Friday, October 28, 2011
Summary
Veganism provides countless benefits to a person's overall health, and aims to prevent environmental destruction and animal cruelty. The normal American-diet is a main cause for the degregation of our health, environmental destruction AND animal exploitation. Vegetarian diets eliminate eating most meat, but still support dairy and other animal products, therefore adding to environmental destruction and animal cruelty. Only the Vegan diet aids in providing a better world for us to live in, preserving our planet, and treating animals with the equality they deserve. Veganism eliminates many harmful fats, salts, sugars and other not-so-nutritious ingredients by avoiding all animal products. By avoiding these animal products, the diet thereby avoids supporting large-scale factory farms that mistreat and exploit animals, and that pollute and destroy our land. Veganism is the starting line to living consciously on this Earth.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Works Cited
Works Cited
"Disturbing Facts on Factory Farming & Food Safety." Organic Consumers Association. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.organicconsumers.org/toxic/factoryfarm.cfm>.
"Environmental Destruction." Vegan Outreach | Working to End Cruelty to Animals. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/environment.html>.
"Factory Farms." Vegan Outreach | Working to End Cruelty to Animals. Vegan Outreach. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/animals.html>.
"Facts about Pollution from Livestock Farms." Natural Resources Defense Council – The Earth’s Best Defense | NRDC. 13 Jan. 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/ffarms.asp>.
Livestocks Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. Rep. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2006. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. <ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a0701e/a0701e03.pdf>.
"New Study Explodes Myth About Vegetarian Diet." PCRM: Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. 1 Aug. 2004. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.pcrm.org/search/?cid=1037>.
"Oprah Winfrey and Dietary Guidelines Highlight Benefits of Vegan Diet." PCRM: Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.pcrm.org/search/?cid=2471>.
Vegan Action. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.vegan.org/>.
"Vegetarian Foods: Powerful for Health." PCRM: Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. PCRM. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.pcrm.org/search/?cid=248>.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Style
The "Approach to Style" section proved to be of great help. One of the early suggestions, to revise and rewrite, is a major suggestion I need to implement into my writing. It is a scary thing to go through a freshly written paper of your own, critquing and analyzing. I don't want to see all of my flaws, right?However, it is an extremely necessary component of writing. Another suggestion that I catch myself breaking often is avoiding the use of qualifiers. I seem to use them very often, in pretty much all of my writing; it's rather annoying. I'll type them out, notice them, then have to reword my sentences. It is one of those suggestions that is intuitive, but it doesn't hurt at all to have a constant reminder. Overwriting and explaining too much are two other suggestions that I am guilty of, and plan to pay special attention to when writing the persuasive paper.
The suggestions to not explain too much can be counterintuitive. One might think that he needs to explain in depth to avoid any chance of misunderstanding. However, in over explaining a thought, or a scene, one can in turn create misunderstanding. Not overwriting is another potentially counterintuitive suggestion. The more the merrier, right? In this instance, not so much. It's all too easy to get carried away on the keyboard; it's an instant transfer from a person's mind, to a person's paper. The author gave a great example of overwriting, and was spot-on when he said it comes off egotistical. Appearing full of myself isn't a component I want in my writing.
These suggestions will be in the front of my mind while writing this paper, with the book at my side. Also, extra close scrutiny will be implemented when revising. Every bit I've read in this book has helped tremendously.
The suggestions to not explain too much can be counterintuitive. One might think that he needs to explain in depth to avoid any chance of misunderstanding. However, in over explaining a thought, or a scene, one can in turn create misunderstanding. Not overwriting is another potentially counterintuitive suggestion. The more the merrier, right? In this instance, not so much. It's all too easy to get carried away on the keyboard; it's an instant transfer from a person's mind, to a person's paper. The author gave a great example of overwriting, and was spot-on when he said it comes off egotistical. Appearing full of myself isn't a component I want in my writing.
These suggestions will be in the front of my mind while writing this paper, with the book at my side. Also, extra close scrutiny will be implemented when revising. Every bit I've read in this book has helped tremendously.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Letter from Birmingham Jail
Martin Luther King Jr. writes with such passion and eloquence, his words and motive soak into the heart with ease. In his Letters from Birmingham Jail, King describes the immediate action needed to end the oppression of Black-Americans. Although his letter is addressed to his "fellow clergymen", his voice is meant to be heard by all.
