Argumentative Essay On Wild Hog

695 Words2 Pages

I understand that you are concerned with Uncle Joe’s suggestion for this year’s holiday dinner, and I realize that having wild hog instead of ham seems a bit crazy, but I think you should know a little bit more about his reasoning before you rule out the idea…he may have a good point. The wild hog is an invasive species. An invasive species is an organism that is not native to the area and has a negative impact on the environment, the economy, or to our health. In other words, they are invading the natural way of things, hence the term: “invasive”. Uncle Joe got his idea after reading an article by Elisabeth Rosenthal. In the article, Rosenthal suggests that the best solution for controlling these harmful species is to make them a part of the American diet. Being that the wild hog is one of the most harmful invasive species in America, Uncle Joe thinks that our family should contribute to the efforts by replacing our traditional holiday ham with wild hog. These hogs did not originate here in the United States. It is understood that Christopher Columbus brought them to America as a food source in 1492. Years later, more were brought to America by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. Wild hogs have no natural predators in the United States, so their population continuously multiplies year by year. This is a problem because they are very aggressive creatures. They have long husks that are dangerous to not only animals, but humans too. The hogs also have tough snouts that help them dig up things naturally growing in the soil. In the article, “A Plague of Pigs in Texas”, Morthland states that as the hogs destroy native plants, they are making room for invasive plants to take over. Wild hogs are extremely destructive to the enviro... ... middle of paper ... ...er to humans as well. There are obviously too many wild hogs, and something needs to be done to control them. Uncle Joe has the responsibility of running the family farm. He knows how difficult it can be to raise crops and make profit. Imagine if there were hundreds of hogs trampling around the farm, ripping out the plants and scaring the animals. His suggestion may seem out of the ordinary, but after doing some research and learning how much of a threat the hogs are, I think he makes a good point. By having a wild hog each year for dinner, we are helping lower the number of hogs in the area. If you are worried about the taste, it is still a pig and it should taste great! I think we should give it a try. I do not agree with Uncle Joe on most things, but he has a great idea this time. I hope you agree and decide to cook wild hog for our holiday dinner. See you then!

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