Logical reasoning PrepTest 152 · Section 1 · Question 21

The author here concedes that farming with artificial fertilizers is damaging to the environment, but she argues that feeding everyone is a more important consideration. There's no balance of how damaging this type of farming is, just that the alternative is much worse.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Errors in Reasoning

Stimulus Summary:
Farming with chemicals hurts the environment, but it lets you grow more food. Organic farming is better for the environment, but if everyone did it, people would starve. Let's stop the spread of organic farming!

Answer Anticipation:
This author is dealing with extremes—"If all farmers . . . "; "must not spread any further." Surely, there's a middle ground here, where enough food can still be grown even with a higher number of organic farms.

This answer plays into the middle ground possibility—if enough farmers skip enough organic farming, the world can be fed with doing less damage to the environment.

Answer Explanation:
This answer plays into the middle ground possibility—if enough farmers skip enough organic farming, the world can be fed with doing less damage to the environment.

Key Takeaway:
In many questions that have strong moral implications (here, environmental sustainability vs. mass starvation), the LSAT will try to get you to pick an answer that makes judgments about those moral questions. Here, (A) and (E) are both trying to play off those moral judgments. Don't fall for the trap! Stick to the argument.

At some point in human history, we lived in caves and hunted sabretooth tigers for food. Things change, so this answer has to bearing on the current state of affairs.

Close, but the introductory clause of this answer makes it the opposite of what we want. The author assumes that there will be a food shortage if there's any further spread of organic farming; she doesn't overlook that possibility.

Similar to (A), the author concedes that using artificial fertilizer is bad, though this answer takes it a step further to connect that to human health. Putting that problem with this answer aside, even if artificial fertilizer is bad for human health, the author could still believe that it's a risk worth taking so people don't starve to death.