His tone throughout could very easily be a condescending one; however, King is much more classy than this. Every sentence is thoughtfully worded, carefully examined, and packs a punch. He consistently references well-known philosophers and religious figures, such as Socrates, St. Augustine, Martin Luther, and even Jesus himself. He uses their powerful words to support his cause effectively. King is also careful to never directly attack, or insult, the fellow clergyman this letter is being written to. He critiques them, advises them, and scrutinizes them, but never crosses the line in the process.
Many times throughout his letters, King makes claims that hit the reader on a fundamental level of moral righteousness. "One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty." Poking holes in unjust laws and actions, prodding others to take stands against the immoralities is a constant theme throughout.
Examples of logical fallacies are utilized to King's advantage, and are not so easily seen due to his careful wording. "We had no alternative except to prepare for direct action", a quote seen on page 156, is one example of a fallacy I found. However, after examining the logical fallacies sheet, I can't pin my finger on the fallacy correlating to this quotation. What do you think? Another; "...law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress." I found this one to be similar to the slippery slope fallacy, although his words seem spot-on (in my opinion).
He steadily utilizes all three appeals; logos, ethos, and pathos. They are very visible throughout, and very effective in getting his points across to the audience. An example I saw of a logos appeal was on page 160, where the paragraph starts "Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application," then following in sound logical examples. Another, "Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily." A more ethos example I remember is him asking was on page 166. Although this seemingly is a either-or logical fallacy, I found in it great moral appeal: "Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?" Painting these as the only two options, it is effective in raising moral questions within the reader.
Reading these passionate words from such a level-headed leader will undoubtedly be a great example for writing our persuasive paper. I couldn't have imagined a greater person to learn from, with regards to writing persuasively. I will have King in mind throughout my essay writing, referring to his wise choice of words, and careful contemplation.
His tone throughout could very easily be a condescending one; however, King is much more classy than this. Every sentence is thoughtfully worded, carefully examined, and packs a punch. He consistently references well-known philosophers and religious figures, such as Socrates, St. Augustine, Martin Luther, and even Jesus himself. He uses their powerful words to support his cause effectively. King is also careful to never directly attack, or insult, the fellow clergyman this letter is being written to. He critiques them, advises them, and scrutinizes them, but never crosses the line in the process.
Many times throughout his letters, King makes claims that hit the reader on a fundamental level of moral righteousness. "One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty." Poking holes in unjust laws and actions, prodding others to take stands against the immoralities is a constant theme throughout.
Examples of logical fallacies are utilized to King's advantage, and are not so easily seen due to his careful wording. "We had no alternative except to prepare for direct action", a quote seen on page 156, is one example of a fallacy I found. However, after examining the logical fallacies sheet, I can't pin my finger on the fallacy correlating to this quotation. What do you think? Another; "...law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress." I found this one to be similar to the slippery slope fallacy, although his words seem spot-on (in my opinion).
He steadily utilizes all three appeals; logos, ethos, and pathos. They are very visible throughout, and very effective in getting his points across to the audience. An example I saw of a logos appeal was on page 160, where the paragraph starts "Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application," then following in sound logical examples. Another, "Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily." A more ethos example I remember is him asking was on page 166. Although this seemingly is a either-or logical fallacy, I found in it great moral appeal: "Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?" Painting these as the only two options, it is effective in raising moral questions within the reader.
Reading these passionate words from such a level-headed leader will undoubtedly be a great example for writing our persuasive paper. I couldn't have imagined a greater person to learn from, with regards to writing persuasively. I will have King in mind throughout my essay writing, referring to his wise choice of words, and careful contemplation.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Logical Fallacies
My three fallacies:
Either-or: "The entire planet must adopt a Vegan diet, or the human race will continue to suffer."
-This paints an extreme picture that either every single person switches to the Vegan diet, or our lives will be miserable. Obviously, this not the case. If the human race switched to a Vegan diet, many health/environmental issues might be solved; but violence, war, prejudice, ignorance, mental illness, habitat destruction, etc. etc. would still exist. Adopting a Vegan diet would not end all suffering.
