Hi! This paper is about the juxtaposition between overproduction
of food and food waste, along with the food insecurity/hunger epidemic in The
United States. I will write the instructions my professor gave me for the assignment:
Assignment:
Why write about nature? Why, indeed? All the writers you have looked at in this short six weeks are writing about nature and the environment and asking us to expand or nuance our beliefs. You may have also found places in their writing to disagree, too–this OK!–this is also good learning.
Now you make a foray into addressing the question of “why write.” We will think of Lena Heinrich’s “The Tales We Tell” as something of a model text, although your essays will be longer, and they do not have to take the more STEM approach that she does. You will also have a researched component that asks you to consider how writing about nature might help us see what future generations may condemn–or praise–us for. So, as you move around the world and read and watch videos, etc., be thinking about possible topics!
Requirments:
The essay needs to include your own experiences and narratives (so yes you’ll need to use “I”)- *on this you can kinda make something up about how when i was younger i used to be a really picker eater so i would not eat and waste a lot of food and since i have gotten older i carried some tenedices of waste waste and over consumption but learning about this stuff has helped me be more aware and work towards being better about it. a good transition into the discussion of why it is important to write about nature, because it makes peoplemore aware of things they would not have thought about before and forces them to reflect on themselves and their actions and how they affect the enviorment around us *
You will need to find an arguable thesis *my thesis is about what I stated above: This
is an issue future generations are going to reprimand us for for a multitude of
reasons. The main objective I want to focus on is how unsustainable the current
path we are on is. The practices we currently use deplete natural resources,
contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, and lead to
deforestation, harming ecosystems and biodiversity. Economically, they
represent a massive waste of money and labor. Ethically, they are indefensible
given the global hunger crisis and the stark inequalities in food distribution.
Our current practices undermine long-term sustainability, degrade soil health,
and show our failure to innovate and improve supply chain efficiencies.
Additionally, the cultural norms of excess and lack of widespread education on
these issues further enhance the problem. Feel free to workshop it*
You must use Kwame Anthony Appiah’s essay
You must use at least 5-6 class texts in addition to Appiah’s text *I will link all the sources you need to use below*
You will also need a researched component that picks something specific about what future generations will condemn–or praise–us for. In the past students have gone a lot of different ways with this part of the essay. Some have focused on a particular animal or plant that is going extinct and argued that future generations will condemn us for allowing this to happen. Others have written about species we’ve saved. Nuclear waste, food waste, space junk, lab-grown meat, fast fashion have all made appearances. You may also have gotten an idea from one of the readings; for example, maybe future generations will praise us for recognizing that not everyone has equal access to nature and attempting to change that narrative. You will need to find 3-4 sources on your own to support your argument. At least two of these sources must be scholarly.
Structure needs to reflect the emphasis the class has had on synthesis and bringing sources into conversation. The organization should be driven by your thesis and claims, with claims getting support (or pushback) from multiple sources at least some of the time.
Sources must be cited using MLA in-text citations and a Works Cited
Imagine an audience who has NOT read these texts (and in fact they will not have read the research you find) and write for them–which means you’ll need to contextualize your sources!
Need to include discussion of the idea “why write about nature” to satisfy that part of the prompt. Its okay if it’s a light dicussion or is more part of the into or conclusion, just needs to be discussed.
Needs to be 7 – 10 pages long, size 12 font double spaced
I will provide pdf’s of all the sources you need to use, except one which I will link here. Thank you!
Below is an example of how to apply the sources into the context of the argument:
One source from class readings that I plan to use in my project is, “Justice Is A Living Organism” by Gabriela Nunez. This article the impact of agribusiness on the environment, including the poisoning of water and soil through the use of pesticides and insecticides. The mention of planes spraying crops at night or in the early hours to avoid detection, and the resulting contamination of the fields, speaks to the broader issue of industrial agriculture’s impact on the environment and rapid food production. This article highlights the environmental and health consequences of intensive agricultural practices, which often lead to overproduction and waste. Another source from the class readings I plan to use is “What Will Future Generations Condemn Us For” by Kwame Anthony Appiah. Appiah argues that just as we now condemn practices like slavery and gender-based voting exclusions that were once widely accepted, future generations will likely judge some of our current behaviors as morally reprehensible. I believe our current practice of overproduction of food and food waste will be one of these behaviors that are looked back on as unacceptable. The article also discusses factory farming. The critique of factory farming in the article focuses on the ethical concerns surrounding the treatment of animals and the conditions in which they are raised for meat production. This industrial approach to meat production prioritizes efficiency and scale over animal welfare and environmental sustainability, which heavily contributes to overproduction and the waste that comes from it.
