Is organic food consumers' best choice? Purdue students to debate
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Purdue University's College of Agriculture will host the fifth annual Townsend Debate on Oct. 29, when students will argue whether organic food is a better choice for consumers.
Preliminary debates will be held throughout the day beginning at 8 a.m. in Pfendler Hall's Deans Auditorium, and the final debate begins at 7 p.m. in the same location. All debate sessions are open to the public.
"The debate not only gives students a broader sense about the topic, but also enables them to articulate statements and back it up with supporting evidence," said Natalie Federer, youth development and agricultural education academic adviser and debate coordinator. "Many of the students in the competition have strong biases, but participating in the debate forces them to look at agriculture from multiple angles and really makes them think critically about the topic."
Judging the final competition will be Corinne Alexander, a Purdue agricultural economist with an organic marketing background; Kevin Keener of Purdue's Department of Food Science; Andy Eubank, Hoosier Ag Today farm broadcaster; and Andy Dietrick, Indiana Farm Bureau's public relations team leader.
There are three students to a team, and each team will debate twice. The two teams with the highest number of combined points will advance to the final round. First-place team members will win Dell Mini laptops, and second-place finishers will have the option of an iPod Nano or a digital camera. During the competition, points also will be awarded to each individual speaker. The best overall speaker will have the option of an iPod Nano or digital camera.
The debate is named in honor of Wayne Townsend, whose donation makes the event possible. Townsend, a Purdue College of Agriculture alumnus, supported the debate to help improve the communication skills of students in the college. Townsend served as a Purdue trustee from 1989 to 2004 and has been the recipient of numerous honors, including the Distinguished Agriculture Alumnus Award.
Throughout the process of researching the topics, collecting data and conducting interviews, students will have made important contacts with sources at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Center for Food Integrity and many other organizations.
"Participating students are developing and honing a variety of skills during the process," Federer said. "These are skills that will prove to be beneficial in other classes and in their future careers."
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