Use in Food Production

If you’ve been on any social media platform, you’ve undoubtedly seen it happen: an argument breaks out between friends or family members on different sides of an issue. Differing opinions become rigid dividing lines; participants split into opposing camps. Facts and evidence are used subjectively; logical fallacies abound. Some participants resort to emotion or even name-calling. At the end of the day, everyone is angry, and no one has changed their mind about the issue at hand. If anything, people have dug their heels in even more.

How can we continue to disagree, and engage one another in a debate, without devolving into the scenario above? One solution is to just disengage or retreat into the so-called social media “filter bubble” of like-minded perspectives. But arguably our future as a country, or even as a global community, depends on the free exchange of ideas and a willingness to question, learn from, and challenge one another.

So in the discussion this week, we’ll put the critical reading, thinking, and argumentative reasoning skills we learned this week to work to engage in a civil debate on one of two topics relating to the future of our society. Before beginning, remember: the goal here is to maintain good netiquette and avoid the common pitfalls of arguments – name-calling, appealing to emotion, ignoring or distorting the facts.