TED Talk by Cary Fowler

1558 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Ethos pathos and logos persuasive essay

I once played this game where you had to pick a card and it would have a category on it. You would read the word out loud then go around and have to say a type that matched the category and keep going around till someone can’t think of a type. Once the word was apple, it was the shortest round for once the types Gala, Red Delicious, McIntosh and Granny Smith were all named we couldn’t think of anymore! Which is a point Cary Fowler, an agriculture expert, makes. In a TED talk Fowler gave a speech titled, One Seed at a Time, Protecting the Future of Food, discussing how we have lost almost all of the diversity in crops. Going from having thousands of diversity in crops to now only knowing a few hundred or less. With that and future climate changes things could take a turn for the worse with our lack of diversity in our agriculture. Fowler is able to make a strong argument using ethos, logos and pathos throughout his talk that is one persuasion at a time.
To paraphrase what Fowler talks about is how we need to realize that diversity is being lost in the agricultural system. We have hundreds even thousands of different types of wheat, rice and beans and we can’t even conceive of this and so they are being lost. As an outcome we are coming to the point where there are only a few types of beans and rice left. He informs us that we need to start saving these varieties because when drastic climate change comes around in the future the crops growing now may not be able to do well in the future climates. But if we have all the thousands of different varieties then it is likely that at least one of them will be able to grow in future climates. He then goes on to tell us what has been done so far to solve this problem and how he has starte...

... middle of paper ...

...ut it being noticed all to well. Putting this advertisement slip aside Fowler’s argument is well supported and tied together with one persuasion at a time.

Works Cited

"Advisors." Global Crop Diversity Trust. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Fowler, Cary. "One Seed at a Time, Protecting the Future of Food." TED: Ideas worth Spreading. TED, Aug. 2009. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. .
Hymowitz, Theodore. "Jack Rodney Harlan, June 7, 1917–August 26, 1998 | By Theodore Hymowitz | Biographical Memoirs." BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. The National Academies Press, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. .
"Laureates, Cary Fowler (1985, Norway)." Rightlivelihood. The Right Livelihood Award, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Barbara Kingsolver's A Fist In The Eye Of God

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wheat grown by traditional farming methods assuages the fundamental conditions for natural selection and is thus able to withstand environmental shifts in the future. However, wheat that is genetically uniform doesn’t satisfy the required circumstances for natural selection to occur. Therefore, it cannot survive prospective advancements. It is innate that a genetically diverse crop will be better able to subsist than a genetically engineered uniform crop. Kingsolver’s argument influences beyond intuition to exemplify why genetic diversity is preferable when compared to genetic uniformity with recognition to food

    Read More

  • The Accomplishments of Hilda Solis

    1066 Words  | 3 Pages

    Solis, Hilda. “Environmental Justice: An Unalienable Right for All.” Human Rights 30 (2003): 5-6. JSTOR. Web. 13 February 2014.

    Read More

  • Other Scenarios of Roderick Nash´s Essay Island Civiliation

    618 Words  | 2 Pages

    The second future envisioned scenario by Nash is that of the ‘garden scenario.’ In this situation, humans seem to have achieved their absolute potential in technological ways. Rather than living as one with the environment humans will have replaced necessary environmental processes with artificial ones, or eliminating all things unnecessary to personal survival. Diversity will have been eliminated and only wilderness will aid human civilization. This scenario could never happen because the food web of the Earth is co complex, by removing ...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Omnivore's Delusion By Blake Hurst

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    Alice Waters, in her 2007 article “Farmer Bill Should Focus on Healthful Foods”, instead of focusing on the farming techniques themselves, makes a more pointed inspection over the products and produce

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Industrial Farming By Bill Mckibben And Blake Hurst

    887 Words  | 2 Pages

    After reading McKibben and Hurst’s articles in the book Food Matters, both authors present arguments on “industrial farming”, and although Hurst provides a realistic sense on farming, McKibben’s suggestions should be what we think about.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Verna Myers's 'Ted Talk'

    873 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is only human to be biased. However, the problem begins when we allow our bigotry to manifest into an obstacle that hinders us from genuinely getting to know people. Long time diversity advocate, Verna Myers, in her 2014 Ted Talk, “How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them” discusses the implicit biases we may obtain when it comes to race, specifically black men and women. Myers purpose is quite like the cliché phrase “Face your fears.” Her goal is to impress upon us that we all have biases (conscious or unconscious). We just have to be aware of them and face them head on, so that problems such as racism, can be resolved. Throughout the Ted Talk, Verna Myers utilizes an admonishing yet entertaining tone in order to grasp our attention

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Katy Hutchison's Ted Talk

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    Katy Hutchison opened to viewers with two heart felt stories during her Ted Talk. In her opening, she states lots of experiences will happen in life whether it be great or bad. She believes that when it them becomes a time in one’s life where a mess happens then there’s a moral responsibility to clean up the mess no matter the means. In the process, if cleaning the problem one may realize that they’ve been standing next to the person who created the mess. In the moment of realization, you’ll begin to feel the amount of possibility. What I gained from her message was that life has its up and down. While you’re up life is great, and everything goes as for as planned. You look forward to the next day because you know it going to be great. But,

    Read More

  • The Pleasures of Eating

    1568 Words  | 4 Pages

    One point Berry makes about people’s ignorance is that they do not recognize their connection to the agricultural cycle. He appeals to the reader’s sense of logic when he describes the process food goes through to reach the consumer, and how eating ends it (3). He uses their sense of reason to persuade them as he continues to point out how oblivious eaters are by saying that “food is pretty much an abstract idea” to them even though they should realize it does not magically appear in the local store (4). Berry mentions that not only do they ignore how it gets to the store, but also the location and type of farms their food comes from (4). He says ...

