An Animals Place,” the author, Michael Pollan sheds light on the barbaric institution of American meat-packing. Pollan asserts that the practice of industrial farming is enabled by capitalism (369). …show more content…

Both Pollan and Hurst agree that animals should be a part of our diet, however they disagree on the amount and type of meat people should consume. Pollan believes that people should limit the amount of meat that they eat, and that it should be organic (376). Hurst, on the other hand, believes that animals are free to be eaten, and that industrial farming is the only way to satisfy the increasing population. Both authors are concerned about the welfare of animals, but have opposing beliefs on how their wellbeing should be maintained. Hurst believes that animal should be upheld by the use of industrial farming tools that benefit the animals, such as pig gestational crates. Pollan, however, believes that animal welfare should be espoused by allowing animals to live free-range and follow their natural instincts. Pollan and Hurst are also concerned with protecting the environment, but disagree on what the best avenue of protection is. Pollan believes that the environment would be better protected if animals were put back on farms and raised organically (370). Hurst believes that industrial farming practitioners are sufficient in their efforts to protect the environment because they are conscious of the effects industrial farming has on the environment, and they take steps to reduce the harm it could have on the environment, such as monitoring nitrogen levels. The authors, despite their differing views on the best way to accomplish their beliefs, successfully convey their

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Pachirtat writes, “This book provides a firsthand account of contemporary, industrialized slaughter and does so to provoke reflection on how distance and concealment operate as mechanisms of power in modern society.” (3) Pachirtat’s main argument of this book is not to bring light to the thirty-three million cows that are killed every year in the United States, but to make an argument on how distance and concealment of the slaughterhouse are hidden by power. Pachirtat explains that there are laws put into place that prevent any outsiders to enter the slaughterhouse and to keep what is going on inside hidden from society. Throughout the book Pachirtat’s style of writing can make the biggest meat lover think twice before biting into their next hamburger, the main argument is not the cow. He states that “this book does not engage directly with arguments for animals rights, it is my deepest hope that its detailed account of industrialized killing will invite readers to seek a more thoughtful relationship with the nonhuman creatures.

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In Blake Hurst’s “The Omnivore’s Delusion: Against the Agri-Intellectuals,” he opposes the accusations made by tofu-eating, recycled-toilet-paper-using, self-starving Michael Pollan and his followers. Throughout “The Omnivore’s Delusion…,” Hurst mentions how methods of farming have evolved to match demands of produce. The author states that “Only ‘Industrial farming’ can possibly meet the demands of an increasing population and increased demand for food as a result of growing incomes” (Hurst 4). This quote essentially means that “Industrial Farming” is the most efficient way to farm for today’s population level. A second point that is made by Hurst is that changes made by today’s farming are necessary.

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Thread 1: In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Pollan describes what the omnivore’s dilemma actually is. He begins his book as a naturalist in a supermarket trying to decide “what to eat?”. This question is harder to answer without asking where the food originates. Knowing where food comes from is very difficult, unless it is locally grown or clearly states it on the package. Processed food is more complicated to understand where it comes from.

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Rhetorical Analysis “Down on the factory farm” The last thing that comes to our mind when we order a piece of steak at a restaurant is how that animal we are about to eat was being treated while they were alive. According to author Peter Singer’s article "Down on the factory farm” he questions what happened to your dinner when it was still an animal? He argues about the use and abuse of animals raised for our consumption. In Singer’s article he states personal facts and convincing statistics to raise a legitimate argument.

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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.

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Introduction In this article “Against Meat” (2009) Jonathan Safran Foer explains his experience from a young age until the present struggling whether being a vegetarian or an omnivore because he doesn’t want to hurt animals at the same time he can’t resist food because it tasted good. Jonathan Safran Foer is an American novelist (born February 21, 1977) He graduated from Princeton University with a degree in philosophy, in his freshman year he took a writing class from the novelist Joyce Carol.

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Michael Pollan’s alternative to Factory farming has given a huge insight into a better ethics on food. In “The Animals: Practicing Complexity” Michael Pollan writes about a polyface farm and how it works. The goal of a polyface farm is to emotionally, economically, and environmentally enhance agriculture. Everything on a polyface farm has the potential to be helpful to something else on the farm. Pollan states “The chicken feed not only feeds the broilers but, transformed into chicken crap, feeds the grass that feeds the cows that, as I was about to see, feeds the pigs and the laying hens” (Pollan 345).

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“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”.

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With the help of appealing strategies and literary devices, guidance is provided to us which gives a clearer comprehension of the book itself. Especially the logos strategy gives the readers a sign that Pollan tries the best to get involved with the dilemma for understanding it better than just the obvious. Setting his unique tone throughout the book, Pollan provides his critical attitudes towards the phenomenon that the industrial farms are taking advantage of the ignorance of people’s knowledge of what they are eating, making large profits regardless the health and safety of people. The purpose of informing people what they are eating and what goes behind the food is reached with his investigation and observation expressed throughout the book, bringing the awareness of knowing the truth to the

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Eating Towards Global Warming Global warming has been a topic of debate for many years now. A more recent argument is that food production is a key contributing factor to the global warming epidemic. In the article “A Carnivore’s Dilemma”, Nicolette Niman provides an insight to the logistics being said in these statements.

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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.

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Ambar Delacruz Essay 1: The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma addresses a variety of concerns about food production and consumption. One might ask what exactly is the omnivore’s dilemma? And the basic answer to this question is “what should we eat for dinner”?

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In An Animal’s Place, Michael Pollan describes the growing acknowledgement of animal rights, particularly America’s decision between vegetarianism and meat-eating. However, this growing sense of sentiment towards animals is coupled with a growing sense of brutality in farms and science labs. According to Pollan, the lacking respect for specific species of animals lies in the fact that they are absent from human’s everyday lives; enabling them to avoid acknowledgment of what they are doing when partaking in brutality towards animals. He presents arguments for why vegetarianism would make sense in certain instances and why it would not and ultimately lead to the decision of eating-meat while treating the animals fairly in the process. Pollan

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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.

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The meat packing industry disregards animal’s emotions and their rights all together by the malicious treatment of animals. The way animals are being treated is highly unfair. Being slaughtered for their body parts and suffering just to be used for protein or an asset to humans is unbearable. An animal’s life is at equal values to a human and deserve the same rights as

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