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Lindsie Rappleye
DRAFT: Rhetorical Analysis
ENGL-1010-406-Su16
The Glaring Lack of an Equally Beneficial Food Policy in America: A Rhetorical Analysis
In the rather ground breaking and intriguing article, How a National Food Policy Could Save Millions of
American Lives, published November 7, 2014 in The Washington Post, Mart Brittman, Michael Pollan, Ricardo
Salvador and Olivier De Schutter come together to make a convincing argument for the establishment of a National
Food Policy in America. They speak directly to every American, regardless of class, race, gender or socioeconomic
status. The only thing you need to feel deeply moved and inspired by this piece of writing is a human body. This
article aims to educate the people of America about current food policies and hopes to rally them in the direction of
change by providing the audience with several enlightening statistics about food culture in America today. The
authors deliver a persuasive argument by using the rhetorical appeals: ethos, pathos and logos. We see the author
using ethos by citing many credible and reliable sources. We then see examples of pathos in the many ways that the
authors appeal to the values, emotions and needs of the audience. Finally, the authors use logos by means of
inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning to show that they respect the reader, as well as understand both sides of
their particular argument while appealing to the readers logic. We will go over many examples of the way the
authors use these rhetorical appeal in the article in an attempt to align the audience on their side of this specific
issue.
In America, the food industry is the largest sector of our economy, yet we have no food policy in place. Our
food system has caused immense damage to public health, the soil we live on and the air we breathe. The
agricultural policies, set in place when we were mostly concerned with making sure there was enough food for
everyone, are a big part of the problem with our food system as a whole. These policies have created the monster
that is, as the authors put it, agribusiness - one of the most powerful lobbies on Capitol Hill. Any hope of
attempting to reform the policies that have poisoned our food system depend on a Congress that has basically been
bought and paid for by said agribusiness. However, several countries have already developed national food policies
and are beginning to reap the resulting public health improvements and economically stabilizing benefits. With a

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food policy in place, guaranteeing the American people the right to healthy food, it will be difficult to pass bills that
undermine those guarantees. Obama can and should use his remaining time in office to begin to put plans for a
National Food Policy into motion.
At the beginning of the article, the authors use a great combination of logos and pathos in paragraph 2
when they state that, The food system and the diet its created have caused incalculable damage to the health of our
people and our land, water and air. If a foreign power were to do such harm, wed regard it as a threat to national
security, if not an act of war, and the government would formulate a comprehensive plan and marshal resources to
combat it. This is an example of logos because the authors use deductive reasoning and they also cite The Lancet,
which is one of the worlds oldest and best known peer-reviewed medical journals. The statement then goes on the
appeal to the audiences emotions by pointing out that the government is allowing the food system to do direct and
obvious harm to our entire country. This statement would likely enrage the reader and cause them to question why
our government would allow something like this to happen. By using pathos and logos in one statement, the authors
appeal to the needs and emotions of the reader, while simultaneously making an appeal to common sense and the
logical reactions of many Americans if the authors are able to incite the reader to question things around them and
choose to act, their argument will prove more successful.
To further their argument, the authors made excellent use of appeals to ethos, logos and pathos, all in two
sentences. In paragraph 4, the authors explained, Todays children are expected to live shorter lives than their
parents. In large part, this is because a third of these children will develop Type 2 diabetes, formerly rare in children
and a preventable disease that reduces life expectancy by several years. In this quote, the authors cited two different
reputable sources; The National Center for Biotechnology Information and The New England Journal of Medicine,
which is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals. By using information from esteemed
publications, the authors build their credibility and therefore make this not only an example of logos, but of ethos,
as well. By citing their claims, the audience doesnt simply have to take their word for it. They can investigate and
find out that the claims the author is making are based on scientific fact. This sentence also could be thought of as an
example of pathos because it really hits home for a lot of people who are either suffering from Type 2 diabetes or
who have a loved one living with this remarkably preventable illness. By referencing the effects of the American
food industry on our children and driving home the idea that a full generation of Americans will experience a

