Food Production and Sustainability

In the US, many citizens have the opportunity to make food choices based on a number of factors including ethical concerns. The number of individuals who are concerned about animal rights, sustainable food production, and transgenic adulteration of the US food supply has grown over the past several decades. In some cases, there is an overlap or intersection of how animals are raised for slaughter, the amount of feed necessary to maximize their weight gain and genetic manipulation of animals that causes distorted growth patterns. This, in turn, influences food choices and ultimately the nutrients consumed by an individual.

For this assignment, the student will visit one or more of the following websites plus watch at least one video to gather information to complete the assignment:

https://www.navs-online.org/animal_issues/chickens/chickens_lives.php (Links to an external site.)
https://humanemyth.org/ (Links to an external site.)
https://foodprints.earthday.org/animal-agriculture/
https://www.farmsanctuary.org/learn/factory-farming/ (Links to an external site.) and explore the links listed in the left toolbar
https://www.fao.org/sustainability/en/ (Links to an external site.) and explore the links provided in the toolbar under “Towards Sustainable Food and Agriculture”
Watch the documentary “Vegucated”
Watch the documentary “Forks Over Knives”
Watch the documentary “Food, Inc.”
Watch the documentary “The World According to Monsanto”
Watch the documentary “The Future of Food”
Watch the documentary “The Merchants of Doubt”
This assignment is not meant to convert students to veganism or vegetarianism. It is, however, meant to have the student present a well-reasoned argument for or against the current status quo of factory/corporate production of animals as food. For this assignment, the student will write a response to the following –

Given the current problems brought on by the man-made actions (climate change leading to extreme droughts in some areas of the US, the loss of arable land due to water and soil pollution, etc…), is it reasonable for so many Americans to use meat and other animal products as the main constituent of their dietary intake? Why or why not? Whether you choose to respond that there is no need to change how we produce/consume animal-based foods or that there is a need to change, you will need to provide two scholarly references in addition to using the resources provided previously to support your position.