please read by ANALYZE ARGUMENT essay

[Ashley04]

TOPIC:

"An international development organization, in response to a vitamin A deficiency among people in the impoverished nation of Tagus, has engineered a new breed of millet high in vitamin A. While seeds for this new type of millet cost more, farmers will be paid subsidies for farming the new variety of millet. Since millet is already a staple food in Tagus, people will readily adopt the new variety. To combat vitamin A deficiency, the government of Tagus should do everything it can to promote this new type of millet. "

RESPONSE:

In response to a national Vitamin A deficiency among the people of Tagus, an international development organization has engineered a new type of millet high in Vitamin A.  The organization believes that to combat this vitamin A deficiency the government should do everything it can to promote this new millet.  However, the promotion of the millet will not necessarily lead to an increase in either the production or consumption of the millet.

 

As with many engineered foods, the taste of the new food is sometimes not the same as it's original.  Although millet is a staple among the people of Tagus, if the new millet tastes different then people may be reluctant to eat it.  People are especially particular about the taste of food, and reluctant to change.  For instance the introduction of artificial sweeteners with fewer calories was at first tried by people, but when they discovered the taste is not like natural sugar they discontinued their use. If the taste of the new millet is not comparable, then instead of trying to convince people to try the new millet, the government's money would be put to better use developing a millet that tastes more like the original.

The population of Tagus is described as impoverished.  Therefore, the poor population may not only be vitamin A deficient but also caloric deficient. Introducing a new type of millet will not solve the issue.  The reason for the vitamin A deficiency is not only that the food is not of the best quality, but there is a lack of food in general.  If people already do not have enough means to acquire the cheap food, then what is to say they will have the ability to obtain the more expensive millet.  In this case people would probably be willing to eat the new millet, but they cannot afford it.  Therefore, the government should not spend money on advertising, but rather on making the millet very affordable.

Finally, this whole project rests on the ability for the farmers to grow the new type of millet.  The cost of the seeds for the new millet is more costly, and therefore the government plans of paying the farmers subsidies for faming the new millet.  If however the subsidies are not enough to cover the increased cost of the seeds, then farmers may be reluctant to grow the millet.  In this case the government needs to make sure that growing the new millet is financially beneficial to the farmers, as they are the root of the project.  If the farmers refuse to grow the new millet, then the entire project collapses.

To conclude, whereas the plan to promote the new Vitamin A enriched millet has good intentions, this plan is not without its pitfalls.  Firstly the plan relies on the farmer's willingness to plan the more costly millet.  The plan also does not take into account how will the impoverished population get access to the new millet, when already getting regular food is a difficulty.  Lastly, the plan rests on the fact the taste of the millet will be comparable and people who can afford the millet will decide to consume it.