The following appeared in the summary of a study on headaches suffered by the residents of Mentia.
"Salicylates are members of the same chemical family as aspirin, a medicine used to treat headaches. Although many foods are naturally rich in salicylates, for the past several decades, food-processing companies have also been adding salicylates to foods as preservatives. This rise in the commercial use of salicylates has been found to correlate with a steady decline in the average number of headaches reported by participants in our twenty-year study. Recently, food-processing companies have found that salicylates can also be used as flavor additives for foods. With this new use for salicylates, we can expect a continued steady decline in the number of headaches suffered by the average citizen of Mentia."
Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on these assumptions and what the implications are for the argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted.


Answer:
The argument that consumption of food preservatives, containing Salicylates, is found to correlate with a steady decline in the average number of headaches reported by residents of Mentia, in over a twenty-year study, is not entirely and logically convincing because it is based on a few unproven assumptions. The author claims, via a dubious recommendation, that the consumption of Salicylates based food preservatives, which are also used by certain food-processing companies as well, can be used as flavor additives for foods and it can be expected that persistent use of such preservatives in the future will bring on decline in number of headaches suffered by the average citizen of Mentia. If uncurbed, this enormous use of preservatives will not only create severe health hazards among various age group, but also interfere with the overall lifestyle of the citizens of Mentia. Let us look at the multiple false assumptions and drawbacks that the argument contains.

First, the argument presupposes that aspiring based preservatives are instigating the abatement of headaches faced by citizen of Mentia. But Salicylates are naturally present in various foods, which do not need any preservation and further processing. Undeniably, consumption of such non-processed foods could also be responsible for reduction in headaches. Adding to the negative side, the author kept us in dark regarding the number of citizens, who actually consumed preserved food products over the twenty-years of study. Clearly, there is a conflicting attribute between the study and the actual contributor to the reduction in headache.

Second, the argument does not address the question that which age group is considered for the study and the distribution of people of varying ages, in that age group. As to why this distinct and conspicuous distribution of varying ages is to be accounted for, the effects of food preservatives are different on different people, let alone different age group. As per WHO (World Health Organization) in no country, the use of aspirin-based medicines is allowed below the age of 18. The world is aware of the ban of “Sarridone”- a Salicylate based medicine from the same medicine group as Aspirin’s. Absence of such distinct variation of age group study could hamper the entire study of Salicylates based food preservatives on reducing headaches.

Third, the author omits the various health hazards, that are associated with consumption of any food preservatives and would be faced by the citizens of Mentia, if this continuous consumption of Salicylate based food preservatives persists. According to a report, by WHO, excessive consumption of any food processing and food preserving products, both directly and indirectly, are catalysis for three major health issues: Hearth Blockages, Breathing Problems and Cancer. In a paper, by Dr. Sayantan Ganguly of University of Washington, published on the earth’s most prestigious Nature Journal, proved that Salicylates consumption, in both direct or indirect ways, paves the way for formation of Carcinogenic Agents, which eventually leads to Cancer. Also, use of Salicylates by various food processing companies, does not waken the fact that food preservers exacerbate our health.

Conclusion: The argument might have been strengthened if only the author had provided with enough evidences and proven case studies to show that implementation of Salicylates based food preservatives is responsible for reduction of headaches among citizens of Mentia. One anecdote does not make an argument. The author’s argument as written fails to establish that by consumption of Salicylate based food preservatives will reduce headaches among citizen of Mentia.