Wendell Berry: known for writing books, poetry, essays, and novels, wrote
'The Pleasures of Eating' as part of a larger collection of essays that he wrote
called What Are People For?. In 'The Pleasures of Eating', Barry argues the issue
of eating responsibly and knowing where your food comes from. To do this he
Berry uses deductive reasoning by connecting piece after piece and showing how
they all correlate with each other. He tells how the food industry is in it for the
money, therefore they make the food as fast and cheap as possible. That leads to
unhealthy food, then unhealthy people. Berry also utilizes Logos, Ethos, and
Pathos to try and persuade the reader that he is correct in his beliefs. He explains
his views and beliefs to the reader in a way that makes it seem that he is an expert
on the subject. Berry believes everyone should trust in his way of living because of
the benefits to everyone. He does not just write about farming and the benefits
from it, he is also a farmer who farms and lives by what he is saying. In this essay
he does not use the fact that he is a farmer to persuade the reader, he uses the fact
that he does lectures, and writes books on the subject to show his knowledge and
authority. Berry appeals to the readers' emotions and wants them to take charge,
and change how they think about eating.

He begins his essay with ethos by giving the impression of being an
experienced speaker who has done a lot of research and lectures in the field of
farming. He achieves this with the opening statement 'Many times, after I have
finished a lecture on the decline of American farming and rural life, someone in the
audience has asked, '"What can city people do?'' (Berry 124) This statement shows
that he is perceived to be an expert and has a vast knowledge on the subject of
farming in America, which gives him good sense on the subject. That makes it
easier to persuade his audience to believe him. He follows up the question from
the audience with an answer 'eat responsibly' (124) He could have just left it this
way but he went on to say 'Of course, I have tried to explain what I mean by that,
but afterwards I have invariably felt there was more to be said than I had been able
to say. Now I would like to attempt a better explanation' (124). This goes to show
Berry's good will to his audience, where he could have just answered the question
with the short answer, but instead he goes on with a better explanation. That shows
that he cares for the reader and wants them to completely understand what he is
saying. Berry succeeded in his use of ethos by showing his authority on the
subject and that he cares for farming in America.

In the essay Berry uses pathos to directly relate the reader with his feeling
towards the situation, and to show the reader the unethical practices in modern
agriculture, and the terrible quality of life they lead to for the animals we eat. He
does this by describing how the food industry wants to disassociate itself from the
consumers feelings with the line "When food, in the minds of eaters, is no longer
associated with farming and with the land, then the eaters are suffering a kind of
cultural amnesia that is misleading and dangerous"(125). With this disassociation
the industry wants to makes it easier to manufacture food without interference
from the consumer over the ethical treatment of the animals and food growing
practices. Berry uses enargia to make the reader see vividly what he is trying to
bring to the essay with "The passive American consumer, sitting down to a meal of
pre-prepared or fast food, confronts a platter covered with inert, anonymous
substances that have been processed, dyed, breaded, sauced, gravied, ground,
pulped, strained, blended, prettified, and sanitized beyond resemblance to any part
of any creature that ever lived"(126). He describes the reader as a 'a victim' and
that they are 'suffering a kind of cultural amnesia that is misleading and
dangerous'(125) to put the audience in a frame of mind that makes them more apt
to consider what he is saying. He urges his readers that they must eat responsibly
to live free. 'involves our freedom'(125) and as Americans we take our freedom
seriously no matter what the subject is, and he makes us believe that he looking out
for our freedom, therefore we should believe him and what he his saying to show
the reader the unethical practices in modern agriculture, and the terrible quality of
life they lead to for the animals we eat. I think Berry wants to bring an emotional
response of sympathy for the animals that are going to be slaughtered and also to
make you aware of the treatment some of the animals had before you ate them.

Berry also uses logos in his essay by taking the information that he knows
and putting it into statements that make the reader really understand the urgency of
what he is trying to say. He appeals to the reader's sense of logic when he
describes the process food goes through to reach the consumer "The consumer, that
is to say, must be kept from discovering that, in the food industry ' as in any
other industry ' the overriding concerns are not quality and health, but volume
and price."(126) He also compares the food industry in a way to be like a mom
trying to get you to eat new foods. He does this with the statement "They will
grow, deliver, and cook your food for you and (just like your mother) beg you to
eat it."(125) This is a logical statement, because we all can remember our mothers
trying to get us to eat something that didn't appeal to us. He also tries to appeal to
the reader's common sense by detailing the process of making money and saying
'food is produced by any means or any shortcut that will increase profits' That lets
the reader realize that the food industry is not in the business for the consumer but
in the business of making a profit.

Overall I feel that Wendell Berry used his knowledge, and experience as a
farmer to make a good argument for American people to understand, that we as the
consumer need to eat responsibly, and to be aware of where our food comes from.
Though it is a good argument, I do not feel that it is possible for us to all grow our
own food, but it is plausible for us to make the food industry accountable for what
they provide us to eat.
