Mr. O Donnell s Class Coffee D.B.Q. Name: Period: Number: OD- Historical Context: Throughout history man has sought the answers to many important questions. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? How do you build a better mouse trap? Who is on first and why do I care? Perhaps the most vital question that humanity has wrestled with has been the coffee issue. Is it a cure all wonder drink or the root of all evil? Writing Task: Using the documents and your own knowledge of American history write a D.B.Q. essay explaining: Why coffee is evil Document 1: The piece below by J.C. D. Clark., is part of the entry for coffee in The World Book Encyclopedia. History According to legend, coffee was discovered in Ethiopia when goat herders noticed that their flocks stayed awake all night after feeding on coffee leaves and berries. Coffee reached Arabia in the 1200 s. Coffee comes from the Arabic word qahwah. Before it was used as a beverage 200 years ago, coffee was a food, then a wine, and then a medicine. Coffee moved from Arabia to Turkey during the 1500 s, and to Italy in the early 1600 s. Coffee houses sprang up throughout Europe in the 1600 s. People met there for serious discussions. Coffee probably came to America in the 1660 s. 1) How was coffee first discovered? 2) Why would people want to drink coffee if they were having serious discussions?
Document 2: One of the major ingredients in Coffee is Caffeine. The following chart on the effects of Caffeine is from the Wikimedia Commons. 3) What part of the body would the term Gastric refer to? 4) How many side effects does Caffeine have according to the image?
5) Why would someone want to avoid drinking large quantities of Caffeine? Document 3: The lists below are based on the scientific data on addiction published at drugrehabtreatment.com. Drugs In Order Of Most Commonly Used 1-Caffeine (Coffee) 2-Prescription Medications 3-Alcohol 4-Tobacco Products 5-Illegal Drugs Drugs In Order Of Addictiveness 1-Nicotine 2-Heroin 3-Cocaine 4-Alcohol 5-Caffeine (Coffee) 6-Marijuana 6) According to document 3 what is Coffees rank on the scale of... most used? Most addictive?
Document 4: This article was written by learning expert Royane Real. Are You Drinking Too Much Coffee? Many of us drink a lot of coffee. Lots of us are wondering: Is all that coffee really bad for us? Should we be trying to drink less coffee? Or is coffee really good for us? Should we be drinking more coffee? Many sober, law abiding people who would never dream of knowingly ingesting a mind- altering drug, actually consume one every day caffeine! Caffeine is so pervasive in our culture and in many other cultures that we often forget it is actually a drug that affects our brain. Caffeine is present in coffee, tea, many cola drinks and over the counter medications. The most common way that most of us ingest caffeine is in the form of coffee. And some of us drink many cups of coffee in a day. The research on coffee shows mixed results. Some studies show that drinking coffee increases the rate of heart attacks, while other studies have shown that drinking large amounts of coffee decreases the risk of diabetes. There are nutritional advisers who claim that coffee makes us age faster, wears out our adrenal glands, and causes all sorts of untold damage to our cells. Does caffeine really enhance mental performance, or is that just a myth? Yes, caffeine does give a temporary boost to brain cells. But the amount required to improve mental performance is not very high. Even half a cup of coffee will be enough to give your brain a boost that lasts several hours. Caffeine works by blocking one of the neurotransmitters--adenosine which normally tells brain cells to calm down. Brain cells that have been affected by caffeine will remain excited and on high alert for several hours. Not every person reacts to caffeine in the same way. Some people experience greater mental clarity, alertness and productivity after a cup of coffee. Other people become jittery, anxious, or depressed when they drink coffee. Although caffeine will keep most of us awake if taken at night, it does not have this effect in everyone.
7) What is a health benefit you could receive from drinking coffee? 8.) Why does the author think that coffee is a drug? 9.) How does caffeine work? How does it affect people's brain chemistry? Document 5: The following excerpt comes from the web site for Global Exchange. Which is an international human rights organization. The United States consumes one-fifth of all the world's coffee, making it the largest consumer in the world. But few Americans realize that agriculture workers in the coffee industry often toil in what can be described as "sweatshops in the fields." Many small coffee farmers receive prices for their coffee that are less than the costs of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt. 10.) What nation consumes the worlds most coffee?
11) How does the author describe the conditions of working on a coffee plantation? 12.) Do small coffee farms produce much profit for their owners? 13.) Are you helping or hurting the world when you buy coffee? (give a reason why)