Reference no: EM133195990 , Length: Word count: 2 Pages

Assignment Task 1: Pass the Bacon (or don't)

Considering the theories (as well as their critics) surveyed here, let us reexamine our opening story and ask the question: Is factory farming a defensible practice? Environmental ethics can be helpful in answering this question, but the answers that arise are far from simple or self-evident. Using books, magazines or the internet, find at least three arguments each from opponents and proponents of factory hog farming. Read the material and then answer the following questions: How much of their arguments are based in ethics? Of the ethical arguments, are they based on ecological or animal rights grounds (or both)? What other factors enter into their support or opposition? Having read from both sides, what is your opinion? Complete the exercise by writing a two-paragraph statement of opposition to or support of this practice.

Assignment Task 2: Animals in Medical and Commercial Research and Testing

One of the longstanding, high-profile overtly ethical debates about nature and society is whether or to what degree animals should be used in medical and commercial research and testing. Locate a recent (published in the last two years) news piece covering some aspect of this debate (possible web search terms and phrases could include "animal subject testing," "animal testing cosmetics," "animal rights medical testing," etc.). Once you have located a current specific debate on the subject, find two (or more) more credible, written pieces on the subject. Read up on the subject and then write an opinion piece. Think of it as a mock letter to the editor of your local paper. Cite your sources.