Rhetorical Analysis Of The Pleasures Of Eating

Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto is an eye-opening analysis of the American food industry and the fear driven relationship many of us have with food. He talks in depth about all the little scientific studies, misconceptions and confusions that have gathered over the past fifty years. In the end provide us with a piece of advice that should be obvious but somehow is not, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." He follows the history of nutritionism and the industrialization of food, in hopes to answer one question….. how and when "mom" ceded control of our food choices to nutritionists, food marketers and the government.

‘Food Inc’, is an informative, albeit slightly biased, documentary that attempts to expose the commercialisation and monopolisation of the greater food industry. The film attempts to show the unintended consequences resulting from this, and for the most part this technique is very effective; however there is an overreliance on pathos in lieu of facts and statistics at times.

The obesity epidemic is rapidly spreading throughout America, reeking havoc on the nation. I have chosen two articles that discuss this issue and use different rhetorical strategies to convince the reader of the causes of this deadly epidemic as well as different aspects of the disease that should be focused on when researching treatments options. Examining the different rhetorical strategies used in the articles proves that, although logos arguments can be a good way to convince an audience of your point, use of ethos and pathos arguments is a much more powerful strategy to inform and convince the reader to take action.

In addition to his solutions, Pollan’s modern narrative sheds light on the façade of our food industries; asking us to rethink what we know. Despite the mention of certain inhumane acts in All Animals are Equal, Pollan takes us one step further to uncover the reason for which we continue to purchase our corrupt food. We all know animal abuse exists, but the average consumer like myself is more worried about the best price and the fastest way to get a burger rather than how fairly the animals are treated in the process. Whether it be the confined living space of chickens or the mental and physical torture of pigs, we continue to blind ourselves from reality. Is it purely out of selfishness? Or are we too ignorant to come to terms with our wrong doings? Like Pollan explains, it takes seeing the abuse before the shame of our disrespect can be felt (pg.6). After seeing Pollan’s truth, I might now think twice before eating out and the choice to support organic produce can make a dramatic difference for those farmers who promote the ethical lifestyle.

“For most humans, especially for those in modern urban and suburban communities, the most direct form or contact with non-human animals is at meal time: we eat them. This simple fact is the key to what each one of us can do about changing these attitudes. The use and abuse of animals raised for food far exceeds, in sheer numbers of animals affected, any other kind of mistreatment” (Coats). The most effective method to stop this cruelty is to learn about where the meat comes from, by supporting the organic and family farms which will ultimately lead to the reducing the amount of animals that have to suffer (PETA). More than 95 percent of animal abuse in America occurs in the meat packing industry (Harper & Low). Animals suffer an unimaginable amount, they are raised to be killed, then bought and then consumed. In order to help fight back against the abuse, there needs to be a cut back on the amount of meat or poultry that is consumed. Seriously consider the option of becoming a vegetarian; by not eating meat, you completely stop supporting animal

As humanity becomes more civilized, many of us perceive that eating livestock is morally incorrect, but aren’t we are designed to be an omnivore? Our teeth and digestive system serve the purpose of breaking down animal and plant foods and to bring these important nutrients to every part of the body. Despite the fact that, in 2011, U.S. meat and poultry production reached more than 92.3 billion pounds, the ethic of killing and eating animals as well as the concern of the environmental burden caused by the production of meats is debatable. However, animal based diet is necessary for the human body to function properly and we can choose the meat produced from environmentally sustainable farms to avoid the moral ambiguity.

“I think using animals for food is an ethical thing to do, but we 've got to do it right. We 've got to give those animals a decent life and we 've got to give them a painless death. We owe the animal respect.” ― Temple Grandin. Temple Grandin brings up a brilliant point, it’s okay to eat meat but it’s not okay to treat these animals throughout their life as just something that you will be killing. They have the right to live healthily and in a property environment. Throughout the novel The Chain by Ted Genoways it brings a light to all the dangerous conditions animals and workers go through and what actually goes into the meat you buy in stores. Although low prices on farm produced meat sound enticing, the abused caused to animals and the dangerous working conditions for workers cause dangerously poor sanitation, and can affect many Americans health.

