Ethos In The Food Industry

Since the dawn of the scientific revolution, historical advances has been made for the pursuit of a finer and a stronger understanding of life. But, not all advancements has benefited our society. Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower addressed concerns regarding these developments in his “Farewell Address” speech. As his final speech as president, he leaves his audience with a message that may have shocked some listeners. Not to mention he also gave his thoughts on how we should go about solving our issues as a nation. In one aspect of his speech, he speaks on the military industrial complex, which has similarities to our food industrial complex in terms of complications. To further demonstrate these complications, author Michael Pollan sets out to discover what goes on behind the closed doors of the food world in his novel “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”.

Ever just wonder what makes the food from McDonald’s, Burger King, Jack in the Box, or other successful fast food restaurants so good. Well in this proposal, you will know 3 things that the fast food industry is hiding. The author of the book, Chew On This, is Eric Schlosser. The book was published in 2006. It’s mostly about the things of fast food; what they hide what they do to become successful. Eric wrote this to tell everyone about it. The fast food industry is making choices that is affecting the people that eat their food. They do choices that include violating animal rights, health problems and manipulative advertisement.

In the article, “The Pleasures of Eating”, author Wendell Berry shares his knowledge of the food industry and discusses the act of eating as part of the agricultural process. Berry asks deep questions in his article that will make the readers question what they are putting into their homes and into their bodies. Most Americans, according to Berry, can be categorized as passive consumers that are basically allowing food industrialist to brainwash them by means of advertisement. He argues ,“They pay, mostly without protest, what they are charged” implying that the consumers do not even question what additional cost, such as transportation, might have added to the product .The article provides an interesting perspective on consuming food and Berry shares multiple ways that the passive consumer can become more educated on food.

Throughout American history, propaganda pieces have been used to sway the public opinion on one matter or another. The famous Federalist Papers were used to sway the early American public to ratify the Constitution. The Civil War also heavily relied on propaganda to recruit soldiers and boost morale. At the turn of the 20th century, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was written as a propaganda piece on socialism, however, it was remembered for its cometary on the ethics of the meat packing industry. Although its goal of turning America into a socialist society was forgotten, it served as one of the most efficient propaganda pieces on the meat packing industry. A century later the documentary Food, Inc. was produced for the same purpose of drawing attention to the food industry as a whole. Although monopolies on the meat industry have increased after being broken up and food workers treatment is similar to those in The Jungle, there are now more government regulations in place, ensuring food safety to a

In the world, there are one billion people undernourished and one and a half billion more people overweight. In this day and age, where food has become a means of profit rather than a means of keeping people thriving and healthy, Raj Patel took it upon himself to explore why our world has become the home of these two opposite extremes: the stuffed and the starved. He does so by travelling the world and investigating the mess that was created by the big men (corporate food companies) when they took power away from the little men (farmers and farm workers) in order to provide for everyone else (the consumers) as conveniently and profitably as possible. In his book Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, Patel reveals his findings and tries to reach out to people not just as readers, but also as consumers, in hopes of regaining control over the one thing that has brought us all down: the world food system.

The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock to the fast food industry. These industries hold significant value in the United States, employing more than half a million people. The meat industry holds the nations largest agricultural sector and sales of meat and exceeds over 100 billion dollars a year. The meat packing industry treats their employees with inhumane work conditions and unfair wages in the United States, most companies go to great extend to hide these truths.

Eric Schlosser is an author and an investigative journalist who “tries to explore subjects ignored by the mainstream media and give a voice to people at the margins of society (1).” Mr. Schlosser uses the knowledge he gained at both Princeton University and Oxford to write extraordinary books based off his hard work and investigating. In this book, Mr. Schlosser looks at the fast-food industry and the effects it has had on people 's lives. He begins with the history of McDonalds and then branches out to the history of the associated industries of fast food. Eric Schlosser points out important issues such as good nutrition, food safety, animal welfare, worker rights and sustainable agriculture. In the book, he also questions the “Americanization” of food around the world, and its associated health issues, such as obesity and heart disease. Another main point Mr. Schlosser discusses, are the ranchers, the feedlots, the slaughter houses, and the packaging companies. Which areas that most people do not