Slippery Slope: "If we stop eating all animal products, as Vegan's persist, millions upon millions of wild animals will trample through the land."
- The statement above implies that being Vegan would inevitably lead to this highly unlikely scenario. That is similar to saying if we only eat meat and no plant-based food, wild plants will grow thousands of feet tall and block the sun; a very unlikely outcome. This statement is set up to make veganism sound outrageous, so one reading would easily disregard that position.
Oversimplification: "No one would get heart disease if every person was a Vegan."
- Being vegan may greatly reduce your chances for heart disease and other illnesses, but many other factors play into this. Lack of physical fitness, smoking, drinking, and numerous factors all play a part in causing heart disease. This 'oversimplification' implies being Vegan is the solution. However, this is not the case, as many factors play into it.
Either-or: "The entire planet must adopt a Vegan diet, or the human race will continue to suffer."
-This paints an extreme picture that either every single person switches to the Vegan diet, or our lives will be miserable. Obviously, this not the case. If the human race switched to a Vegan diet, many health/environmental issues might be solved; but violence, war, prejudice, ignorance, mental illness, habitat destruction, etc. etc. would still exist. Adopting a Vegan diet would not end all suffering.
Slippery Slope: "If we stop eating all animal products, as Vegan's persist, millions upon millions of wild animals will trample through the land."
- The statement above implies that being Vegan would inevitably lead to this highly unlikely scenario. That is similar to saying if we only eat meat and no plant-based food, wild plants will grow thousands of feet tall and block the sun; a very unlikely outcome. This statement is set up to make veganism sound outrageous, so one reading would easily disregard that position.
Oversimplification: "No one would get heart disease if every person was a Vegan."
- Being vegan may greatly reduce your chances for heart disease and other illnesses, but many other factors play into this. Lack of physical fitness, smoking, drinking, and numerous factors all play a part in causing heart disease. This 'oversimplification' implies being Vegan is the solution. However, this is not the case, as many factors play into it.
Topic!
In a country seemingly designed for complete carnivores, devoting oneself to eating no sort of animal product is a mountainous task. People living the Vegan lifestyle will certainly back up that statement; they must carefully plan meals each day, and be very informed on what is allowed, and not allowed, to eat. Vegan's choose to eat only foods that come from the earth. What does that entail? Well, it literally means no meat of any kind (no chicken, fish, red meat) and no dairy of any kind (no milk, no cheese, no egg). This is a completley plant-based diet.
Numerous reasons exist for why people switch to this lifestyle of consumption. Due to the industrializaton of how animals are raised for food, many find themselves disgusted with this process, wanting no part in supporting the mistreatment, unfairness, and mutualization of animal livestock. With two-thirds of the country being obese, many see Veganism as the solution. In fact, so many diseases that exist in our world today could be avoided by simply ridding ourselves of animal products in our diet. Other reasons include the unneccessary environmental waste and destruction that is a product of our meat-based diet; twice as much water is used supporting this diet than would be a less-intensive meat diet.
When presented with the idea of Veganism, people often say, "Oh man, meat is half of my diet. There is no way I could live without meat." The truth is that you can, and you'd be much better off. What goes into your so-called "meat" will surprise you, and disgust you. As Einstein was quoted saying, "Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet". Whether for the switch to Vegetarian or Vegan, a critical look at America's food system today will reveal atrocities that cannot go ignored.
The benefits are countless, the negative consequences few. This foreign concept of Veganism deserves to be presented and examined. It is time to once again become conscious eaters; we have strayed far from knowing what we are putting inside our body.
Numerous reasons exist for why people switch to this lifestyle of consumption. Due to the industrializaton of how animals are raised for food, many find themselves disgusted with this process, wanting no part in supporting the mistreatment, unfairness, and mutualization of animal livestock. With two-thirds of the country being obese, many see Veganism as the solution. In fact, so many diseases that exist in our world today could be avoided by simply ridding ourselves of animal products in our diet. Other reasons include the unneccessary environmental waste and destruction that is a product of our meat-based diet; twice as much water is used supporting this diet than would be a less-intensive meat diet.
When presented with the idea of Veganism, people often say, "Oh man, meat is half of my diet. There is no way I could live without meat." The truth is that you can, and you'd be much better off. What goes into your so-called "meat" will surprise you, and disgust you. As Einstein was quoted saying, "Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet". Whether for the switch to Vegetarian or Vegan, a critical look at America's food system today will reveal atrocities that cannot go ignored.
