"In general, people are not as concerned as they were a decade ago about regulating their intake of red meat and fatty cheeses. Walk into Heart's Delight, a store that started selling organic fruits and vegetables and whole-grain flours in the 1960's, and you will also find a wide selection of cheeses made with high butterfat content. Next door, the owners of the Good Earth Cafe, an old vegetarian restaurant, are still making a modest living, but the owners of the new House of Beef across the street are millionaires."


The argument claims that people nowadays are less concerned about their red meat and fatty cheese consumption than they were before. This argument might be somewhat correct, but it is flawed and unconvincing, because the author fails to take into account some very important key factors and details.

One of the facts, on which the author bases his argument is that Heart's Delight now sells organic food, as well as cheese with high fat content. This does not necessarily show that people are not concerned about their red meat and fat consumption. Heart's Delight's business strategy might have changed over time. Heart's Delight might have decided to widen its product range. Therefore, more detailed information about the business must be analyzed in order to get to a conclusion.

Another important fact presented by the author is that House of Beef's success story. The newly opened House of Beef might be more successful than Good Earth Cafe, however this does not prove that people are shifting away from healthy eating habits. The reason might just be that House of Beef is managed better. Or since House of Beef is a new restaurant, this could be a temporary success.

Another aspect of this argument is the generalization made by the author. The particular town in the argument may consume high amounts of red meat and fat but can we conclude that this is true for the whole population?

Due to views presented above, the argument is incomplete, flawed and questionable. The argument can be considerably strengthened by giving more detailed information about the businesses and market. The author could also included some crucial key factors, such as demographic statistics of the population and medical findings about the issue.