Upton Sinclair’s, The Jungle is a novel, which affected the food industry in 1900’s but also in America today. People have learned over the years the truths about the food industry, revealed through Sinclair’s detailed evidence. Sinclair meant to aim at the public’s heart but instead he shot straight at their stomachs. One would easily be convinced to never again buy or eat meat again. Fortunately, people have seen changes from 1906 and have been currently trying to repair the Food Industry. The food industry has better improvements yet; it still needs a thorough cleansing. Although food production has bettered in the last 100 years by its treatment of workers and government’s oversight, it has had some adverse effects like company’s protection

Over the last century, farming has changed exponentially, transforming food production. During the late 1800s, the industrial revolution revitalizes agriculture by bolstering crop and livestock productivity, spurring the second agricultural revolution. This revolution marks the creation of a commercial market for food. (Knox, 334) The third agricultural revolution, occurring after World War II, introduces mechanization, chemical farming, and manufacturing processing that still exists today; therefore, marking the transition from the family owned and operated farms to commercial farms. “Back around the turn of the last century, the average farmer could feed six or eight people. Now the average American farmer can feed 126 people” (Kenner). The standardization of fast food reconstructed the food preparation system. McDonald’s Speedee Service System introduced manufacturing production lines into a restaurant, transforming the farming into a food industry. (Knox, 341) Even though most food sold in supermarkets and restaurants is cultivated on corporate lands, surprisingly, farming is still believed to be a family business with locals living in small farmhouses.

Michael Pollan’s alternative to Factory farming has given a huge insight into a better ethics on food. In “The Animals: Practicing Complexity” Michael Pollan writes about a polyface farm and how it works. The goal of a polyface farm is to emotionally, economically, and environmentally enhance agriculture. Everything on a polyface farm has the potential to be helpful to something else on the farm. Pollan states “The chicken feed not only feeds the broilers but, transformed into chicken crap, feeds the grass that feeds the cows that, as I was about to see, feeds the pigs and the laying hens” (Pollan 345). This chain of profit very beneficial to farms because overall they spend much less money and have more money to spend elsewhere. There 's

In Fast Food Nation, the author uses multiple rhetorical strategies to achieve an overall tone and effect. One device, however, was utilized throughout the book. To achieve the tone of disapproval, pathos, the appeal to emotions, was strongly used in each part of the book. For example, the book states, “At times the animals are crowded so closely together it looks like a sea of cattle, a mooing, moving mass of brown and white fur that goes on for acres.” This appeals to the readers emotions because it discusses the cruel treatment of cows. These animals are about to be slaughtered, and they have to endure these poor conditions up until their death. This helps convey the tone of disapproval by providing an example of improper methods used in

By growing more and more corn, to get rid of the surplus, companies have switched to corn sweeteners, and have begun to feed more corn to livestock. “Researchers have found that corn-fed beef is higher in saturated fats than grass-fed beef.” Capitalism has paved the avenues that allow the government, which is always supposed to be in the public’s best interest, to alter the human diet to such extents that we are now gorging ourselves to our inevitable demise. The American diet is not the only thing that is affected by government

Referring to how food has become an addition to luxury, she states that “Food is no longer trendy or fashionable. It is fashion” (3). The audience learns that what should be a necessity of life has become an accessory. This metaphor evokes sadness and instills a desire for change in the hearts of man. Most people do not realize that food really has become a tool that food corporations use to make money. Miller is able to instill sadness and pity in her unintended

Most Americans in contemporary society run on an automatic default setting, not bothering to question what they attest to on an everyday basis. A monotonous routine sets in that transcends into future generations. In this current fast paced way of life it’s not difficult to fall into the trap of the unregulated food industry. The least of many concerns is to worry about a couple of unpronounceable words on the back of the cereal box one has for breakfast each morning. Many of these ingredients and their derivatives are unknown to the common shopper. Therefore, the food industry must be regulated in order to keep society aware of what they are consuming, allow for a decrease in the dependence of fast food, and to prevent and control current and future health issues tormenting the nation.

For many people the ideal meal is inexpensive, fast, and tastes good. When purchasing these quick and inexpensive meals we put very little thought into how that food was actually produced. Food Inc is a documentary produced by filmmaker Robert Kenner and Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, to bring awareness to Americans about the industrial side of food production. Kenner wants us to question how much we really know about the food we have been feeding to our families and to ourselves. He interviews various experts such as food advocates, farmers and authors who have written books about the food industry. This film uses visual images, along with ethos, logos, and pathos to help uncover the corrupt side of the food industry.