The benefits are countless, the negative consequences few. This foreign concept of Veganism deserves to be presented and examined. It is time to once again become conscious eaters; we have strayed far from knowing what we are putting inside our body.
Monday, October 10, 2011
When Opinion Matters
Luckily I have the perfect example of my opinion mattering.
This past weekend my girlfriend, three of my great friends, and me, all flew down to Los Angeles to attend the most epic concert of all time. It was the largest single-headling DJ event of all time (an estimated 26,000 people), and ended DJ Tiesto's Club Life: College Tour; as DJ Tiesto said, we changed history that night. We flew down on Friday morning and roamed around all day, then followed suit on Saturday until the concert. We have been to Tiesto concerts before, so with that experience and knowing that there were 3 opening DJ's, we figured we wouldn't even get try to get there until a few hours in.
I agreed with everyone that Tiesto wouldn't be coming on for a long time after the event started. However, we put lots of money, time and effort into getting to this concert; I didn't want to take the risk of missing this history-making concert. I decided to convince everyone to leave an hour earlier than we originally planned for the concert. Once we got there, we saw the constant flow of hundreds of people just like us piling in. After waiting in line, emptying our pockets, and being patted down (luckily for this type of event, people know coming in that this will occur) we got into the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
We head over to the top of the stands, and see thousands and thousands of people raving and dancing. The lightshow was non-stop crazy instense: the music boomed louder than at any concert I had ever previously witnessed. After using the bathroom and buying some waters, we head down to the general admission floor. We get right in the middle of the madness, as we love to do. Within minutes, the last opening DJ gets off stage, and DJ Tiesto comes on! It was perfect timing; had we left when we originally planned, we would've showed up halfway into his show that we traveled over 1500 miles to see. My opinion mattered.
After dancing all night, meeting countless interesting people, and celebrating life to the fullest, we were pooped upon arrival at our hotel. We planned on spending the entire next morning at Redondo Beach, before catching our 3:35 flight out of LAX. I have much experience with waking up all of these guys, who were currently passed out in my hotel; I knew waking them up in the morning would not be an easy task, especially after a night like that. 8:30am came around, and I forced everyone to wake up. The morning went slowly, but we were all up and about. They wanted to sleep that extra few hours, but I knew that wasn't the way to end our stay in L.A.
Once everyone was ready, we called our taxi, checked out of our hotel, and headed to the beach. Let me tell you; there couldn't have been a more perfect way to end this crazy journey of ours, together, than relaxing on the beach all morning. After plopping down our luggage within sight, we headed to the shoreline. The majestic sound of crashing waves filled our eardrums. As we sat along the coast, we let the breeze flowing from the ocean fill our nostrils; a smell we shared together. The waves crashed, and we heard them together. The sun's warmth surrounded us, and we felt it together. We sparked the joints, and tasted them together. We gazed upon the endless Pacific Ocean, looking to where the sky and water become one; we saw this beauty, together. We laughed at the heavenly joy life has to offer, together.
My opinion mattered.
This past weekend my girlfriend, three of my great friends, and me, all flew down to Los Angeles to attend the most epic concert of all time. It was the largest single-headling DJ event of all time (an estimated 26,000 people), and ended DJ Tiesto's Club Life: College Tour; as DJ Tiesto said, we changed history that night. We flew down on Friday morning and roamed around all day, then followed suit on Saturday until the concert. We have been to Tiesto concerts before, so with that experience and knowing that there were 3 opening DJ's, we figured we wouldn't even get try to get there until a few hours in.
I agreed with everyone that Tiesto wouldn't be coming on for a long time after the event started. However, we put lots of money, time and effort into getting to this concert; I didn't want to take the risk of missing this history-making concert. I decided to convince everyone to leave an hour earlier than we originally planned for the concert. Once we got there, we saw the constant flow of hundreds of people just like us piling in. After waiting in line, emptying our pockets, and being patted down (luckily for this type of event, people know coming in that this will occur) we got into the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
We head over to the top of the stands, and see thousands and thousands of people raving and dancing. The lightshow was non-stop crazy instense: the music boomed louder than at any concert I had ever previously witnessed. After using the bathroom and buying some waters, we head down to the general admission floor. We get right in the middle of the madness, as we love to do. Within minutes, the last opening DJ gets off stage, and DJ Tiesto comes on! It was perfect timing; had we left when we originally planned, we would've showed up halfway into his show that we traveled over 1500 miles to see. My opinion mattered.
