Wendell Berry, like any Rhetor, when making an argument,
utilizes three elements to provide proof for his argument. His approach
is a unique one in terms of attacks on the food industry. As a farmer
himself, he has many biases he must overcome to convince the reader
of the sincere nature of his appeal. He makes his case on three bases:
he uses logical reason to convince the reader, ethical pleas to
strengthen his credibility as a reliable Rhetor, and finally uses the
emotions of the audience to bring them over to his side.

His use of logic can be found throughout and is the backbone of
his argument. His first piece of his logical proof begins with his
proposition that eating is an agricultural act. The acts as his conclusion
to the argument he is about to make through a deductive process. He
leads with a dialectical argument about the nature of our consumption
of food. This is effective because it brings to light the imperfection of
the system we have allowed to exist. He then goes on to show us a
better world, one where we are the final step in a personal experience,
one that ends in pleasure.

He uses a good rhetorical syllogism to help prove his point in
saying that 'they do not yet offer to insert it, prechewed, into our
mouth' because they have found no profitable way to do so.' Berry
demonstrates the extreme of what he is trying to tell his audience.
That the giants in the food industry only want to make money and care
nothing for the consumer's happiness is a good appeal to make and
will resonate with many people reading the argument.

If this proof did not quite resonate with the reader, then he goes
on to use a metaphor by comparing the current state of the food
industry to that of the porn industry. He describes sex as a pleasurable,
perfect thing that is bastardized and sold back to us for immediate
pleasure. However, the feeling of intimacy isn't the same. In the same
way, the food industry is taking something that is supposed to be
beautiful and makes it a way to make money. This resonates well if the
reader is someone who responds well to metaphors. It is a poignant
comparison that sheds light on this subject that isn't in many people's
minds.

He puts out plainly what needs to be done to achieve his
conclusion. He does this by a simple outline of steps to be taken,
numbered one through seven.

The author realizes that he is in a place of ethical bias going into
this essay. He is a member of the local farming community and so it
would be easy to the reader to assume that he is giving this argument
purely to support his own industry, to keep food on his table, without
any interest in the wellbeing or joy of the reader. He tackles this well
by beginning his seven steps to being an eating expert with steps that
would not benefit him. He asks people to grow and prepare their own
food when they can. He says this before telling them to support local
farmers, in an effort to be putting their eating habits in his highest
regard, and it works quite well. The reader then reads the rest of the
steps with the mindset that this is for their general wellbeing, not his.

He also fills the readers in on some of his ethics that they may
not know about, in an attempt to bring more trust to his argument. He
begins his essay by telling of the many times he has been asked this
question of what people in cities can do to eat more locally. By doing
this, he seems much more experienced in the field and therefore is
much more trustworthy, because so many people seek his advice. To
the average person who would not know of his lectures, this would help
to sway them in the right direction by adding to his credibility.

Berry seems to understand that many people will come to this
issue he feels very strongly about, with an apathetic approach. He uses
a lot of strong language about the importance of eating and his
comparisons with the porn industry bring people to the same page to
how he feels, and makes the issue much more serious to people not a
familiar. The only problem with this is that many people may find his
comparison with the porn industry to fantastic and much to
presumptuous a claim to make. He doesn't seem to address any non-
belief in his argument, so he will probably lose those people in his
audience.

He finishes his essay with a poem. This is an interesting final
thought to leave with the consumer, but one that is effective to his
argument style. His argument being mostly logical and not focused on
emotion by the end needs something to last with the reader days or
weeks after they leave the article. The poem does this well by
summarizing what he had just said while giving it a taste of emotion
and humanity.

Berry's final thoughts leave us grasping his unique view on the
food industry. It is an argument that isn't presented much in today's
world and thus the audience lends it's ear well to the situation. His
application of logic, ethics, and emotion help give the argument its
substance and depth that ultimately it is enlightening, engaging, and
convincing to the right audience, but may still leave a small section of
the audience wandering what they read or who Berry thinks he is to
make his claims.
