Jonathon Safran Foer Webinar

a. Informative/Persuasive

b. Jonathan Safran Foer

c. Jonathon Safran Foer Webinar
d. Date of Access: October 28, 2014

e. The webinar presentation primarily cornerstones the idea of eating animals, which Jonathon Foer wrote a book about. He discussed his reasoning for being a vegetarian which is that he doesn’t agree with the way animals are treated and raised. According to the video and book, Foer’s goal isn’t to convert everyone into a vegetarian but to merely promote the idea of eating less meat.

f. A section in Foer’s Eating Animals is entitled “A Case for Eating Dogs”. It has a very satirical tone to it but it does have several valid points. One of them was that there are three to four million dogs and cats euthanized annually, which equates to millions of pounds of meat going in the garbage. This really stuck out to me and made me think of the idea of eating dogs in an entirely different perspective.

In the video, Foer mentioned that 76 million people get food poisoning each year. I have to say that I was a little surprised with the number. Especially since the prime culprit of the food poisoning is animal agriculture. This makes me want question every meat product I encounter: how was it produced and what’s it really made of.

Another stand-out moment was when we read “A Case for Eating Dogs” in which Foer asked his readers why dogs should not be eaten when pigs are when in essence the two have equivalent characteristics. Growing up in America, eating a dog is considered taboo because Americans believe that a dog’s purpose is to be a pet whereas a pig’s purpose is to be eaten. This made me realize that eating dogs isn’t wrong, it just seems wrong because Americans never have.

How It Can Relate to My Life:
This presentation may have not turned me into a vegetarian but it certainly gave a new perspective on eating animals. I understand why people eat dogs, but I still won’t. Because I grew up with a pet dog, it wouldn’t feel morally right for me. Also, I really am going to second guess my food every time I eat now, but I’ll still eat meat. Although my opinions and morals didn’t alter even slightly, I did learn quite a bit from Foer.

Latin Roots #5

Roots and Derivatives

1. cent(i) (hundred)
2. cid(e) (cut, kill)
3. clam, claim (cry out, declare)
4. cord, cour (heart)

Word List

1. Bicentennial- (related to) a celebration of a two hundredth anniversary; happening once in a period of two hundred years or lasting two hundred years;

The bicentennial celebration was held a couple weeks after the two hundred year anniversary.

2. Centenarian- a person who has lived to be one hundred years old;

My friend’s aunt was a centenarian and passed away a few years later at age 102.

3. Centurion- a Roman officer commanding one hundred men; related to the military mind, especially as it favors military solutions for handling social problems;

My sister is learning about ancient Roman leaders like famous centurions who led their men to many victories.

                                                                                                              

4. Clamorous- characterized by continuous loud and complaining voices; noisily complaining; insistent;

The class became extremely loud and clamorous when the teacher assigned extra weekend homework.

5. Concise- covering much in few words; brief and to the point;

The author gave a very concise summary of his 1000 page novel.

6. Concordance- a condition of harmony or agreement; an alphabetical index indicating reference passages, as from a writer’s work;

The studies showed no concordance between the two subjects as they had almost nothing in common.

7. Cordial- of the heart; warm and friendly; amiable;

Whenever the new kid would try to converse and join in activities, we would be as cordial as we could.

8. Discordant- (sounding) harsh or inharmonious; clashing;

Our substitute for the month was excruciatingly discordant, especially when compared to our normal teacher who was the sweetest lady ever.

9. Genocide- the systematic extermination of an ethnic group;

Hitler’s goal to eliminate all the Jews during the Holocaust was considered genocide.

10. Incisive- keenly penetrating; cutting into;

The incisive speaker was so dynamic he left everyone on the edge of their seats.

11. Proclamation- an official statement or announcement that informs or honors;

The entire kingdom planned to attend the proclamation ceremony naming the new king and queen.

12. Reclaim- to claim again; to restore to former importance or usefulness;

The young farmer would do almost anything to reclaim the land of his father and once again grow crops on it.

Latin Roots #4

Roots and Derivatives

1. bon, boun (good)
2. capit, capt (head, chief, leader)
3. carn(i) (flesh)
4. ced(e), ceed, cess (go, yield, surrender)

Word List

1. Accession- the attainment of a certain rank of dignity; an increase by means of something added; the act of becoming joined;

I had an accession the club by getting promoted from treasurer to vice president.

2. Bona Fide- in a good faith; genuine

My sister apologized for stealing my phone in a bona fide way.

3. Bonanza- a sudden and unexpected source of money or riches; a windfall

My grandpa would always attempt to win the bonanza at the casino.

4. Bounteous- inclined to be generous: plentiful and abundant

This fall, the agriculture was extremely bounteous in that it produced an abundance of crops and food.

5. Capitulation- a surrendering, usually upon prearranged terms or conditions: a final giving up;

The capitulation came after many months of negotiations between the two rival countries and was a great relief to those fighting in the war.

6. Carnage- a great slaughter, as in battle;

The carnage in the Civil War resulted in 1,264,000 American soldiers’ deaths.

7. Carnivorous- flesh-eating, as an animal

A lion is a carnivorous animal because it strictly eats meat like gazelles or zebras.

8. Incarnate- literally, in the flesh; in bodily form; personified; flesh-colored;

Because the little girl is always so sweet and good all the time, everyone says she is an angel incarnate.

9. Intercede- to act on another’s behalf; to meditate;

Because the kids were getting close to fighting, the teacher had to intercede so no one would get hurt.

10. Precedent-a previous act or decision taken as a valid model; having gone before;

An unrequired precedent to kindergarten is pre-school.

11. Recapitulation- a brief repetition; a summary, as of what has already been said;

Every day, the news gave a recapitulation of the missing girl’s last known whereabouts and identification until she was found.

12. Reincarnation- a thing that is reborn, or comes back into being, although perhaps in a different (bodily) form;

A Buddhist believes in reincarnation, that when a person dies they keep being reborn, in the same form or another, until they have reached enlightenment.