For this week, you're going to continue writing your argument overview and should finish up the paper.

Writing the paper. As you write your second discussion section, consider this organization.

In regard to your two discussion sections:
- Outline two arguments that Lusk presents in regard to the issue.
- Provide specific analyses that move from general-to-specific.
- Include specific examples from Lusk to support each argument.
In regard to the conclusion, your paper's conclusion should
- Bring the discussion to a close by, perhaps, identifying further research or analysis, making suggestions for future action, or connecting the arguments to contemporary concerns or challenges.

Revising the paper. We've discussed throughout the semester how to organize our writing within the paper (i.e., section-to-section: Introduction, Discussion Sections, Conclusion) and within the discussion sections (i.e., sections longer than 1 paragraph, grouped by topic, moving from general to specific, paragraph-to-paragraph).

Struggling to write the paper? Here is an example of a paper based on this assignment.

James Smith

Instructor’s Name

Composition I

16 September 2018

Overviewing Arguments in Unnaturally Delicious:

Effects of the Media on Reducing Food Waste

When thinking about wasting food, most people would probably think about all of the leftovers they inevitably end up throwing away on trash night or a child feeding his food to the dog because he is not hungry. For Dr. Jayson Lusk, the author of Unnaturally Delicious, it is about wasting more than just dinner. In his book, Lusk, Professor and Chair of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University, points out the majority of our food waste comes directly from inefficiencies in the food production process itself. In fact, he says that “more than 30 percent of the nation’s food supply--133 billion pounds each year--goes uneaten” (150).

Lusk summarizes the efforts of Eldon Roth, the Founder and Owner of Beef Products, Inc. (BPI), to reduce the amount of waste in the beef industry. Roth saw an opportunity to reduce the amount of a cattle carcass that was wasted by separating the protein from the much more fatty cuts of meat that were typically thrown away. This “lean finely textured beef,” as it is called, is sold to other food manufacturers to make lean ground beef. In fact, Lusk quotes animal welfare expert Temple Grandin in saying that if people were to stop using lean finely textured beef, it would be the equivalent of “[taking] a truckload [of cattle] each day from each big plant and just throwing them in the garbage” (154-5).

It is important, then, that we consider the need for humane and accessible food. Lusk elaborates more on this point throughout his book. Therefore, in this paper, I will overview two arguments presented by Lusk: first, our media has led us to turn our backs on one of the champions of reducing food waste, and second that lean finely textured beef is essential if we are to alleviate food waste in our country.

Effects of Media On Food Waste

One argument presented in Unnaturally Delicious is that if we want companies to recycle and reduce waste, we shouldn’t punish them for doing so. In other words, whenever a company like BPI takes the waste from beef trimmings and turns it into a usable product, we should make informed decisions when the media uses it to perpetuate the public’s skepticism of processed foods. For example, in Chapter Nine, Lusk explains that a negative connotation that has become associated with BPI’s lean finely textured beef is the term “pink slime.” Pink slime is a picture that surfaced on the internet of a pink substance that Lusk says is not lean finely textured beef. He supports this point by saying that the term is not an accurate description of BPI’s product, and he has not found any food experts who actually know what the picture is. According to Lusk, “It is catchy but inaccurate. The product is not slimy. And it is pink only when frozen (as is the case for all beef)…I’ve yet to find an industry expert who knows what’s in the picture, yet it is the web image most viewed in connection with the term” (157). This is important because Lusk is saying that this widely accepted image of lean finely textured beef is misleading and creates undesirability for a product that is essential to reducing food waste. For much of the public, these kinds of images are the only insight that they have into how their food is made. It is irresponsible for the media to circulate information like this with nothing substantial to back it up.

Another example of Lusk’s argument is that a series of negative portrayals by films and news stories crippled a company that was making strides in reducing food waste. In other words, when media outlets such as the film Food, Inc, newspaper The New York Times, and the ABC World News with Diane Sawyer began painting BPI in a light resembling that of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, the public accepted it as the gospel. This is supported by Lusk, who points out that backlash from consumers resulted in lean finely textured beef going from being an ingredient in the majority of the nation’s ground beef to almost none of it. According to Lusk, “BPI eventually closed three of its plants and had to lay off more than six hundred employees. Finely textured beef went from being an ingredient in almost three-quarters of the nation’s hamburgers to nearly none” (159). In addition, Lusk said that he visited one of BPI’s plants himself. He said that safety and cleanliness were paramount at BPI, and found it odd that a company that was so invested in food safety could have its reputation ruined so easily. According to Lusk, “I’ve visited a lot of food plants, and BPI’s was one of the most technologically advanced, safety-conscious plants I’ve seen…What tarnished BPI’s reputation was no actual sickness or recall or outbreak; it was a series of TV shows and news stories” (160). These points are important because he shows just how much influence the media has on the American consumer, and the destructive capabilities that influence can wreak on what should be a highly respected company. The media has the power to influence the minds of a lot of people. Either the media has to be careful of what information they feed consumers, or consumers need to be more careful where they get their information.

LFB as Essential to Eliminating Food Waste

Another argument that Lusk makes in his book is that lean finely textured beef is essential if we are to alleviate food waste in our country. [paper would continue here]

________

For this week, then, you need to:

Explore/Learn
- Read Chapter 9, "Avoiding Plagiarism."
- Read Writing Toolkit: Writing the Conclusion.
Connect/Collaborate
- Complete
- Complete Wk 9: Discussion (JtC, Chpt 9).
Apply/Experiment
- Complete Wk 9: WA 2, Rough Draft (Complete).