Whole Foods and Process Food

Out-of-Class Essay #2[pic 1]

ESL 152, Reading/Writing V

In this second out-of-class essay, you will discuss trends in food production and diet in the United States over the past 30 or 40 years; in particular, you will focus on the increased production, availability and consumption of processed food.  You will provide three perspectives of these trends: Michael Pollan’s, Aaron Brody’s, and, finally, your own.  To begin the essay, first, summarize the authors’ views on these trends—do they view them as mostly positive or negative?  Why?  In explaining and summarizing the views of Pollan and Brody, you will need to cite specific statements in their writings.  Finally, discuss your own position (at this point in time).  In this section, you must use citations as well to support your argument.  You can use statements from IDF, the Brody article, the New York Times article “The High Price of Healthy Food,” or anything you have read from Food, Inc, including “Cheap Food” or “Climate Change at the End of Your Fork.”  

This essay should be between 750 and 1,000 words (minimum 3 double-spaced pages/maximum 4 pages).  In text citations should be made according to the MLA format (see link on homepage) and there should be a listing of “Works Cited” on the final page (again see sample MLA essay from University of Purdue’s OWL website).

NOTE: Your grade on this essay will not depend on whether you choose the “right” or “wrong” position, but rather the logic, coherence, and articulateness of your argument.