Argument: Last year, the Sunnyvale City Council launched a public awareness campaign promoting the health benefits of eating locally grown produce. Over the past twelve months, the sales of locally grown produce at Sunnyvale farmers' markets have doubled. The city council concludes that their public awareness campaign successfully persuaded residents to buy more local produce.
Statement: The new fact that a massive nationwide shortage of non-local produce drastically increased the prices of imported vegetables over the last twelve months actively weakens the city council's conclusion.
Answer: Answer
Answer
True
The factual assertion is true. The argument relies on a causal link between the awareness campaign and the increase in sales. By introducing a different, highly practical economic reason for people to buy local produce (imported produce became too expensive), the new fact provides a strong alternative explanation for the observed phenomenon. This directly undermines the conclusion that the campaign was the driving force behind the increased sales.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Identifying alternative causes to weaken causal conclusions.