    Read More

  • Agrarianism Essay

    1364 Words  | 3 Pages

    He is not only a farmer, but also a writer. He writes about the differences between industrialism and agrarianism. He states these two types of societies are “two nearly opposite concepts of agriculture and land use, but also two nearly opposite ways of understanding ourselves, our fellow creatures, and our world.” He highlights that agrarianism is about the land, plants, and the rest of nature. Industrialism is about high technology machines and increasing profit. He compares industrialism to mining, saying that when used, it only abuses the land (Berry). For Berry, and other agrarianists, farming is so much more than planting and harvesting as quickly as possible. Old traditions are used, and the hard work that is put into the crop, is done so with love. Agrarian societies practice subsistence agriculture, meaning they grow just enough food to support their families. This culture’s practices are done with the goal of being completely

    Read More

  • Genetically Modified Food (GMOs): Annotated Bibliography

    2902 Words  | 6 Pages

    Genetically modified food’s, or GMOs, goal is to feed the world's malnourished and undernourished population. Exploring the positive side to GMOs paints a wondrous picture for our planet’s future, although careful steps must be taken to ensure that destruction of our ecosystems do not occur. When GMOs were first introduced into the consumer market they claimed that they would help eliminate the world’s food crisis by providing plants that produced more and were resistant to elemental impacts like droughts and bacterial contaminants, however, production isn’t the only cause for the world’s food crisis. Which is a cause for concern because the population on the earth is growing and our land and ways of agriculture will not be enough to feed everyone sufficiently. No simple solutions can be found or applied when there are so many lives involved. Those who are hungry and those who are over fed, alike, have to consider the consequences of Genetically Modified Organisms. Food should not be treated like a commodity it is a human necessity on the most basic of levels. When egos, hidden agendas, and personal gains are folded into people's food sources no one wins. As in many things of life, there is no true right way or wrong way to handle either of the arguments and so many factors are involved that a ‘simple’ solution is simply not an option.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Corn

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    This highly influential and informational documentary about corn is told and experienced by two college friends Ian and Curt. These two best friends move from the east coast straight to the heart of their food’s location, the Midwest. Through the help from helpful neighbors and genetically engineered seeds they plant and produce their own crop of corn on just one acre of Iowa soil. After their attempt to follow their corn into the food system of America they wonder about the food we eat and how we farm. The two meet with the man who changed farming in America forever, Earl Butz and learn more than they ever thought they would about one crop.

    Read More

  • Agriculture: Industrial or Organic

    1462 Words  | 3 Pages

    How society created a system in nature where animals and farming actually ruin the land, the same land that was once so cherished by our ancestors, completely stupefies me. When America moved from the locally-owned farms to the gigantic food manufacturers of today, it also moved away from the idea of the sustainability of earth by not preserving the land. Since this movement skyrocketed our economy and allowed for growth in several sectors of life, people gave no second thought to the changes being made. How have we as a society gone so long without even considering the impact of such an enormous revision within our agricultural system? Through industrialized farming, we allow our land to be demolished. However, some farmers know an alternative way of farming. Some farmers use the alternative method of organic farming, a natural agriculture solution. Although there are various factors involved in organic farming, weighing the benefits and costs of this type of farming—on both large and small scale levels—permi...

    Read More

  • Agriculture In American Agriculture

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    Corn is a part of American farming. However, American farming has been changing drastically over the past century. With new technology and greater demands, agriculture has needed to modernize itself. This requires corn to fundamentally change in its structure and purpose. Not only does this change the quality of corn or its usage, but it also affects corn’s quantity. There is a yearly over-abundance of corn yet corn still keeps getting produced. The honesty of genuine farming has been lost over the years. Farming is not a way of life anymore. It’s a business that takes away from the farmers themselves and only focuses on their product.

    Read More

  • Organic Food Essay

    1578 Words  | 4 Pages

    In his illustration of this movement, all agriculture was generally organic until the 1920’s, and several farmers like Coleman have shared their perspectives on what we now consider “Organic Food” (Coleman). He also argues that to recognize what people eat and how that can influence on their health ought to be guaranteed. In addition, he divides his whole idea or organic farming. Basically when Coleman started farming, he believed that “organic” was a way of thinking rather than a “profit center” (Coleman). In other words, since organic food has become popular to the public, big companies in the food industry have taken over (Coleman). Moreover, he defined organic food as “locally grown and unprocessed, with exceptional quality” (Coleman). His standard of “Real Food” farming is the place where fresh fruits and vegetables along with a 50-mile radius of their final sale. Additionally, beans grains and potatoes are developed inside a 300-mile radius of the last sale. His standard is not a realistic goal which is to grow and produce food products naturally because it costs more money and requires nurturing by good farmers. It is unrealistic to have such farms everywhere throughout the spots nowadays; subsequently, individuals can purchase those ranches items on the grounds where those ranch’ agriculturists would take up more land. Consequently, more natural cultivating can make appropriately developed natural

    Read More

  • Organic Farming Essay

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    “ Know your farmer, know your food” goes the slogan by organic farmers to promote the consumption of locally grown food through organic farming. Subsequent to the clear distinction between organic and conventional food, there is an increase in focus towards organic farming. The “silent spring” that represents the seemingly solitary voice of the science writer Rachel Carson, 1962 ushered in the organic farming movement to counter the green revolution industrial-scale use of pesticides and fertilizers back in the 1960s. However the use of the term “organic farming” started with Lord Northbourne (aka Walter James, 4th Baron Northbourne) (Pogash, 2008), which he derived from the concept of “the farm as organism” as, explained in his book titled

    Read More

More about TED Talk by Cary Fowler

Open Document