After dancing all night, meeting countless interesting people, and celebrating life to the fullest, we were pooped upon arrival at our hotel. We planned on spending the entire next morning at Redondo Beach, before catching our 3:35 flight out of LAX. I have much experience with waking up all of these guys, who were currently passed out in my hotel; I knew waking them up in the morning would not be an easy task, especially after a night like that. 8:30am came around, and I forced everyone to wake up. The morning went slowly, but we were all up and about. They wanted to sleep that extra few hours, but I knew that wasn't the way to end our stay in L.A.
Once everyone was ready, we called our taxi, checked out of our hotel, and headed to the beach. Let me tell you; there couldn't have been a more perfect way to end this crazy journey of ours, together, than relaxing on the beach all morning. After plopping down our luggage within sight, we headed to the shoreline. The majestic sound of crashing waves filled our eardrums. As we sat along the coast, we let the breeze flowing from the ocean fill our nostrils; a smell we shared together. The waves crashed, and we heard them together. The sun's warmth surrounded us, and we felt it together. We sparked the joints, and tasted them together. We gazed upon the endless Pacific Ocean, looking to where the sky and water become one; we saw this beauty, together. We laughed at the heavenly joy life has to offer, together.
My opinion mattered.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Muddiest Point
This assignment is pretty straight forward. No guidelines are unclear, though it is a little tricky to pick a topic. You gave a very good example of what the topic should be (X out of A-Z), and what it shouldn't be (for or against abortion), so I clearly understand it. I just don't have the slightest clue as to what I will choose as my own topic; a little more thought must go into our topic, as opposed to being for or against a moral dilemma. Now that is not to say that I'm against giving effort and having deep thought, rather I'm just stating a fact.
An appropriate amount of time has been given to us before the rough draft is due, so I wouldn't change that factor. However, I would potentially argue that although much logic is invovled in "selling" whatever we choose, bringing morals into play is a strong component. Mainly in the sense that touching on morals, moral obligations, etc. hits deep down in many people, and gets them emotionally invovled. I will certainly follow the guidelines; it just takes a conscious effort to eliminate emotional and moral reasoning, especially when there is much passion and attachment with a certain topic.
The only thing I can potentially think that would make this assignment easier is if we were assigned certain boundaries for our topic. For example, we have to pick a certain basketball team and persuade others why they are the best. Now, this is only easier because we wouldn't have such a wide array of options, and wouldn't have to spend much time pondering our topic. Easier in a way, however it would not be near as fun to write about, because we would not feel as strongly about the assigned topic. Plus it would be very limiting, and esepcially lame if someone knew nothing about the topic choice.
The assignment was put into very simple and easy to understand terms. I have no questions at this point. I might later have a question if I am unsure of whether my topic is within the guidelines. Until then, au revoir.
An appropriate amount of time has been given to us before the rough draft is due, so I wouldn't change that factor. However, I would potentially argue that although much logic is invovled in "selling" whatever we choose, bringing morals into play is a strong component. Mainly in the sense that touching on morals, moral obligations, etc. hits deep down in many people, and gets them emotionally invovled. I will certainly follow the guidelines; it just takes a conscious effort to eliminate emotional and moral reasoning, especially when there is much passion and attachment with a certain topic.
The only thing I can potentially think that would make this assignment easier is if we were assigned certain boundaries for our topic. For example, we have to pick a certain basketball team and persuade others why they are the best. Now, this is only easier because we wouldn't have such a wide array of options, and wouldn't have to spend much time pondering our topic. Easier in a way, however it would not be near as fun to write about, because we would not feel as strongly about the assigned topic. Plus it would be very limiting, and esepcially lame if someone knew nothing about the topic choice.
The assignment was put into very simple and easy to understand terms. I have no questions at this point. I might later have a question if I am unsure of whether my topic is within the guidelines. Until then, au revoir.
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