Persuasive Techniques Used By Mckay Jenkins And Anna Lappe

Kalista Cook
Miss Grimes
College Composition II
9 February 2023
Persuasive Techniques Used by McKay Jenkins and Anna Lappe
The topics of food sustainability and agricultural awareness are incredibly important. Authors McKay Jenkins and Anna Lappe bring awareness to these topics in their articles Can GMOs Be Sustainable and The Climate Crisis and the End of Our Fork. In these articles, the authors address the negative impacts of the food and agriculture industry. More specifically, they attempt to educate on the importance of creating environmentally conscious eating habits. Eating food is an obvious necessity to life, therefore many people are mindless with their consumption habits, and do not consider the implications of their choices. Mckay

Both essays share common themes, in mainly advocating for sustainability in the food and agriculture industry. However, the authors suggest different methods to obtain this. Can GMOs Be Sustainable, written by McKay Jenkins mainly discusses the usage of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the agriculture industry, and the controversy that surrounds them. The article is mainly through the point of view of farmer Jenny Schmidt, who discusses the positive effects of GMOs, and how they can help farmers. However, there are also perspectives given by different professionals, which all support the conversation of sustainability in the food industry. Additionally, this article humanizes farmers such as Jenny Schmidt who often get villainized in the industry. On the other hand, The Climate Crisis at the End of Our Fork, by Anna Lappe focuses on the various techniques the author finds wrong with modern day farming. Unlike Jenkins, she advocates for sustainability in a way that rejects artificial farming practices, such as GMOs. Lappe also pushes for an increase in local farms who use organic practices. She believes this would make crops better fit to sustain natural disasters such as droughts, and be overall better for the

This particular device showcases the authors' experience, education, power, degrees, etc. as a technique to prove that they are qualified to give an opinion. Establishing personal credentials is an effective tool, because readers feel more inclined to accept the advice of a professional. The authors are aware of this technique and establish themselves well throughout their articles. In Can GMOs Be Sustainable, author McKay Jenkins introduces himself as “...a professor of English and journalism and environmental humanities and is also the author of numerous books about environmental debates intended for the general public” (Jenkins 722). Jenkins is establishing why he is qualified to write this article, however the subject of the interview, Jennie Schmidt is more qualified to speak on the specific topic at hand. Schmidt and her husband own a 2,000 acre farm, which is firsthand experience, and proves she is incredibly qualified to assert her opinions and experiences. Anna Lappe on the other hand establishes herself as a “...best-selling author, public speaker, and founder of the Small Planet Institute, an international network of scholars, activists, and educators who are interested in the intersections of hunger and poverty” (Lappe 702). Her renowned experience qualifies her to speak on the issue herself, so she does not bring in external interviewees. In The Climate Crisis at the End of Our Fork