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What social issues does food inc documentary by robert kenner participate in
Position paper on the documentary food inc
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Modern day America is facing a means to an end. The food industry has changed drastically over the last fifty years. The documentary Food, Inc. answers to the increasing demand of Americans to have a behind the scenes look at how their food is being produced. This documentary exposes the profit centered, big business tycoons and how the current, highly mechanized production system is putting human health and the environment at risk with compliance from government agencies. Director, Robert Kenner, intends for an audience of curious and ignorant Americans alike to watch this provoking film and to convince them to be the change that turns this industry from factory to farm by effectively using mainly ethos and pathos but, also logos and kairos.
The chicken industry is graphically depicted through the implementation of both ethos and pathos. Kenner shows the process of how chicken is produced from when they are hatched to being on the shelves of supermarkets. He struggled to find a chicken farmer that was willing to be
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Throughout the film, Kenner displays shocking facts of the food industry which appeal to logos. These facts enlighten the audience with real numbers and certainty which further help in solidifying Kenner’s goal of creating change. At the time of production in 2008, the organic food revolution was just beginning. Thus, this was an ideal time to make a film of this nature. Not many people were knowledgeable on the process of food production and this film gave those who wanted to know a convenient and simple means of self- education on the subject. Kairos in this instance is a key component of the films success because had the organic community not been an up- and- coming topic this film wouldn’t have had the support or steam to be successful because, simply, no one would be
Steindom, Joel. “My Food Manifesto, Part One: The Bad News.” Steidom.com. Ed. Joel Steindom, Heather Steindom. 2007. 24 July 2008. .
...g statistics about the public’s health and make the future seem bleak, “the lifespan is shortening for new American children” (Pastor) and “ one in three children born after the year 2010 will develop type II diabetes” (Pastor). Pastor says that he is shocked by the impact and wants to break away from the cycle created. In his closing statements he convinces the audience to break away from the cycle away as well, by drawing on the seeds he planted with pathos, ethos, and logos. The film was well made and addressed all the issues of “organic” food and well informed the audience of what is occurring. Next time, an audience member goes to the supermarket to buy food they will probably remember what their children will look like in twenty years if they don’t take a more “organic” approach to their lives.
The taste of the processed chicken from my elementary school cafeteria remains imbedded in my memory. I can still taste the chunks of chicken that could not be broken up by my teeth, and the tired, lazy feeling I had walking back to my next class. This is the exact situation organic farmer and producers are trying to avoid by making healthy products. The documentary, In Organic We Trust, attempts to persuade the viewers that organic products create a healthy lifestyle, and improve living conditions for people all over the world. Kip Pastor’s use of ethos and logos in his documentary are strong and provide supporting evidence, however, Pastor is lacking an abundant amount of pathos. Pastor incorporates logos into his documentary by allowing the audience to experience a multitude of facts and supporting evidence. Ethos is used in the film through Pastor’s interviews with professionals, and pathos is shown by the touching stories of individuals.
In Organic We Trust, Kip Pastor attempted to persuade the viewers that, although the food system may be flawed, organic foods are actually better to consume. Overall, throughout the entire film Pastors uses of pathos, ethos and logos were used in a very precise and effective manner. Although Pastor’s use of pathos and logos were better structured that the ethos, all of the three types of arguments were credible and valid. Pastor’s overall goals to educate the viewers about organic food and the food system were extremely observable throughout the entire film. There’s no doubt that Pastor’s message is very powerful and convincing. The motivation behind this film is the reason for Pastor’s success and credibility.
One issue the documentary highlights is the abuse of animals and workers by the food companies, in order to reveal how the companies hide the dark side of the food world from the public. In several instances, we see animals being treated cruelly. The workers have little regard for the lives of the animals since they are going to die anyways. Chickens are grabbed and thrown into truck beds like objects, regulation chicken coups allow for no light the entire lives of the chickens, and cows are pushed around with fork lifts to take to slaughter. Many chickens are even bred to have such large breasts that their bones and organs cannot support their bodies. These chickens cannot walk and they even wheeze in pain for the cameras. The film is clearly using the unacceptable premise fallacy of appeal to emotion in this instance, because the viewer is meant to feel pity at the sight of the abused animals. This supports their conclusion, because many American’s imagine their food coming from a happy, country farm and would be horrified to know the truth.
