Prompt 1
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.
Mass-produced tomatoes have become redder, more tender and slightly more flavorful than the crunchy orange cello-wrapped specimens of a couple of decades ago, but the lives of the workers who grow and pick them havent improved much since Edward R. Murrows revealing and deservedly famous Harvest of Shame report of 1960, which contained the infamous quote, We used to own our slaves; now we just rent them.
Assignment: Should the cost of any product be measured and priced economically as it is now or it should also incorporate the extra embedded cost of humanity?
Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.
Attached below is the original exerpt from an online essay adopted for this essay.
Mass-produced tomatoes have become redder, more tender and slightly more flavorful than the crunchy orange cello-wrapped specimens of a couple of decades ago, but the lives of the workers who grow and pick them havent improved much since Edward R. Murrows revealing and deservedly famous Harvest of Shame report of 1960, which contained the infamous quote, We used to own our slaves; now we just rent them.
But bit by bit things have improved some, a story thats told in detail and with insight and compassion by Barry Estabrook in his new book, Tomatoland. We can actually help them improve further.
A third of our tomatoes are grown in Florida, and much of that production is concentrated around Immokalee , a town that sits near the edge of the great river of grass, or the Everglades, the draining of which began in the late 19th century, thus setting the stage for industrial agriculture. Immokalee is a poor , immigrant working town, to the outsider at least a depressing community with few signs of hope.
The tomato fields of Immokalee are vast and surreal. An unplanted field looks like a lousy beach: the soil, which is white sand, contains little in the way of nutrients and wont hold any water. To grow tomatoes there requires mind-boggling amounts of fertilizers, fungicides and pesticides . The tomatoes are, in effect, grown hydroponically, and the sand seems useful mostly as a medium for holding stakes in place.
Most of the big purchasers, like Wal-Mart and McDonalds, want firm, slicing tomatoes, because their destination is a burger or a sandwich, so the tomatoes are picked at what is called mature green, which isnt mature at all but bordering on it. Tomatoes with any color other than green are too ripe to ship, and left to rot; Ive posted a couple of pictures I took of those on my blog. The green tomatoes are gassed de-greened is the chosen euphemism to ripen them; the plants themselves are often killed with an herbicide to hasten their demise and get ready for the next crop.
The process, not to put too fine a point on it, is awful, but the demand is there Florida ships about a billion pounds of tomatoes a year and the main question has not been quality but fairness to the workers.
Unlike corn and soy, tomatoes harvest cannot be automated; it takes workers to pick that fruit. And not only have workers been enslaved, they have been routinely beaten, subject to sexual harassment, exposed to toxic chemicals and forced to wait for hours to find out whether they have work on a given day. Oh, and theyre underpaid.
国内英语资讯:China, Russia, India to strengthen cooperation after foreign ministers meeting
体坛英语资讯:Thailand beat Cambodia in penalty shootout in semis
体坛英语资讯:Arrizabalaga apologizes for refusing to be substituted in Carabao Cup final
国际英语资讯:UNs Guterres urges new vision for arms control
皮克斯首位华裔女导演执导 《包宝宝》获奥斯卡最佳动画短片
2019年最健康国家排行:西班牙排第一 中国名次有提升
大学毕业生工作一年,挣的钱还不如一个许愿池
中国的这件羽绒服在国外超火爆!老外都赞不绝口
体坛英语资讯:Monaco continue in-form performance, Marseille draw at Rennes in Ligue 1
What Money Can Buy 钱能买到什么
国内英语资讯:Chinese vice premier stresses control over African swine fever
国内英语资讯:HKSAR govt sees Greater Bay Area development as golden opportunity
国际英语资讯:White House says nomination of ambassador to Turkey sent to Senate
体坛英语资讯:Chinas star figure skater Jin wins national title
国内英语资讯:Chinese shares surge more than 5 pct Monday
国内英语资讯:CPC Central Committee publishes directive to enhance political work
国际英语资讯:Britain, U.S. reach deal over post-Brexit trading and clearing of derivatives
国内英语资讯:Typhoon committees annual session opens in China
如果女生不漂亮,应该怎么办?这个老外的回答很经典…
怎样离职不招人恨?正确打开方式是这样的……
为什么聪明人话都少?
美国前总统奥巴马将联手NBA??!
国内英语资讯:Chinese telecommunications giants exhibit brand new products at MWC2019
可折叠手机成未来行业趋势?苹果已经申请专利
国际英语资讯:Arab League-EU summit starts in Egypts Sharm el-Sheikh amid high expectations
70亿的《指环王》剧本是这么保管的?超级严密
国际英语资讯:Bangladesh plane hijacking ends after suspected gunman shot dead
国际英语资讯:Nigerias main opposition party rejects collated presidential poll results
体坛英语资讯:Kenyas Obiri targets world Cross Country medals in Denmark
体坛英语资讯:Brazilian striker Dourado set for China move
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |