The largest public health organization in the country has raised conce

Question

The largest public health organization in the country has raised concerns about the herbal sweetener stevia, claiming that it has conducted extensive testing and that in its opinion the dangers of stevia outweigh its potential benefits. The organization claims that people who consume stevia are at risk for cancer or other life-threatening health problems. As a result, the public health organization has recommended that the FDA recognize the dangers of stevia and ban it for human consumption.

To weaken the conclusion we don't undermine the premise, therefore E is the best option that weakens the conclusions

Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the public health organization’s claim that stevia is dangerous?

(A) The head of the largest artificial sweetener manufacturer in the country has financed the studies exploring the health dangers of stevia.

(B) It is common knowledge that stevia is widely used in Japan, and no negative side effects have been reported.

(C) The head of the public health organization is currently on the short list for a senior position in the FDA.

(D) A large national diabetes association has publicly supported stevia as a safe sugar alternative for diabetics.

(E) No tests conducted by the public health organization indicate that stevia has ever caused cancer or any other health problems in human beings.

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Overview:

In this question, a large public health organization has recommended the banning of the herbal sweetener stevia on the grounds that stevia poses cancer risks, among other health concerns. The public health organization specifically requests that the FDA acknowledge the dangers and ban the sweetener for human consumption. The student is asked to select an answer choice that most undermines the public health organization’s claim about the dangers of stevia.

The Correct Answer:

E Answer choice (E) claims that the public health organization has no tests to back up its claims about the dangers of the sweetener. If studies have shown no correlation between consumption of stevia and incidence of cancer or other health problems, this suggests that the public health organization has no evidence to support its claim that stevia is dangerous. Therefore, answer choice (E) most undermines the organization’s argument.

The Incorrect Answers:

A Although the fact that the studies were funded by the head of the largest manufacturer of artificial sweetener raises questions about a conflict of interests, this in itself does not directly undermine the claims of the public health organization. That is, an apparent conflict of interest does not necessarily mean that the public health organization offers biased or unreliable results. Therefore, answer choice (A) cannot be the best answer.

B The use of stevia in Japan without reported negative side effects is interesting, but it does not prove that stevia is not dangerous. This answer choice does not suggest that formal studies, for example, indicate that there is no correlation between consumption of stevia and incidence of cancer or other health problems. Mere common knowledge that stevia is used commonly in Japan does not imply that stevia is safe. Answer choice (B) is incorrect.

C Once more, this answer choice raises a question about a conflict of interests – is the head of the public health organization trying to get a job in the FDA by providing an important health warning and thus indicating his usefulness to the FDA? Perhaps. But the passage does not indicate this in any way, nor would this motivation necessarily mean that the organization’s claims are incorrect or unreliable. Answer choice (C) does not clearly undermine the organization’s claims and is therefore incorrect.

D The endorsement of a large diabetic association indicates that some believe in the health value of stevia, but this does not undermine the claims of the public health organization. As there is no indication that the diabetes association has conducted studies illustrating that stevia is safe, for example, the endorsement of stevia by the diabetes association is irrelevant to the public health organization’s argument. Answer choice (D) can be eliminated at once.

winterschool · Answer

The largest public health organization in the country has raised concerns about the herbal sweetener stevia, claiming that it has conducted extensive testing and that in its opinion the dangers of stevia outweigh its potential benefits. The organization claims that people who consume stevia are at risk for cancer or other life-threatening health problems. As a result, the public health organization has recommended that the FDA recognize the dangers of stevia and ban it for human consumption.

To weaken the conclusion we don't undermine the premise, therefore E is the best option that weakens the conclusions

Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the public health organization’s claim that stevia is dangerous?

(A)  The head of the largest artificial sweetener manufacturer in the country has financed the studies exploring the health dangers of stevia.   Correct

main point of the studies is to explore the health dangers of stevia

(B) It is common knowledge that stevia is widely used in Japan, and no negative side effects have been reported.  Incorrect

but in future negative side effect can be exposed, cant weakens argument,

(C) The head of the public health organization is currently on the short list for a senior position in the FDA.  Incorrect

additional info
 
(D) A large national diabetes association has publicly supported stevia as a safe sugar alternative for diabetics.  Incorrect

weakens argument. but not most

(E) No tests conducted by the public health organization indicate that stevia has ever caused cancer or any other health problems in human beings.  Incorrect

contradicts with argument

A is better than D, so I think answer A

PyjamaScientist · Answer

winterschool . I beg to differ. We have to search for an answer that either undermines the conclusion that Stevia is dangerous for human consumption or falsify the study that was conducted to reach to this conclusion.
 
(A) The head of the largest artificial sweetener manufacturer in the country has financed the studies exploring the health dangers of stevia.  How does it undermine the conclusion that Stevia is bad? Even if he has financed the studies, there's no indication that he manipulated the results or bribed the testers to give a false result. It's far too stretch an idea in my opinion.

(B) It is common knowledge that stevia is widely used in Japan, and no negative side effects have been reported.  This can undermine but not really. What if the Japanese haven't yet done any comprehensive test on the health effects of Stevia, and that has led to no reporting so far.

(C) The head of the public health organization is currently on the short list for a senior position in the FDA.  Again irrelevant to my conclusion.

(D) A large national diabetes association has publicly supported stevia as a safe sugar alternative for diabetics. Yes they might have supported Stevia for use for diabetes patients, but how does that make the projections by the Public health organisation's studies that raise concerns on its usage wrong.

(E) No tests conducted by the public health organization indicate that stevia has ever caused cancer or any other health problems in human beings.   This contradicts the entire argument. The stimulus says that public health organization placed its conclusion on that study. What if no tests (done by them itself) have conclusively proven Stevia to be causing cancer or any other health problem in human beings? In that case, their conclusion regarding the  usage of stevia  can be looked down upon easily. Hence, undermining the conclusion.

sarthakk07 · Answer

The largest public health organization in the country has raised concerns about the herbal sweetener stevia, claiming that it has conducted extensive testing and that in its opinion the dangers of stevia outweigh its potential benefits. The organization claims that people who consume stevia are at risk for cancer or other life-threatening health problems. As a result, the public health organization has recommended that the FDA recognize the dangers of stevia and ban it for human consumption.

To weaken the conclusion we don't undermine the premise, therefore E is the best option that weakens the conclusions

To weaken the conclusion we don't undermine the premise, therefore E is the best option that weakens the conclusions

unraveled · Answer

The largest public health organization in the country has raised concerns about the herbal sweetener stevia, claiming that it has conducted extensive testing and that in its opinion the dangers of stevia outweigh its potential benefits. The organization claims that people who consume stevia are at risk for cancer or other life-threatening health problems. As a result, the public health organization has recommended that the FDA recognize the dangers of stevia and ban it for human consumption.

To weaken the conclusion we don't undermine the premise, therefore E is the best option that weakens the conclusions

Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the public health organization’s claim that stevia is dangerous?

(A) The head of the largest artificial sweetener manufacturer in the country has financed the studies exploring the health dangers of stevia.

(B) It is common knowledge that stevia is widely used in Japan, and no negative side effects have been reported.

(C) The head of the public health organization is currently on the short list for a senior position in the FDA.

(D) A large national diabetes association has publicly supported stevia as a safe sugar alternative for diabetics.

(E) No tests conducted by the public health organization indicate that stevia has ever caused cancer or any other health problems in human beings.

Only A and E are stand-outs here. A need further assumptions to be made so that it betters E for being correct i.e. conflict of interest, however, conflict of interest is out of scope. More so it brings additional information(though not a rule that a weakener must) in the context of passage. A false flat because of the way E brings a straight forward flawed reasoning behind public health organization’s claim.

Answer E.

The largest public health organization in the country has raised conce

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