The article highlights and includes the documentary Food, Inc., which exposes the inability of the profit system to provide safe and healthy food for the vast majority of the population. Eric Schlosser, investigating journalist, quotes, “The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000.now our food is coming from enormous assembly lines where animals and the workers are being abused, and the food has become much more dangerous in ways that are deliberately hidden from us”. Schlosser also quotes, “Birds are now raised and slaughtered half the time they were 50 years ago, but now they’re twice as big”. He believes they not only changed the chicken, but they changed the farmer, implying that capitalism has taken the place for the need of small scale farming.
In a society that is facing numerous problems, such as economic devastation, one major problem is often disregarded, growing obesity. As the American society keeps growing, so does growth of the fast food industry and the epidemic of obesity. In order to further investigate the main cause of obesity, Morgan Spurlock, the film director and main character, decides to criticize the fast food industry for its connection with obesity in America. In his documentary Spurlock performs a radical experiment that drives him to eat only from McDonald's and order a super-sized meal whenever he is asked. By including visual and textual techniques, rhetorical appeals, and argumentative evidences, Morgan Spurlock was able to help viewers know the risks of fast food and how it has caused America to be the world's “fattest country”.
Hungry for Change is a thought provoking documentary produced by James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch that delves into the implications of eating a modern diet. Using pathos, facts and figures, and association, Hungry for Change delivers a meritorious performance that engages viewers and leaves them questioning their own diet and lifestyle choices. The film’s use of rhetorical and advertising strategies and its ability to captivate viewers make this an effective, life changing documentary.
In February 2010, a remarkable chef and speaker, Jamie Oliver, presented himself to a TED (Technology, Education, Design) audience as ruthlessly real and charismatic. In his speech, “Teach Every Child about Food” he shares powerful stories of his anti-obesity project and makes the case for an all-out assault on our ignorance of food. Jaime Oliver’s speech aims to alter the perspective of Americans and their decisions about food and its effects. Since then, Oliver’s TED talk has been viewed across the nation and brought a reality to the issue with food education. Jamie Oliver successfully utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos to portray his belief that without the use of food education, America and its children will fall under the weight of its own obesity.
Throughout the essay, Berry logically progresses from stating the problem of the consumer’s ignorance and the manipulative food industry that plays into that ignorance, to stating his solution where consumers can take part in the agricultural process and alter how they think about eating in order to take pleasure in it. He effectively uses appeals to emotion and common values to convince the reader that this is an important issue and make her realize that she needs to wake up and change what she is doing. By using appeals to pathos, logos, and ethos, Berry creates a strong argument to make his point and get people to change how they attain and eat food.
‘Fast Food Nation’ by Eric Schlosser traces the history of fast food industry from old hot dog stands to the billion dollar franchise companies established as America spread its influence of quick, easy and greasy cuisine around the globe. It is a brilliant piece of investigative journalism that looks deep into the industries that have profited from the American agriculture business, while engaging in labor practices that are often shameful.
Berry does not hesitate in using harsh words and metaphors like “the hamburger she is eating came from a steer who spent much of his life standing deep in his own excrement in a feedlot”(Berry 10). This provokes the readers to feeling horrible about industrial eating. He uses our pride while pointing to the lies of the make-up of industrial foods. He plays on human self-preservation when writing about chemicals in plants and animals which is out of the consumer’s control. He tries to spark a curiosity and enthusiasm, describing his own passion of farming, animal husbandry, horticulture, and gardening. The aspect of feelings and emotions is, perhaps, the strongest instrument Berry uses in making his
Food Inc. addresses many political issues during the film to draw in the audience. Issues such as: the environment, education, workers’ rights, health care, climate change, energy control, to name a few. Director Robert Kenner exposes secrets about the foods society eats, where the food has come from and the processes the food went through. It is these issues that are used as politics of affect in both an extreme visual representation and a strong audio representation that has the biggest impact on the audience and their connection to what they are being told. This paper aims to discuss the film Food Inc. and the propaganda message for positive change, as well as, the differences between seeing food and deciding...
America is a capitalist society. It should come to a surprise when we live like this daily. We work for profit. We’ll buy either for pleasure or to sell later for profit. It should come to no surprise that our food is made the same way because we are what we eat. We are capitalist that eat a capitalist meal. So we must question our politics. Is our government system to blame for accepting and encouraging monopolies?
This book is a life changing book. It was inspirational, informative and gave you insight about the things we do not know about the food we eat. The documentary was graphic and detailed, informing you of the process from the farm or the fields, to the manufactures, to the labeling and packaging companies. It informed me, about the school lunches, how some of the meals at school are made, to the politics behind it. This book is also a collectible.