The Pleasures Of Eating By Wendell Berry Summary

In 1990, author Wendell Berry had a collection of essays released together in a book titled What Are People For?. Among these essays is one titled The Pleasures of Eating, focusing on the responsibilities of eating which includes self-awareness regarding what one’s consuming. Berry begins his essay voicing his solution on how city people can bring new life to American farming and rural life. Berry’s solution is simply to “Eat responsibly” (1). He elaborates on this stating that “Most eaters … think of food as an agricultural product, perhaps, but they do not think of themselves as participants in agriculture” (Berry 1). Berry states that whether these people realize it or not, they’re passive consumers. He believes these consumers are truly

These eaters ignore the politics concerning food rather looking for esthetics and quick service. Due to these disregarding’s, the industrial eaters won’t ever realize that eating responsibly is a way “to live free” (2). Berry then lists off seven points regarding how to eat more responsibly for the passive consumers. These points range from “[participating] in food production to the extent that you can” to “[learning] as much as you can, by direct observation and experience if possible, of the life histories of the food species” (Berry 4-5). Berry also believes that it’s important for the animals that meat comes from to have lived a pleasant life. He finds a disliking to the idea of animals being mistreated simply for humans own pleasure. Berry states that “The pleasure of eating should be an extensive pleasure, not that of the mere gourmet.” (5). Berry ends his article stating “Eating with the fullest pleasure … is perhaps the profoundest enactment of our connection with the world.” (5-6), signifying that eating without ignorance can bring one satisfaction. Berry was able to successfully get his points across using the rhetorical devices which includes logos, ethos and