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shortened lifespan, this comment would likely invoke a mixture of negative emotions - fear, anger, sadness,
frustration spurning readers towards the side of action.
One of the first obvious examples of the use of ethos in this article is the mere fact that it was published by
The Washington Post. The article having been published in a newspaper that has won 47 Pulitzer Prizes and that is
one of the most respected newspapers in the country starts this article off with a great deal of credibility right out the
door. People are more likely to trust what you are saying is true if they are reading it in a publication that they have a
great deal of respect for. That is a great example of ethos.
A specific example of pathos can be found in the following sentence in paragraph 19, Mexicos
recognition of food as a key driver of public health led to the passage last year of a national tax on junk food and
soda, which in the first year has reduced consumption of sugary beverages by 10 percent and increased consumption
of water. Here, the authors cite Mexicos food policy and statistics so that the audience doesnt simply have to take
the authors word for it. That particular sentence about Mexico taxing junk food and soda would likely strike a nerve
among the American public and cause most people to begin wondering if Mexico can achieve something like this,
why not us? By comparing our country to another, human nature would immediately cause the reader to feel a sense
on competitiveness and anger with our government for not making sure that we are at the forefront of something as
important as public health. This sentence is also a good example of logos. By using deductive reasoning to appeal to
human logic.
Examples of pathos are found throughout this article. This sentence from paragraph 5 for example, Amid
this incoherence, special interest groups thrive and the public good suffers. The idea that special interest groups are
capitalizing on the misfortune of all Americans is an absolute outrage and would upset just about anyone who took
the time to stop and think about it. That short sentence has the power to have that kind of impact, which helps the
author to achieve their goal of a convincing argument. If you can anger your audience and cause them to realize that
they are indeed being treated unfairly, you are more likely to get them to line up behind your cause.
In a glaring example of pathos, in paragraph 13, the authors point out that the government subsidizes soda
with one hand, while the other writes checks to pay for insulin pumps. This is not policy; this is insanity. This gives
the reader insight into hypocrisy that exists in our government. You begin to see how ridiculous it is that we dont
just stop funneling money into something harmful. This indictment of federal policy makers really helps the authors

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convey their message to the audience. It also causes a feeling of outrage, which aligns the audience with the authors
cause even more so.
In the following sentences, you see a great use of logos from paragraph 8. The contradictions of our
governments policies around food become clear as soon as you compare the federal recommendations for the
American diet, known as MyPlate, with the administrations agricultural policies. While MyPlate recommends a diet
of 50 percent vegetables and fruits, the administration devotes less than 1 percent of farm subsidies to support the
research, production and marketing of those foods. The citations used in this statement, link the reader directly to
Democratic member of The United States House of Representatives, Chellie Pingrees government site. Once there,
the reader can view charts that explain the discrepancy in subsidies that support each program listed in the statement
above. It becomes difficult to argue the logic of a statement when it is backed up by information listed on a
government website. This would also double as an example of ethos because of the added credibility the government
citation provides.
Lets look at another great example of pathos in this article found in paragraph 23, Think of the food
system as something that works for us rather than exploits us, something that encourages health rather than
undermines it. That is the food system the people of the United States deserve, and Obama, in his remaining time in
office, can begin to build it. By contrasting the current conditions with the possibilities, the authors create a sense
of hope in the audience. The audience begins to feel that even though things are bad, change is possible. This is also
the last paragraph of the article so they leave the audience with something to grapple with. The idea that if the
American people do not stand behind this cause, it will be damaging for every single one of us. They leave you with
the realization that if you dont begin to work for change you wish to see, you will continue to be exploited and
unhealthy. This causes the audience to feel a sense of urgency about their own self-preservation and is a very
effective way to end the article with the audience on your side.
By using the rhetorical appeals: ethos, logos and pathos, the authors were quite effective in convincing the
American people that America needs and would deeply benefit from a national food policy. It would seem that by
the end of the article, it would be very difficult for anyone to argue against it, unless they had personal interests
invested in agribusiness. A convincing argument was made, using many different persuasion methods, that the
current state of food production and consumption is completely toxic to the American people, the environment and

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to nature as well. After the evaluation of the facts and rhetorical appeals used in this article, it is clear that most
Americans would likely agree, wholeheartedly with the authors argument that the creation of a national food policy
by the American Government is an absolute necessity.

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Work Cited
Bittman, Mark, Michael Pollan, Ricardo Salvador, and Olivier De Schutter. "How a National Food Policy Could
save Millions of American Lives." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2014. Web. 7 July
2016.