Assignment 2

Proposal to solve the problem of unhappy pigs

Ways to make the pigs’ situation better

Lately we have been reading about the pigs’ horrible situation in the press. We have seen pictures of pigs feast on their still living friends. This is caused by humans urge for pork; the pig farmers force lots of pigs to live together on a too small area to make big money. In such small areas the pigs cannot follow their natural instincts but get unhappy, stressed and aggressive. The unhappiness will lead to destructive behaviour like pigs that do not respect each other but are quite violent towards other pigs. Sickness might spread and the pig farmers can get in a situation were they need to give the pigs medical treatment.

If this situation remains this can lead to unnecessary cruelty to animals and a overuse of medicines like antibiotics. The overuse might cause multidrug resistance and that would be a threat for mankind as we know it.

As a consumer of pork and therefore part responsible for the pigs situation I feel I owe them a solution.

First of all, we need to eat less. It is a problem in general, the fact that a lot of us eat too much. Not just meat but everything, human people in the west world really have to start thinking about the fact that we over consume the assets of the earth. If we instead spent more time outdoors or kept ourselves busy I am sure we would lower the urge for food.

Secondly, we eat too much meat. There are so many other things that we can eat instead. I am not saying that we should stop eating pork or meat “full stop” but scientists all over the world agree on that we need to diversify our diet. Now some people may say that we need protein and that is true, but there is other sources of protein; beans, eggs etc.

If we decrease our consumption of pork we should be able to pay more for the meat. This way the pig farmers will earn just as much money on a much smaller stock.

I am fully aware that some people might think that the ultimate solution would be if all humans became vegetarians. I do not think it is realistic though as eating pork/meat is something we have done for thousands of years and people will not change their habits that easily. For a lot of us fried eggs should be accompanied with bacon and as a Swede, Christmas without ham is not really a Christmas. I therefore think that eating less and of course less pork is a perfect solution. People do not have to change their habits dramatically and with just small changes we can make a big difference for the pigs’ state of mind.

If we all take responsibility about how much and how often we eat we might get the result we all are interested in: not just better conscious but happier pigs!

Linda Cooper

Assignment 1

1. Define the term “style” in the context of (academic) writing.
Style –”the manner in which way you present the information” (Linzie, 2010)
I would define the term “style” as it is how you say/write things. For example: If friends write letters to each other the style might be informal because they know each other and the language does not have to keep to a certain standard of formalities. It is the opposite if someone writes to the Government or to a company, then you are expected to follow certain “rules” and keep to a formal style. If you do not follow these rules the reader of your text might misjudge you and not take you and what you want with your text seriously.

2. Formal/informal writing
I have chosen two very different texts. The first one is an informal text from Teen Magazine. The Magazine has a page called “Embarrassing Moments From Teen Girls” were young girls share some embarrassing moments with the readers. The second text is a formal text from the European Commission Research information centre. In that text we can read about hydrogen vehicles.

Embarrassing Moments from Teen Girls
http://www.teenmag.com/seen-in-teen/why-me/652295-10-2

“The guys from my grade picked it up and start running around with it! Worst of all, the older guys who have been crushing on me since last year were there, and so were the guys in my grade who I kinda liked!”

What makes it informal?
• The text is very personal; it tells a story about her bra!
• The language includes slang like: guys, kinda, stuff
• She writes like she speaks, it feels like I can hear a teenager’s voice in my head when I read.

Advancing on hydrogen
http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?
p=57&item=Infocentre&artid=14214

“Using the hydrogen energy system for the wheelchair has three primary advantages: a longer travelling range than conventional electrical wheelchairs; it only takes a few minutes to replace an empty hydrogen canister rather than up to 8 hours to recharge an electrical wheelchair; and the lightweight hydrogen makes transportation easier.

What makes it formal?
• The text wants to inform us about the latest news to do with hydrogen energy. It is academic and sticks to its topic.
• The language is academic = it is impersonal and does not include any slang or abbreviations.

3. Two very short texts
Informal:
G’day mate! What’s up? Haven’t heard from you for a loooong time. I’m fine, just
chill’in and wait’in for spring. It’s too damn cold right now if you ask me; if I go out I
will freeze my buns of.

Formal:
Dear Terry,
How are you? It has been a long time since I last heard from you. I am fine; I spend most of my time waiting patiently for springtime. I really think this winter’s cold weather really has reached its limits; it can not be good for humans to go out in such cold weather.