Pathos In The Omnivores Dilemmas

Pathos is to get peoples attention and draw them into to what they are reading to keep

The answers Pollan offers to the seemingly straightforward question posed by this book have profound political, economic, psychological, and even moral implications for all of us. Beautifully written and thrillingly argued, The Omnivore’s Dilemma promises to change the

Pathos appeals to the reader’s emotions by using emotional stories and imagery. Pathos strategies are often used to grab and hold the reader’s attention. Emotional or personal stories give the reader an opportunity to emotionally relate to the story, and allows them to be emotionally connected. An emotionally connected reader is more interested in the story that a reader who is not emotionally connected.

The United States of America is the world’s largest corn overproducer. With such heavy focus on corn, I would like to draw attention to a measure taken by the United States government, the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996. This act increased the amount of farm land that is meant to be used in the States for growing corn from 60 million acres to a whopping 90 million acres. Such a significant increase cannot go without some kind of effect. Writer, Michael Pollan, in his book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, discusses the instability of the US farming industry as well as the negative environmental implications corn has on us. This instability and environmental impact has given rise to movements promoting a return to more

Nicholas Carr addresses and adapts to his audience by effectively using pathos, a rhetorical appeal. The author captures his audience by appealing to their emotions. For example, Carr explains on page five,

Michael Pollan the author of Omnivore 's Dilemma discusses and asks, “what should we have for dinner?” He attempts to answer one of the pressing questions of sustainability in today 's society, to save money or to save the planet, and how? Pollan talks about how humans are omnivores and we have the choice to eat whatever we want, no matter the health and sustainability implications of our decisions. Pollan discusses three main food chains, industrial (corn), organic, and hunter/gatherer. He analyzes each food chain, learning eating industrial is basically eating corn, and goes into the complex issues

The first section of this book traces a meal at McDonalds back to its basic ingredient-corn. From the corn that feeds the chickens to the xanthan gum in the milkshake to the sweetener in the ketchup and oil in which the fries are cooked, McDonalds is mostly corn. Since Fast Food Nation and the other exposes, I don’t think there’s anyone who cares who doesn’t know how gross fast food is, and Pollan admirably stays away from the yuckiest. Instead, he goes to accusing Americans who eat food of having become like koalas, capable of absorbing

Pollan goes on to suggest that there are many different approaches to the food movement, and although the movement seems splintered and “sometimes the various factions […] work at cross purposes,” the author uses some highly credible sources to show that despite its many offshoots, a cohesion of the masses has taken root in the food movement (par.11). The author uses big names like Troy Duster, who is a renowned research sociologist from Northwestern University, to help clarify his point. Troy duster states that “viewed from a middle distance, then, the food movement coalesces around the recognition that todays food and farming economy is unsustainable, […] that it can’t go on in its current form much longer without courting a breakdown of some kind.” (Par. 13). The author then clarifies his point but stating that “the food system consumes more fossil fuel energy than we can count on in the future […] and emits more greenhouse gases than we can afford to emit.” (Par. 14). Pollan uses his sources as an ethical appeal to the readers, which effectively connects the reader to the article and its

Eating animals is normal for any carnivore, but abuse to these animals is unacceptable. There are religions and traditions when it comes to eating and killing animals, usually to be viewed sacred and not like they are nothing. Humans have morals and traditions that separate barriers with farm animals and pets.

One of Pollan’s most notable scenes is when he first enters the feedlot in Kansas: “As I nosed my rental car through the feedlot’s rolling black sea of bovinity, I began to wonder if this was realistic” (66). This quote effectively uses imagery to express the compact spaces animals live in. The average American Feedlot houses 32,000 head of cattle in a confined space (United States Department of Agricultue Economic Service). Pollan bring attention to the growing issues of food safety in our production systems. Before World War II there were hundreds of family farms feeding a large city.

Michael Pollan, in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, advocates for organic, locally grown foods. He contends that processed foods, unlike organic foods, are

Michael Pollan is a well-educated man, who went to Bennington college, Oxford University, and Columbia University. He is an author, journalist, and professor. He writes books and articles about nature and culture and where they intersect. Pollan is known for writing cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and several other New York Times best sellers.

​In conducting a rhetorical analysis of the two articles, "Joel Salatin: How to Eat Animals and Respect Them, Too" by Madeline Ostrander and "Humane Meat? No Such Thing" by Sunaura Taylor, both articles stand in stark contrast in terms of the viewpoints of meat that they present. In order to gain a better understanding of these viewpoints, it's important to understand the persuasive techniques that both authors use in the article for the reader. More specifically, the ethos, pathos, and logos that they employ, as well the way in which the evidence and support is presented will further elucidate upon the arguments that appear in both articles.

In concision, this controversial topic has many different conceptions in virtue, utilitarian, biblical perspectives. From a virtue ethicist view, Pollan’s recommendation is helping to rethink wisely about our eating habits and how it is making a big impact on the environment and on the global starvation. A utilitarian ethicist will view this issue from the point that by eating too much meat, the global starvation is going to increase and the results won’t be the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people and in this case Pollan’s recommendation is the best solution to decrease the global starvation and make more people happy. Christian ethicist will combine virtue and utilitarianism ethics, because it is the whole absolute truth,

The second section to be reviewed is chapter seven. In this chapter, Pollan and his family visit a McDonald’s. In truth, industrial meals make up the food chain from which most of us eat so it only makes sense to find out what that food really is. The first thing that stood out to me was that his wife’s salad was