What am I exactly eating? Where does our food come from? Why should I care? “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” may forever change the way you think about food. I enjoyed Mr. Pollan’s book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and learned a great deal of information. Pollan’s book is a plea for us to stop and think for a moment about our whole process of eating. Pollan sets out to corn fields and natural farms, goes hunting and foraging, all in the name of coming to terms with where food really comes from in modern America and what the ramifications are for the eaters, the eaten, the economy and the environment. The results are far more than I expected them to be.

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself: what are you really eating? Recently, I’ve come to the realization of what I’m eating on a daily basis isn’t entirely healthy for me. Michael Pollan, who is the author of the book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, has opened my mind. While reading the first couple of chapters of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, I’ve realized that I don’t know much about the food I eat daily. For example, I didn’t know that farmers not only feed corn but also antibiotics to their animals (Walsh 34). In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Pollan makes a strange statement, “You are what what you eat eats, too” (Pollan 84). Pollan continuously emphasizes this remark through various examples and he’s right, because strangely enough the food that our food eats not only affects them but us as well.

In November 2009, Gary Steiner, a Philosopher, author and Professor at Bucknell University, wrote an article in the New York Times entitled, “Animal, Vegetable, Miserable.” In the article, Steiner discusses how unethical he believes it is to use animals for human consumption. In addition to consuming animals, Steiner writes that it is inhumane to use any products that were made from sacrificing animal lives. The article goes on to say that recently, more and more people have become interested in where their meat comes from and how the animals were treated before they were killed for human desires. The writer further states that some people are concerned with how well the animals are treated before they’re killed, while others are concerned about whether the animals are given harmful additives to their food that could affect the health of the consumers who eats the animals. On the contrary, Steiner believes that no one is worried about how immoral it is to kill the animals in the first place. The author concludes, “People who are ethical vegans believe that differences in intelligence between human and non-human animals have no moral significance whatsoever” (Steiner 847). I will argue that Steiner’s essay is biased, contradictory and generalizes that only strict vegans are ethical, and I will explain that the only reason for his strong persuasive article is to convince everyone to become vegan under the excuse of being moral individuals.

Author Gary Steiner begins his powerful argument in pointing out the fundamental moral contradiction of the wellbeing of animals and the role they play in our diet. In the essay Mr. Steiner questions if animals were humanely treated and if they live a good quality life before death. However, in reality no one really cares to look or just might not want to know these things before purchasing their next meal. Most of the questions asked are some that people never really cared to think of or asked about.

There are so many choices and decisions to make that deflect our society today. Whether it’s robust or adverse, our society continues on to make these choices which leads to many effective citizens...especially when their health is involved.Take this for example, fast food restaurants are not only one of the massives addictions in the U.S. but one of the biggest mistakes people determined. However not only is it affecting their health, but many citizens are accusing their overweight on many fast food restaurants and McDonald's being one of the biggest accusation. Fast food restaurants aren’t the finger to point at for overweight complaints, since many people eat fast food instead of homemade food, is an individual choice.

In his essay, Singer brings up key ideas that give insight to the readers as to why they should follow utilitarianism and vegetarianism. He argues that pain and pleasure are the basis of all moral values and because animals experience pain and pleasure, this makes them morally significant as well. Singer also states that utilitarianism gives good reasons to avoid certain kinds of sourcing meats. Therefore, factory farming should be avoided and that free-range organic methods of raising animals should be used instead because it is morally neutral or good. As well, even if livestock is raised in humane ways, it is morally wrong to kill and eat the animal because it will feel pain. Singer also notes that many things must be taken into account: the potential loss of happiness of vegetarians, the loss of livelihood of producers of factory-farmed products, environmental consequences, global and individual health concerns as

After the guilt sets in from eating for the sake of pleasure, Scruton brings forth a multitude of facts and makes an effort to appeal to ethos. To do this, he addresses the benefits of small-scale livestock farming, the use of animals in scientific experimentation, and the actions taken against animals that promote harm. This flood of ethical evidence continues to leave readers wondering if Scruton is a vegetarian himself.

A good percentage of people are conscious of the actions done to animals that lead people to change their life style. For example, a seventeen-year old high school girl gave her insight on how she came to be a vegetarian after reading an article about food system-genetic modification as an assignment. In the article, she explains how the U.S. food system harms animals and people. The government subsidizes corn to feed the cows instead of grass because corn is cheap and makes cows grow faster. This in turn harms the cows because of their digestive system; their livers cannot process corn. This causes the cows to get ill often due to bacterial infections combined with them wading in their own feces while living in their closed quarters. Therefore,