An old cartoon shows a small child with a hopeful, questioning face looking up at a perplexed parent holding a gallon jug and stammering, “Um, well, I don’t know the cow’s name, but you need to drink the milk anyway.” The cartoon is funny, but maybe the joke is on us. Harvest Public Media reporter Luke Runyon reports on a trend of consolidation among “big agriculture” companies in this November 2016 essay in Flatland, a digital magazine from Kansas City, Missouri.
Read it here: Runyon, “’Why you should care about ‘big ag’ companies getting bigger”
- Runyon concludes his essay by stating that “farmers and consumers [have] plenty to chew on” in evaluating the trend toward the consolidation of large agriculture companies. Does Runyon explicitly state his opinion of this trend? Besides explicit position statements, in what ways does Runyon’s essay reveal his position and point of view? Consider the evidence he presents and its sources, the amount of attention given to each of the sides, the order in which the information is presented, and any other features you consider relevant.
- Runyon provides quotations from a number of individuals involved in the consolidation of agriculture companies. Who are those people? What organizations do they represent? What is each person’s position on the consolidation? Does Runyon treat each of them fairly? Why or why not?
- Chapter 2 of your text recommends that you use “vivid and precise verbs as often as possible” when quoting or summarizing. Runyon relies very heavily, however, on the verb say. Why might Runyon have chosen such a strategy? Is the strategy effective? Why or why not? Runyon uses the verb say five times when quoting and paraphrasing business professor David King. Using the verb lists on pp. 39-40 of your text, change the verb say in those places to verbs that might be more vivid or precise. Explain your choices.
- According to one of Runyon’s sources, “[P]olicy makers today have no sense of food or where it comes from.” How about you? Do you know where your food comes from? Make a list of what you ate yesterday. For each item, try to list all of the ingredients, and for each ingredient, reconstruct where it came from and what processes it went through to be able to appear on your plate. Once you’ve made a good faith effort at the task, discuss with your classmates why the task was so difficult.
- Those who support the consolidation of “big ag” companies argue that efficiency will be improved and that farmers will be given more product choices. Those who oppose the consolidation argue that profits for shareholders will increasingly take priority over every other consideration. You may not be a food producer, but you are certainly a food eater. What is your opinion of the consolidation? Write an essay arguing for your position; use Runyon or any of his sources as your They Say, and use the templates and strategies outlined in Chapter 8 of your text to connect your words with theirs.
thank you for this information.
Posted by: maryjane | 05/18/2017 at 02:50 AM
Anything that promotes agriculture should be supported
Posted by: Martin Buuri Kaburia | 10/01/2017 at 09:08 AM