7.1 Casey Neistat, Calorie Detective

Casey Neistat

Calorie-conscious Americans can be observed in any grocery store, staring at labels as they try to determine which foods are healthiest. But how trustworthy are those nutrition labels? The following video by Casey Neistat, which originally appeared on nytimes.com, walks us through the process of scientifically figuring out how many calories are in our food. As you watch the video, think about whether it has an obvious argument contained within it or whether its argument is unstated. Also think about how you might use this video as a source in composing your own argument about food labeling. Casey Neistat is a filmmaker who is particularly popular on YouTube. A former dishwasher, short-order cook, and bike messenger (among many other things), Neistat, with his brother Van, created the series The Neistat Brothers for HBO, which told autobiographical stories about their lives. In 2011, Neistat created the viral video “Bike Lanes” when he was given a ticket for not using a bike lane. He made the video in order to demonstrate how unsafe bike lanes can be.

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Topics for Critical Thinking and Writing

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