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.
