The art of rhetoric
In this project I learned about rhetoric in both discourse and written form. Through this process I started to notice more how often rhetoric is used in every conversation I have and how to use it effectively.
PRoject Reflection
During this project we learned about what rhetoric is and how it can be used. With this we learned about forms of rhetoric such as doublespeak, satire and other ways to convince someone of your view. We also learned about what a logical fallacy is and how to avoid them in our speech and why it is important to. For my project I picked two different issues, for my written project I focused on how to create a sustainable society and for my spoken word I centered it around renewable resources and their importance.
For my written project I appealed to my intended audience of Durango and made my argument work to convince this community. I did this by focusing on action plans such as supporting an co-op and planting your own crops because I knew these were things that are possible for Durango residents. For my spoken form I appealed to myself as well as the community because it was a subject that I am very passionate about and wanted to learn more of. I also tried to bring this to my spoke presentation and convince my audience that way. I also showed my audience why this issue is relevant to them so they could realize why they want to make the change.
I connected to this project because both of the topic that I focused on were topics that I think are really important and that I wanted to share my perspective on. I also think that these issues should be talked about and also should be important to everyone. I also found this project interesting because of the way that it made me reflect on the way that rhetoric is tied into all of my conversations. I am interested in being a part of a healthy society that focuses on living ina sustainable way and a society that starts having less of a negative impact permanently on our world. I need to stop being such abusive stewards of my home and start valuing and taking care of what I have.
My biggest challenge in this project was finding a topic to do my spoken word on that I was passionate about and that carried relevance in our world. I had trouble thinking of a project that I would take pride in and be proud of. I wish that I had been able to choose a topic more quickly so that I would have had more time to refine my work. I also think that the quality of my spoken piece would have been better if I had spent less time on the writing portion and more on practicing the spoken version or picking one topic to do both the writing portion and the spoken portion on together.
I learned a lot about issues in our society that I will have to face in this lifetime with my peers. I a learned about these problems through my own research as well as listening to the work of my peers. I also learned a little bit more about how to most effectively communicate these issues and about how not to. In other words I saw examples of effective rhetoric in colemans project and davids and this will help me improve my view in the future. The biggest thing that I learned about in this project is about my own views and the reasons I have them and if those reasons are satisfying to me or if I need to keep searching for the answers and in most cases I just need to keep learning more about the issue.
For my written project I appealed to my intended audience of Durango and made my argument work to convince this community. I did this by focusing on action plans such as supporting an co-op and planting your own crops because I knew these were things that are possible for Durango residents. For my spoken form I appealed to myself as well as the community because it was a subject that I am very passionate about and wanted to learn more of. I also tried to bring this to my spoke presentation and convince my audience that way. I also showed my audience why this issue is relevant to them so they could realize why they want to make the change.
I connected to this project because both of the topic that I focused on were topics that I think are really important and that I wanted to share my perspective on. I also think that these issues should be talked about and also should be important to everyone. I also found this project interesting because of the way that it made me reflect on the way that rhetoric is tied into all of my conversations. I am interested in being a part of a healthy society that focuses on living ina sustainable way and a society that starts having less of a negative impact permanently on our world. I need to stop being such abusive stewards of my home and start valuing and taking care of what I have.
My biggest challenge in this project was finding a topic to do my spoken word on that I was passionate about and that carried relevance in our world. I had trouble thinking of a project that I would take pride in and be proud of. I wish that I had been able to choose a topic more quickly so that I would have had more time to refine my work. I also think that the quality of my spoken piece would have been better if I had spent less time on the writing portion and more on practicing the spoken version or picking one topic to do both the writing portion and the spoken portion on together.
I learned a lot about issues in our society that I will have to face in this lifetime with my peers. I a learned about these problems through my own research as well as listening to the work of my peers. I also learned a little bit more about how to most effectively communicate these issues and about how not to. In other words I saw examples of effective rhetoric in colemans project and davids and this will help me improve my view in the future. The biggest thing that I learned about in this project is about my own views and the reasons I have them and if those reasons are satisfying to me or if I need to keep searching for the answers and in most cases I just need to keep learning more about the issue.
