Lesson 3

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • “History and Overview of the Green Revolution: How Agricultural Practices Changed in the 20th Century,” Amanda Briney, ThoughtCo., 2020
  • “Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment,” Jayson Lusk, The New York Times Company, 2016

• • “How Does Agriculture Change Our Climate?,” Barrett Colombo, Paul West, Pete Smith, Francesco N. Tubiello, James Gerber, Peder Engstrom, Andrew Urevig, and Eva Wollenberg, Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota

Materials

Tools

• Delineating Arguments Guide

• Delineating Arguments Tool

• Vocabulary Journal

• Global Food Production: Vocabulary List

Reference Guides

• Annotating and Note-Taking Reference Guide
• Argument Reference Guide
• Questioning Reference Guide

Question Sets

• Global Food Production: Section 2 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• Delineating Arguments Tool

• Global Food Production: Section 2 Question Set

• Vocabulary Journal

Activity 1: Discuss – Write

We will review our understanding of the term perspective and discuss how points of view are indicated in a text through a brief class discussion. We will then be introduced to the Delineating Arguments Tool, which we will use to analyze the elements in arguments we read or write.

Step 1

As a class, review the understanding we have developed of the term perspective in an argument. Some guiding questions for this discussion might include the following:

1. What does it mean to have a point of view or perspective on an issue?

2. What are some reasons why some people might approach an issue differently than others?

3. What are some other contexts in which perspective is employed?

4. How might perspective be important in analyzing or developing an argument?

Individually, express a working definition of the term perspective in your Vocabulary Journal. Compare your definition with that of a discussion partner.

Step 2

Delineating means to describe or portray something precisely. Additionally, the word is used to describe sketching or tracing something in an outline form. As you read through the subsequent arguments in the unit, you are going to practice delineating arguments by describing each part in detail so as to form a comprehensive outline of each text. This outline will help you deconstruct or dissect all the elements of an argument so that you, in turn, can learn from other writers and effectively draft your own arguments for the Culminating Task.

Before we analyze the text, examine the Delineating Arguments Tool, considering the following questions:

1. Are there any terms on the tool that are unfamiliar to you? If so, find the terms in either the Argument Reference Guide or the Delineating Arguments Guide and read the explanation.

2. What are the key differences among purpose, perspective, and position?

3. Is it possible that you might not use all the claims or counterclaims sections when delineating arguments? Why or why not?

We will discuss the Organization and Reasoning section of the tool in a later lesson.

Ask your teacher if you have questions about how to use the tool.

Activity 2: Discuss

We will revisit the topic of industrial agriculture, considering the pros and cons before reading two texts about this topic.

As a class, discuss what industrial agriculture entails, as discussed in the article “History and Overview of the Green Revolution: How Agricultural Practices Changed in the 20th Century.” As you begin to discuss and review this concept as a class, look at the Delineating Arguments Tool and use it to think about the following key elements from the article:

• major issues presented in the text

• key questions and controversies

• the purpose of the text

• different perspectives introduced

• the position or claim made by the author

You might also use the following questions to help guide your review and discussion:

1. Why might farming on a larger scale be more beneficial than on a smaller scale?

2. Why might farming on a smaller scale be more beneficial than on a larger scale?

3. What kinds of people might advocate for larger-scale agriculture? For smaller-scale agriculture?

4. Which do we believe might be better for the environment: smaller- or larger-scale agriculture?

5. Which scale do we believe might be better for the economy? For society as a whole?

Activity 3: Read – Write

Using the Delineating Arguments Tool, we will examine and analyze an online presentation titled “How Does Agriculture Change Our Climate?”

Step 1

Access the website from the University of Minnesota, which presents photos, graphic displays, claims, and supporting evidence in response to its central question: “How Does Agriculture Change Our Climate?”

As a class, read the first heading and paragraph of the online multimedia article. This paragraph presents three claims that are central to the rest of the presentation. Identify and discuss those claims and what they already say about the issues that the article will address, and discuss the perspective it seems to be written from.

As your teacher displays the Delineating Arguments Tool, record in the top sections of the tool what you observe about the issues and perspective of this argument, based on its opening paragraph and claims. Copy these classroom notes to your own copy of the tool.

Step 2

Record the third central claim from the first paragraph on your Delineating Arguments Tool.

While global agriculture faces a number of challenges, the most surprising challenge to food security may come from agriculture’s impact on our climate.

On your own, read the second paragraph of the article, and record evidence presented there that supports this claim. Scroll to the graphic that depicts the share of global emissions under the heading “How agriculture’s emissions compare.” Identify a statistic about how agriculture and land use contribute to global emissions, and write a summary statement for the graphic using the following pattern:

Agriculture, deforestation, and other land use account for _____% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than the emissions produced by _____.

As a class, discuss the central claim and evidence that is presented to support it. Then read the final (fourth) paragraph of this section and discuss how it presents and supports its final claim:

Developing a global food system that both achieves food security and reduces agriculture’s environmental impact is one of the foremost challenges of our time.

Discuss this claim in relationship to previous texts, lessons, and activities that have focused on critical challenges to the global food system and the question “How can we best feed a growing population using methods that are effective, safe, and sustainable?”

