argument14 【火箭 小组】第三次作业

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In his memo, the owner of Green Thumb Center(GTC) cites a national survey and the sales of a magazine and then infer that local residents are becoming more interested in growing their own vegetable. On the basis of this inference the owner then predict that GTC will benefit from this trend if it stocks various kinds of seeds for the coming spring. The argument are well presented, however, it is not well reasoned in several facets.


To begin with, the national survey the owner cites cannot support the inference that local residents are interested in growing vegetables on themselves. First, local residents may have other ways purchasing vegetable aside from at a supermarket. Experience informs me that supermarket are mainly located in cities and they are usually the chief means through which city residents can buy vegetable. But this is not the case in a small town like the one GTC located; local residents may get more flesh vegetables from the local vegetable shop, the gallery, or even the local farms. So it is entirely possible that the local residents are satisfied with the quality of vegetables they acquire. Second, even if it is a general phenomenon that people are dissatisfied with the vegetables they buy, it does not necessarily indicate that they will grow vegetables on their own. Growing vegetable is a time, money, energy consuming job; in addition, not everyone has the land needed to grow vegetable, let alone grow enough to meet their daily need. Considering this, it is entirely possible that people will continue to buy vegetables from supermarket or other stores. Each of the two possibilities makes the author's inference unconvincing as it stands.


The sales of the Big Garden actually is insufficient to prove that this magazine is popular in the town and local residents are interested in gardening, not to mention growing vegetables. To begin with, the magazine is not necessarily popular among the local residents for the owner only writes that this magazine is sold out at one local Village News standing. It is possible that this news stand is the only one in the town selling this magazine, or even the only buyers are the local farmers, which cannot prove that local residents will grow vegetables on their own. Even assuming that the magazine is really popular among the local residents, yet we cannot thus assume that the local residents are interested in gardening or growing vegetables. We are unaware of the chief content of this magazine, which may turn out has nothing to do with gardening or containing little about growing vegetable. Also we do not know the main content of the last three issues. It may turn out that they were largely about maintaining the garden but little about gardening. Especially considering that the memo is written for the “ coming spring”, which may implies that these issues were the winter issues. Thus the owner cannot convince us that the local residents were buying this magazine for they are interested in gardening, let alone in growing vegetables.


Even if I were to concede that residents of the town are really becoming more and more interested in growing vegetables for themselves, I cannot accept the owner's prediction that the company will benefit a lot from this trend if the company stock a variety of vegetable seeds for the coming spring . For one thing, the owner lack sufficient evidence that the residents will buy seeds from this company. There may will be other companies, which may be bigger and have better customer response, that will compete with this company. Another problem with this prediction lies that the owner relate an increase in sales to rise in kinds of seed. However, the local residents will in fact only need several kinds. Experience informs us that preservation of seeds will cost a lot and if many can't be sold then the total cost will increase. This may even overweight the profit the company may gain from an increase in sales. In sum, the owner fails to consider the possible possibilities that will hinder the company from gaining profits even if the sale in seeds will increase in the town.


In sum, before the owner finally make the decision concerning the sales of seed. He or she may need a local survey, or other convincing evidence, to show that local residents are willing and able to grow vegetables; the owner also must make sure that these residents will be willing to buy seeds from GTC rather than its competitors. It is also important for the owner to know which kinds of seeds are needed and thus reduce the avoidable cost