Obesity Paper
Berrigan Kilgo
Not Enough Weight On Our Shoulders; To Much in Our Belly
If the old adage holds true, “we are what we eat”, what does it mean if we don’t know what we’re eating. Today we are shamelessly disconnected from our food source. As a consequence of this separation, our society is plagued with obesity, processed food and massive waste. Even though big agri-business has made it easier to access food for those who are busy it has also caused a detachment from people and their food source. In order to change this our government needs to stop subsidizing big agree business and our society overall needs to support small farms and local food businesses. Investing time in cooperative gardens, small farms and supporting local co-operatives that already exist are steps we can all take in order to become more self sufficient and less dependent on corporations.
The only limit to how much money big food corporations can make is how much we consume, and because of this, we’re encouraged to over-eat, overfeed, and, ultimately waste. These limits to how much can be consumed are being pushed due to the greed of these corporations. This is why in order to fix this problem we, the consumers, need to spend our money with intention on sustainable small farming. The power is in our hands to change where our food is coming from and choose to support the small locally owned food businesses.
Supporting these local businesses and buying healthy foods may cost a little bit more but it is worth it to live a healthier lifestyle and support the local economy. It may cost less than you think, as the school of public health has determined; eating healthy costs only $1.50 more than less healthy alternatives per day, per person. When you invest slightly more money locally, you are really investing in stronger and more sustainable community. Supporting your local cooperative is a good way to prioritize living in sustainable and healthy community.
Agri-business controlling food production has had a direct correlation with this epidemic of obesity around the world. In recent centuries the world has shifted from subsistence farming, in which the goal is to be self sufficient, to the model where people now try to make big profits from farming and being in the food industry. Our government tells us that a fruits and vegetables should fill half of the space on our plates but that isn’t what the money in our subsidies being used to support. “$18 billion has been given away in subsidies to Big Agribusinesses, this money gets used to produce common junk food ingredients, like high-fructose corn syrup”(U.S. PIRG).
Consumers are getting more pressure to consume from these companies and they are also leading more sedentary lifestyles. Instead of physically laboring for our food we now get everything we need at a supermarket. We need to work towards becoming more self sufficient in meeting our immediate consumption needs. For thousands of years people got food through activities such as hunting, farming or gathering. If we could find a way to incorporate this into today's society, that would be a huge step toward freeing ourselves from the problems that overconsumption presents because these activities automatically incorporate daily expenditure of energy.
The average person spends from $150 to $300 a week on food. If a family of four started planting their own crops and raising their own livestock then they would save anywhere from $600 to $1200 a week. This may not be realistic for each family to do but an entire community working on a cooperative farm could be possible. This would cause our society to be less dependent on these big agri businesses and make every community that much more self sufficient.
To deal with this problem there would need to be a shift in the way that this society thinks. A shift where we move away from instant gratification to a society that thinks more of their long term goals and health. Each of us has a different part to play in distancing ourselves from big agribusiness. If we can’t grow our own garden, how about we start by supporting the local co-ops and share a healthy meal with our family and friends. If we become more self sufficient and our money is used to support the right community friendly businesses, we will not only be better stewards of the environment but we will also be taking better care of ourselves.
