Rebuttal Rewrite — crossanlogan

Posted on November 6, 2015 by crossanlogan

Animal and Ecological Terrorism in America

The author of this article is obviously and unabashedly stacking the deck here; while she talks at length about some of the tactics used by “special interest extremists,” she completely disregards the egregious acts of animal cruelty committed at Wyoming Premium Farms and other such factory farms.

Conservationists Join Animal Rights Groups to Challenge Idaho Ag-Gag Law

The author of this article contradicts herself; first she says that the proposed law in Idaho would essentially give “Big Ag” blanket legislation to “[criminalize] a plethora of protected speech that is not even related to animal welfare, including worker safety, food safety, labor laws, and other types of agricultural industry misconduct,” and then later says that “no other Idaho law targets such a specific type of whistleblowing or investigative journalism.” Either the law is much too general, or else the law is much too specific. It cannot be both.

Do You Support Ag Gag Laws?

The author of this article says “[with] 98% of farms and ranches in the U.S. family owned and operated, I know that today’s food is grown by people who care about the animals, the environment and the final retail product.” This is obviously a false equivalency; Walmart, owned by the Walton family, is infamous for providing dismal wages and even worse working conditions to their (human) employees. A business cannot be assumed to be humane simply because it is owned by a family.

What Is Ag Gag

The author of this article makes a false equivalency when he says that Ag-Gag laws are “the agricultural industry’s attempt to hide the abuses and horrific conditions animals on factory farms must endure.” He would seem to imply that every single animal on a factory farm endures abuse and horrific conditions. Assuming that’s true, there are still 44 states that currently do not have Ag-Gag legislation, and those states presumably have activists monitoring the agricultural industry. The USDA says there are about 1.3 million farms in the United States. Assuming an even distribution across state lines, there are roughly 1.1 million livestock farms in states that do not have Ag-Gag laws. It stands to reason, then, that if virtually all animals endure abuse it would be a much more common news story than it has been.

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3 Responses to Rebuttal Rewrite — crossanlogan

  1. crossanlogan says:
    November 20, 2015 at 12:54 pm

    Animal and Ecological Terrorism in America

    The author of this article is obviously and unabashedly stacking the deck on this issue; while they talk at length about some of the tactics used by “special interest extremists,” they utterly fail to mention the egregious acts of animal cruelty committed in these factory farms such as the events that took place in Wyoming Premium Farms.
    Conservationists Join Animal Rights Groups to Challenge Idaho Ag-Gag Law

    The author of this article contradicts herself; first she says that the proposed law in Idaho would essentially give “Big Ag” blanket legislation to “[criminalize] a plethora of protected speech that is not even related to animal welfare, including worker safety, food safety, labor laws, and other types of agricultural industry misconduct,” and then later says that “no other Idaho law targets such a specific type of whistleblowing or investigative journalism.”
    Do You Support Ag Gag Laws?

    The author of this article says “[with] 98% of farms and ranches in the U.S. family owned and operated, I know that today’s food is grown by people who care about the animals, the environment and the final retail product.” This is obviously a non-sequitur; Walmart, owned by the Walton family is infamous for providing dismal wages and even worse working conditions to their (human) employees. What’s to say that these families would do anything else if they suddenly came into ownership of animal farms?
    What Is Ag Gag

    The author of this article makes a false equivalency when he says that Ag-Gag laws are “the agricultural industry’s attempt to hide the abuses and horrific conditions animals on factory farms must endure.” It would seem to imply that every single animal on a factory farm endures abuse and horrific conditions. Assuming that’s true, there are still 44 states that *don’t* have Ag-Gag legislation, and those states presumably have activists monitoring the agricultural industry. Wouldn’t we be seeing a new report almost daily from the farms that can legally be examined?

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  2. davidbdale says:
    November 20, 2015 at 5:39 pm

    I notice you’ve done more than simply correct grammar, CL. I’d say this exercise was well worth your time. Surprised though that you’d didn’t spend the energy on an argument post.

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  3. davidbdale says:
    December 11, 2015 at 12:09 am

    This is not your A12: Rebuttal Rewrite, crossanlogan. It’s a version of your E11: Rebuttal Exercise and, as such, has nothing to do with your Research Argument and no business being in your Portfolio.

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