Critical Reasoning

BTGmoderatorDC wrote:American "heirloom" tomatoes, once common varieties of the fruit that has nearly disappeared with the modernization and standardization of farming techniques, are being actively preserved by conservationists who grow them in specially designed, state-of-the-art hothouses that can precisely control the light, heat, and water the growing tomatoes receive. Horticulturalists have shown that stem growth of the American heirloom tomato plants is robust in a variety of outdoor climate settings throughout the country. If, as some heirloom farmers believe, stem growth is the part of the heirloom tomato growing process that is most sensitive to the climate in which the plant grows, then by growing these tomatoes in regular fields rather than in fancy hothouses, farms wishing to grow heirloom tomatoes could save a lot of money without reducing the quality of their produce. However, heirloom-growing farms should not be too hasty in leaving the hothouse: other horticulturalists have shown that the flavor of the tomatoes is strongly influenced by the humidity at the time when the tomatoes are just starting to grow.

In the argument above, the two selections in boldface play which of the following roles?

(A) The first is an objection raised against the position ultimately taken by the argument; the second is that position.

(B) The first is the position that the argument ultimately takes; the second is the position to which it objects.

(C) The first is a judgment offered in support of a position to which the argument ultimately objects; the second is the background on which that judgment is based.

(D) The first is a judgment offered in support of a position to which the argument ultimately objects; the second is that position.

(E) The first is a judgment offered in support of a position that the argument ultimately takes; the second is that position itself.