Plan for Essay 2

Outline for Bad Food: Tax It

Title: Longshot Call for Food Tax is Effective

Thesis: Bittman argues that unhealthy foods should be taxed.  Although at first glance this issue seemed absurd to me, Bittman effectively convinces the audience through anticipating opposition, using an enhancing structure, and providing an analogy for support.  However, he did have a weak point when giving examples of where this was done before. 

I.                Bittman refutes opposition from the beginning section of the essay. 

a.     He reminds the audience that public health is part of the government’s responsibility. 

                                                    i.     He compares it to public health protection through water treatment and mass transportation.

b.     Addresses questions about the impact on poor people.

                                                    i.     Say that it’s harder for them to buy healthy foods now versus junk food.

                                                   ii.     I found this point true based on my experience working in a grocery store.  He appealed to logic. 

II.              Through the structure of the essay, he dangles all of the possible positive effects of the tax in front of the audience.

a.     Makes it appear as though it would be foolish not to support these taxes

                                                    i.     As he puts it, “The benefits are staggering.”  He gives a board, very optimistic list of problems that would potentially be resolved. 

1.     He gives just enough to keep the readers interested. 

                                                   ii.     He gives several shocking statistics about the problem now.

1.     This keeps the audience interested by opening their eyes to the need for action. 

                                                 iii.     Later into the paper, he provides more detailed evidence of the expected results

III.            He provides a string analogy to reassure the audience that this would actually work.

a.     A comparison to the decline of the tobacco industry was given. 

                                                    i.     He realizes that the tobacco decline was imperfect.

1.     This builds his credibility as someone who is open-minded and understands that this is a process.

                                                   ii.     This provides reassurance that a tax such as this could be passed legally and that it would be effective.

1.     Includes example about the job market.

IV.            He attempts to create a bandwagon effect in his pitch for the tax, but ultimately the plan backfires and is a weak point in the argument.

a.     Provides examples of where specific cities/ states have tried it.

                                                    i.     He explains that these where ineffective.

b.     Provides examples of other countries who are considering it, or who have tried it. 

                                                    i.     “Romania passed (and the un-passed” leaves readers with questions about why it was un-passed. 

Conclusion: The essay was fairly effective in convincing the audience that the tax is necessary, but did have a few weak points. 

 Body Paragraph on point I:

Bittman refutes opposition from the beginning section of the essay.  This has the effect of assuring the audience and gaining support from some skeptics early on.  One way in which he does this is through contesting opposition which claims that the government does not have the authority to tax unhealthy foods.  He counters this protest by reminding the audience that public health is part of the government’s responsibility.  By providing the example of water treatment being moderated by the government, he is able demonstrate to the audience how public health is a government concern.  This makes the point that if one form of public health is a responsibly of the government, then so should other public health issues such as poor health because of unhealthy foods. 

After gaining the trust of some skeptics because of government concerns, Bittman moves right into anticipated opposition from spokesmen for the poor.   He makes the point that it is harder for poor people to buy healthy foods now over more expensive healthy items.  I found his argument here to appear true based on my experiences as a cashier in a grocery store.  Typically, it was cheaper for customers to buy a pack of Little Debbie’s than a box of fresh strawberries.  A four pack of sodium-filled Easy Mac’ would be a cheaper alternative to hummus and whole wheat crackers. He claims that his plan would reverse this trend.