Food Rules: An Eater's Manual
Ethos
Besides, the credibility created from Michael Pollan's name alone, he also references all the science backed research he uncovered and investigated that is explained and outlined in his other books. He explains that these guidlines and rules are based from his findings and his overall rule of : eat food, mostly plants, not too much. Along with this, the fact that he is not the one coming up with these rules and guidelines but rather that is is the common public ( well to an extent the common public) gives the audience a sense that he can not be lying. These rules and facts are coming from varying generations and from varying cultures. There is a sense created in the opening introduction that these are based from cumlative culture wisdome. Pollan states, "This dietary wisdom is the distillation of an evolutionary process involving many people in many places figuring out what keeps people healthy and passing that knwledge down in the form of rules, sayings, taboos, and practices". This gives the reader a sense of partial owernship in the book and more byin to beleive and follow what it is saying. He then talks about the fact that the book is phrased in everyday language and avoids scientific and nutritional lingo even though it is backed in science. It gives the reader a sense that he is one of them and not some higher up scientist or food snob, but a regular run of the mill American citizen. He uses ethos that appeal to his intended Audience ( the average, uneducated, food confused citizen in America).
Pathos
Emotional appeal is created in the text through the paintings. The images of the fake food create an emotional appeal of "o wow, that is not what I want to be eating" and the paintings of homecooked food and natural vegetables makes us feel a sense of pride and comfort for how food should be and how our granparents might have farmed and cooked. An example would be the cover of the book, it shows a lady eagerly showing her homemade baked goods, playing up to our nastalgic emotions. This is emphasized by the tone created in the text. The piantings and words combined create a tone of familiarity and again in tern nastagia because the rules are in part old wives tales. Pathos is also present in the introductory paragraphs that are infomring us that we have been tricked and in fact we are not winning in this food game. Pollan states in regards to the stakeholdrs of the food industry; " The nutrition experts become indispensible; the food manufacturers can reengineer their products to reflect the latest findings; and those of use in the media who follow these issues have a constant stream of new food and health stories to report. Everyone wins, that is, except for us eaters". This appeal creates an emotion of anger and plays on the American need and want to be the best and winner of everything. It emotionally appeals to the prideful nature of the American public.
Logos
The text creates logical appeals through the use of science claims and nutrition facts. Even though this book is based on cultural food wisdom and not science, Pollan uses science to assure us that the old wives tales we have been listening to are in fact correct. He makes the text even more appealing to his audience by explaining to them that he has already done all the hard work for them and made this paired down science backed book for them from their own ideas. He already researched everything beforehand. On the other side of the fence he also uses science so show why fake foods and the food industry are terrible for us. Pollan says, " "Fact 1, Populations that eat a so-called Western diet-- generally defined as a diet consisting of lots of processed foods and meat, lots of added fat and sugar, lots of refinded grains, lots of everything except vegetables, fruits, and whole grains invariably sufer from high rates of the so-called Western diseases; obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and more than a third of all cancers canbe linked to this diet.