Logical Reasoning

PT123 · S3 · Q21 Ethicist: On average animals raised on

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Ethicist: On average, animals raised on grain must be fed sixteen pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat.

Opposing Point

A pound of meat is more nutritious for humans than a pound of grain.

Evidence

On average, animals raised on grain must be fed sixteen pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat.

Sixteen pounds of grain could feed many more people than could a pound of meat.

Grain yields are leveling off, large areas of farmland are going out of production each year, and the population is rapidly expanding.

Conclusion

We must accept the fact that consumption of meat will soon be morally unacceptable.

Evaluate

This assumes that land used for raising cattle could also be used for growing grain. If the land for raising cattle was not conducive to growing crops, then maybe consumption of meat will never be morally unacceptable.

21.

Which one of the following, if true, would most weaken the ethicist's argument?

  1. Even though it has been

    Too Weak

    That many people prefer to eat meat is too weak to impact whether eating meat will soon be morally unacceptable.

    5% picked this

  2. Correct

    Often, cattle or sheep can

    Why this is right

    This points out a possibility where raising cattle does not come at the expense of growing grain and eating meat never becomes morally unacceptable.

    Skill tested: Weaken · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    58% picked this

  3. If a grain diet is

    Strengthens

    This makes the conclusion more likely to be true by making meat less critical to human health.

    5% picked this

  4. Although prime farmland near metropolitan

    Too Weak

    That prime farmland near metropolitan areas is being lost rapidly does not challenge the premise that large areas of farmland are going out of production each year.

    5% picked this

  5. Nutritionists agree that a diet

    Too Weak

    The argument never advocates a diet solely of grain products. So long as a diet without meat can provide sufficient nutritional value, it doesn’t matter whether that nutrition is coming from grains, vegetables, fruits, or anything else besides meat.

    28% picked this

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