Wendell Berry wrote 'The Pleasures of Eating' to argue how city people can eat more
responsibly and get their freedom back of having a variety of food as well as knowing where
their food comes from. His audience would be the city people he is addressing and, in particular,
mothers that are worried about what they are feeding their families. I think stating that freedom
is being taken away from Americans in any aspect of their lives will catch a lot of attention and
open a lot of eyes.

Berry is arguing with deductive reasoning by going from general to specific resulting in a
conclusion. He starts out with the decline of American farming and rural life along with the
politics of food, and how generally most people do not know where their food is coming from to
going into specific ways city people can eliminate this problem of not knowing the origin of our
foods and start eating in more responsible ways. Berry uses rhetorical reasoning in his writing.
Rhetorical reasoning is used when he compares human actions, such as industrial sex (Berry
125), to industrial eating. Rhetorical reasoning is also used when Berry lists out what we can do
to eat more responsibly and take back our freedom. Berry talks about freedom and living free
because he knows how powerful and meaningful freedom is to Americans.

Environmental activist, farmer, writer, and poet, these are all factors that help Wendell
Berry create his situated ethos. To help establish a strong invented ethos Berry includes
statements like 'If I am going to eat meat, I want it to be from an animal that has lived a
pleasant, uncrowded life outdoors, on bountiful pasture, with good water nearby and trees for
shade.' (127). From this statement readers can know that Berry truly does care about the animals
we eat, that he does not have a secret agenda of attempting to turn everyone into vegetarians, and
that he is somewhat familiar with animal farming. Berry knows that creating an effective situated
ethos is useful to him in trying to get his point across. He knows that because of his background,
occupation, and beliefs that the audience is more likely to not only listen to him but to also take
him seriously and to take on the kind of action he wants them to.

When most speakers or writers chose to discuss the topic of nutrition we often turn away
from them because we automatically assume we do not have time for healthy meals, the money
from healthier ingredients, or the will to give up tasty unhealthy fast foods and junk foods. Berry
gets us to take him more seriously than most speakers and creates an effective ethos because he
is actually living the life he is writing about, showing readers that is possible, and that this topic
is one he is passionate about instead of one he has a hidden agenda for or is profiting from. These
factors, along with Berry's background provide persuasion for readers to listen to what he has to
say because of his credibility and respectability. He does seem to have the audience in mind
because he takes time going into depth about not only how they are losing their freedom but also
how to get it back, he has a great deal of knowledge on the topic he is discussing because he is an
environmental activist, a farmer, and a writer; which also help support the idea of him having
good virtue. Berry claims that after he gives his lectures at least one concerned member of the
audience asks him 'What can city people do?' (124). He responds by saying city people can eat
more responsibly and provides a list of ways this can do be done.

In this list he does not just provide bullet points of actions to be taken but instead he gives
detailed instructions on seven ways of how to get our freedom of food back. Berry does keep in
mind that his audience contains working class citizens and city people so he is unable to advise
everyone to give up their lifestyles and move onto farms in order to get a healthier diet and this is
why his list is kept simple with steps that do not require a lot of effort from those willing to take
them. Wendell Berry does utilize enargeia by making an effort to bring life into the issue being
discussed. He states the reason we should care about the food we are putting in our bodies
because our freedom of choice and variety are being taken away from us by the government. He
provides seven reasons, which can easily be done and fit into the life of each busy member of his
audience, why the audience should care, and make an effort to eat more responsible. Berry
suggests that the audience should care that their freedom is being taken away right before their
eyes without them even realizing it and this provides audience members with more evidence and
reasoning as to why they should put action behind the seven steps Wendell Berry has provided
for us in his writing.

Wendell Berry expects the audience to be enraged that their freedom is being snatched
from under them, and with this anger it will force them to act out in the way he wants them to.
Participating in food production, growing your own food, dealing directly with local food
producers, and learning as much as possible about the food you are consuming (127) are steps
we can take to get our freedom back.