Step 3

Follow along as your teacher scrolls through the entire presentation, noting its organizational pattern. In particular, note that it presents a series of claims, each of which is written in all caps on top of a key photographic image.

Preview the central ideas, claims, and information in the article by reading and recording (on your Delineating Arguments Tool) the claims that organize it:

• Agriculture drives an estimated 75 percent of global land clearing and degradation.

• Livestock supply one-third of protein for human consumption, but drive approximately 80 percent of non-co2 emissions.

• To curb global emissions, we’ll need to change our diets and reduce global food waste.

Note that each of the claim-based sections of the article also contains discussion, information, and subclaims related to its main idea.

Based on these three claims, and the ones in the introductory section of the article, discuss what you think the position of the presentation seems to be. Record a sentence that summarizes the position in the top section of your Delineating Arguments Tool.

Activity 4: Discuss

In pairs or a small group, we will continue to analyze the claims and evidence presented in the online argument “"How Does Agriculture Change Our Climate?”

Join a small reading and discussion team, as directed by your teacher. You will be assigned one of the three claims already identified to study further:

• Agriculture drives an estimated 75 percent of global land clearing and degradation.

• Livestock supply one-third of protein for human consumption, but drive approximately 80 percent of non-co2 emissions.

• To curb global emissions, we’ll need to change our diets and reduce global food waste.

Begin your examination by discussing what you think the claim is saying, what perspective about the food system it seems to suggest, and whether or not you initially agree with that perspective.

Read through the section that develops and supports your team’s claim. Take notes about key images, graphics, ideas, and information that are presented to develop the claim. If your section contains a graphic display of data, try to write a statement that summarizes something that the display indicates.

Activity 5: Discuss – Write – Read

We will discuss the claims and evidence we have analyzed in teams to better understand the overall argument presented by the University of Minnesota’s web-based presentation “How Does Agriculture Change Our Climate?”

In a class discussion, present what your team has discovered about the claim you have been assigned: what it means, how it is developed through subclaims, and the evidence that is presented to support it. You might want to use the website to help you in presenting your claim.

As each team presents its summary of the claim, record key evidence on your Delineating Arguments Tool.

As a class, discuss the three supporting claims of the article, in relationship to the central claims presented in its introduction, particularly the following statement:

Developing a global food system that both achieves food security and reduces agriculture’s environmental impact is one of the foremost challenges of our time.

Read through and discuss the final section of the article, which discusses and presents examples of solutions.

Activity 6: Discuss – Read

We will learn more about the concepts of an argument’s bias and credibility and analyze these concepts relative to the University of Minnesota’s web-based presentation “How Does Agriculture Change Our Climate?”

Step 1

As a class, discuss the idea that the perspective from which an argument comes, and the background and beliefs of its authors, may mean that the argument has a certain bias. Discuss the meaning of the word bias and enter it into your Vocabulary Journal.

Now discuss the concept of credibility, the degree to which we believe and trust a source based on its expertise, perspective, and bias. Offer predictions and opinions about what you think the bias and credibility of the University of Minnesota’s Environment Reports: Food Matters web-based presentations might be.

Step 2

Scroll to the bottom of the article you just analyzed, notice the “Sources Cited” list and the publications from which they come, then click on the “About” link at the very bottom of the page. This link will take you to a webpage about the sources for Environmental Reports and the purpose and audience intended for the series. Read the four short paragraphs under the title and discuss what you learn about the perspective, bias, and credibility of the contributors to the reports.

Finally, consider the mission statement for the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment, the academic organization responsible for the article:

Welcome to the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment

At the Institute on the Environment (IonE), we envision a world in which sustainable agriculture feeds the world; renewable energy powers healthy homes, efficient transportation and flourishing businesses; every person has access to food, water and shelter; oceans, lakes and rivers are clean and healthy; communities have vibrant economies, neighborhoods and cultures; and thriving ecosystems support thriving economies and societies. Overall, humanity restores and renews resources for the benefit of all living things.

Individually, read through this statement, noting words and phrases that might suggest the perspective (and possibly bias) from which the institute views the world and the global food system. In light of this statement and the other things you have learned about the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment, discuss this final question:

1. Based on what you have learned about the organization and collaborators behind the Food Matters reports (and arguments), how much do you believe and trust the argument you just analyzed based on its perspective, bias, and credibility?

Activity 7: Read – Write

We will apply knowledge from the previous activity to analyze the article “Why Industrial Farms Are Good For The Environment” by annotating and taking notes on the elements of the argument. Using notes, we will then summarize Lusk’s response to the way farmers can manage growing crops on a daunting scale.

For homework, do a first reading of an argument that comes from a different perspective than the web-based article you just analyzed: Jasyon Lusk’s New York Times opinion piece: “Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment.” Annotate the text and make notes in your Learning Log about what you think the elements of the argument are:

• the issues it addresses

• the perspective it presents

• the position it takes

• key claims it makes to support its position

Summarize what Lusk says in response to the question he presents in Paragraph 9: “How are farmers able to manage growing crops on this daunting scale?”