Thursday's assignment -- updated

Let’s work on our writing! Don’t worry you have a lot of time—due date is on Monday 5^th.

You will practice writing "a letter to the editor”. You need to find ANY article, either in the newspaper, TV, internet, book, or magazine, about any topic you choose (NOT ANYMORE; check the note below), read it, and take notes.
Write a response on a word document including the following areas:

• First, what is wrong with the article (the things that you don’t agree upon)?

• Second, what are your thoughts/reasons for disagreeing or agreeing with that article? You need to mention at least three reasons for your position.

• What are the action(s) you want the editor to do?

Once you are done, please paste it on your blog and publish for feedback! :)

Based on our late Friday afternoon assignment, and based on all the classmates’ requests, I have posted these two articles to help you with your letter to the editor assignment. Now, you don’t need to search anything. Pick ONLY one of the following two topics and respond to it as previously instructed.

Adapted from the following website: https://esllibrary.com/courses

1-   Banning Trans Fats

In November 2004, the Parliament of Canada voted to take action on the use of artificial trans fats in food. The government had one year to develop new standards for the food industry. Legislation forcing food producers to include trans fats on their product labels was passed earlier and become law in 2006.

The consumption of trans fats is a serious health issue. Trans fats raise levels of bad cholesterol, and because the body cannot rid itself of these fats, they collect in the arteries and may lead to heart attacks and strokes. The new legislation was aimed at trans fats found in processed foods such as margarine, doughnuts, instant soups, cake mixes, and frozen pizzas.

A task force made up of people from the food industry, universities, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation was set up to suggest ways to remove or reduce trans fats from Canadians’ diets.

Not everyone was in favor of this action. Some parliamentarians think that the government should not decide what people can or cannot eat. Food industry spokespeople say that trans fats may have to be replaced with other, perhaps equally unhealthy, substances. Others were concerned that current levels of these foods might be disturbed because, without trans fats, they could not stay on grocery shelves for as long.

However, several food manufacturers, such as Voortman Cookies, Kellogg’s, and McCain’s, began to reduce or remove trans fats from their products voluntarily. This was mainly due to pressure from consumers and health authorities.

2-   Animal Testing

After ten years of discussion and debate, the European parliament voted to ban the use of animal testing for cosmetic products. The act was passed with a huge majority. The ban took effect in March, 2009.

Prior to the ban, approximately 38,000 animals in the European Union (EU) were used to test the toxicity in new cosmetic products each year. The large majority of cosmetic products are tested on animals before reaching the market. Products include toothpaste, shampoo, make-up, hair dye, and nail polish and many more.

In 2013, the EU took the ban one step further by including their trading partners. Cosmetic companies worldwide who want to sell cosmetics in the EU now have to prove their cosmetics are safe without animal testing. The EU wanted to set an example for the rest of the world.

There are many different types of experiments conducted on animals to test the benefits and risks of cosmetic products. Some of these tests include:

- Skin penetration

The skin penetration tests are used to determine how deep cosmetic ingredients might penetrate the skin.

- Eye irritation
In this test, substances are dropped into the eyes of albino rabbits, to

determine how irritating they may be.

- Skin irritation

A substance is smeared over the shaved back of a group of animals, usually rabbits or guinea pigs.

- Oral toxicity

Animals are force fed a substance once or repeatedly to determine the toxic effects.

Though there has been great concern over the use of animals to test cosmetics, many feel it is the most effective way to protect the consumers who use them. The cosmetic industry insists that animal testing is the best way by far to test for cancer-causing and allergy-causing chemicals. The industry also feels that it is involved not only in the development of vanity products, but also health products such as toothpaste and sunscreen.