Sources
Dupuy, Tina. "For Capitalists, Obesity Is a Sign of Marketing Success." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
Mendez, Elizabeth. "Americans Spend $151 a Week on Food; the High-Income, $180." Gallup.com. Gallup, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
"Obesity: Facts, Figures, Guidelines." Obesity: Facts, Figures, Guidelines. West Virginia Health Statistic Center, Dec. 2002. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
Mercola, Dr. "U.S. Farm Subsidy Program Adds to Worsening Obesity Trends." Mercola.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
"Stop Subsidizing Obesity." Stop Subsidizing Obesity. U.S. PIRG, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
Not Enough Weight On Our Shoulders; To Much in Our Belly
If the old adage holds true, “we are what we eat”, what does it mean if we don’t know what we’re eating. Today we are shamelessly disconnected from our food source. As a consequence of this separation, our society is plagued with obesity, processed food and massive waste. Even though big agri-business has made it easier to access food for those who are busy it has also caused a detachment from people and their food source. In order to change this our government needs to stop subsidizing big agree business and our society overall needs to support small farms and local food businesses. Investing time in cooperative gardens, small farms and supporting local co-operatives that already exist are steps we can all take in order to become more self sufficient and less dependent on corporations.
The only limit to how much money big food corporations can make is how much we consume, and because of this, we’re encouraged to over-eat, overfeed, and, ultimately waste. These limits to how much can be consumed are being pushed due to the greed of these corporations. This is why in order to fix this problem we, the consumers, need to spend our money with intention on sustainable small farming. The power is in our hands to change where our food is coming from and choose to support the small locally owned food businesses.
Supporting these local businesses and buying healthy foods may cost a little bit more but it is worth it to live a healthier lifestyle and support the local economy. It may cost less than you think, as the school of public health has determined; eating healthy costs only $1.50 more than less healthy alternatives per day, per person. When you invest slightly more money locally, you are really investing in stronger and more sustainable community. Supporting your local cooperative is a good way to prioritize living in sustainable and healthy community.
Agri-business controlling food production has had a direct correlation with this epidemic of obesity around the world. In recent centuries the world has shifted from subsistence farming, in which the goal is to be self sufficient, to the model where people now try to make big profits from farming and being in the food industry. Our government tells us that a fruits and vegetables should fill half of the space on our plates but that isn’t what the money in our subsidies being used to support. “$18 billion has been given away in subsidies to Big Agribusinesses, this money gets used to produce common junk food ingredients, like high-fructose corn syrup”(U.S. PIRG).
Consumers are getting more pressure to consume from these companies and they are also leading more sedentary lifestyles. Instead of physically laboring for our food we now get everything we need at a supermarket. We need to work towards becoming more self sufficient in meeting our immediate consumption needs. For thousands of years people got food through activities such as hunting, farming or gathering. If we could find a way to incorporate this into today's society, that would be a huge step toward freeing ourselves from the problems that overconsumption presents because these activities automatically incorporate daily expenditure of energy.
The average person spends from $150 to $300 a week on food. If a family of four started planting their own crops and raising their own livestock then they would save anywhere from $600 to $1200 a week. This may not be realistic for each family to do but an entire community working on a cooperative farm could be possible. This would cause our society to be less dependent on these big agri businesses and make every community that much more self sufficient.
To deal with this problem there would need to be a shift in the way that this society thinks. A shift where we move away from instant gratification to a society that thinks more of their long term goals and health. Each of us has a different part to play in distancing ourselves from big agribusiness. If we can’t grow our own garden, how about we start by supporting the local co-ops and share a healthy meal with our family and friends. If we become more self sufficient and our money is used to support the right community friendly businesses, we will not only be better stewards of the environment but we will also be taking better care of ourselves.
Sources
Dupuy, Tina. "For Capitalists, Obesity Is a Sign of Marketing Success." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
Mendez, Elizabeth. "Americans Spend $151 a Week on Food; the High-Income, $180." Gallup.com. Gallup, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
"Obesity: Facts, Figures, Guidelines." Obesity: Facts, Figures, Guidelines. West Virginia Health Statistic Center, Dec. 2002. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
Mercola, Dr. "U.S. Farm Subsidy Program Adds to Worsening Obesity Trends." Mercola.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
"Stop Subsidizing Obesity." Stop Subsidizing Obesity. U.S. PIRG, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.