Lesson 4

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • “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

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• Vocabulary Journal

• Global Food Production: Vocabulary List

• Working with Mentor Sentences Tool

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

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• Global Food Production: Section 2 Question Set

• Vocabulary Journal

• Working with Mentor Sentences Tool

Activity 1: Discuss – Write

We will review and discuss the notes we took while reading “Why Industrial Farms Are Good For The Environment” for homework.

With a partner, compare the notes you took while reading “Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment.” Discuss what you learned about Jason Lusk’s central question: How are farmers able to manage growing crops on this daunting scale?

Record your thinking about Lusk’s issue, perspective, and purpose on a Delineating Arguments Tool.

Activity 2: Discuss

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

Step 1

As a class, discuss what you think the central position of the argument is, and how it comes from a very different perspective than the web-based “How Does Agriculture Change Our Climate?” article. Note that the article concludes with a statement that seems closely related to the University of Minnesota website:

Big problems face farmers and consumers. Climate change, food waste, growing world population, drought and water quality are just a few.

However, also note that its final sentence presents a very positive view and claim about “industrialized agriculture”:

“There are no easy answers, but innovation, entrepreneurship and technology have important roles to play. So, too, do the real-life large farmers who grow the bulk of our food.”

Record a sentence that summarizes the argument’s central position on your Delineating Arguments Tool.

Step 2

With your partner, go back through the article and find an example of an “innovation” that you think is interesting and promising as a response to challenges faced by our food system. Take note of textual evidence that Lusk uses to explain and support his discussion of the innovation you identify. Record a claim on your Delineating Arguments Tool that Lusk makes about the innovation you have identified.

In a class discussion, share the industrial agriculture innovations you identified and the claims in Lusks’s argument about innovative practices, citing specific evidence in the text that explains or supports Lusk’s discussion of the innovation. Record additional practices and claims identified by other students in the class on your Delineating Arguments Tool.

Activity 3: Discuss

We will learn more about agricultural economist Jayson Lusk to help us understand his perspective, credibility, and possible bias in writing his argument.

As a class, return to the concepts of perspective, bias, and credibility that you considered for the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment’s “How Does Agriculture Change Our Climate?” Based on what you have determined about Jayson Lusk’s perspective on industrial agriculture, discuss whether you think his argument has a bias.

Listen as your teacher presents some basic information about Jayson Lusk, who is identified by the New York Times as an “op ed contributor.”

Based on what you now know about Professor Jayson Lusk, discuss what you think his credibility is regarding industrial agriculture, but also return to your earlier discussion of his perspective and possible bias. Consider the following questions:

1. In what ways do you think Lusks’s perspective might be similar to the perspectives of scientists at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment who developed the “How does Agriculture Change Our Climate?” web presentation.

2. In what ways might the perspective of Lusk, who is an agricultural economist, be different?

Activity 4: Discuss

We will determine which of the two positions about industrial agriculture seems closest to our own, then discuss our perspectives and the evidence that supports them with other students.

Step 1

Consider the following two position statements that generally summarize the two opposed arguments you examined that address issues related to industrial agriculture:

• Industrial agriculture is problematic in our current world. To address global emissions and climate issues, we will need to change our dietary preferences and related industrial agricultural practices. (“How Does Agriculture Change Our Climate?”)

• Industrial agriculture can be a solution to problems in our current world. Innovations in large scale farming practices can help us increase productivity, feed more people, and also address problems of climate change, drought, and water quality. (“Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment”)

Individually decide which of these two positions is closest to your own, and make a short list of reasons you agree with it (you might want to go back to your notes for the two articles).

Step 2

As directed by your teacher, go to an area of the classroom that is designated for your position. Examine the patterns in the classroom. Which ways do your fellow students lean on issues associated with industrial agriculture?

Find another student who has a similar perspective as yours. Have a five-minute conversation with this student, comparing your thinking, the reasons for it, and the evidence that supports it.

Now find a student from the other side of the room and the issue, one who has a different perspective from yours. Have a (respectful) five-minute conversation with this fellow student, comparing your thinking, the reasons for it, and the evidence that supports it.

Step 3

As a class, conduct a final discussion of the practices, challenges, and impacts of industrial agriculture. Return to the following questions:

1. How can we best feed a growing population using methods that are effective, safe, and sustainable?

2. Which agricultural practices are the most viable? Which practices are not viable?

Make a two-column list for the topic of industrial agriculture, with one column for “pro” claims and evidence and one for “con” claims and evidence. List the four characteristics we are studying—effective, safe, sustainable, and viable— n the left side of your two-column chart.

Discuss the ways in which industrial agricultural practices are or are not effective, safe, or sustainable. Record claims and evidence that come up in your discussion in the two columns of the chart.

Determine if you think these practices are therefore viable solutions to the challenges of feeding a growing population. Support your thinking with specific evidence from texts you have read or viewed so far in the unit.

Step 4

Record the class chart in your Learning Log. Considering the ideas in the chart, write a paragraph that explains your current thinking about whether the large-scale industrial agriculture practices you read about in the “History of the Green Revolution” article and the two related arguments from the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment and Jayson Lusk are viable or not. Consider the degree to which they seem to be effective, safe, and sustainable.

Activity 5: Read – Discuss

We will learn the difference between deductive and inductive reasoning so we can better analyze the organizational structures of texts we read and so we can think about the approach we want to use as we craft our own argumentative essay for the Culminating Task.

Step 1

The way an argument is structured can add to both its clarity in message and the effect the message has on the reader. We will learn about three ways to organize an argument so you can begin thinking about the most effective way to structure your argumentative essay later in this unit while also thinking about how Lusk has organized his argument.

Access the Delineating Arguments Guide. Read the explanations of deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning, and counterargument reasoning. For each explanation, create three short bullet points that summarize the key aspects of each type of reasoning.

Compare your bullet points with a partner. Did you create similar bullet points? Discuss any differences and adjust your bullet points as needed to help you focus on the most important aspects of each type of reasoning.

Step 2

To practice analyzing arguments to determine whether the main reasoning structure uses deductive or inductive reasoning, reread Lusk’s article “Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment” while noting the article’s structure.

Based on your analysis, does the article use deductive or inductive reasoning? Discuss your answer as a class.

Activity 6: Read – Write

We will examine passages from Lusk’s article more closely to see how he develops his ideas and uses language and syntax to convey them.

Read the following closing paragraph from Lusk’s article more closely, paying attention to Lusk’s use of language and sentence patterns to convey his claims.

"There are no easy answers, but innovation, entrepreneurship and technology have important roles to play. So, too, do the real-life large farmers who grow the bulk of our food."

After examining the two sentences, practice rewriting the claim statement using different sentence patterns.

You might use similar language but different syntax, or choose new language altogether, as long as it conveys the same meaning as the original statement. To do this, think about the main takeaways of the article and how you would summarize the key points and claims made in the text.