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Food Inc.

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Food Inc.
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Rhetoric in Food Inc. Michael Pollan, author and co producer said “I had no idea that a few companies change what we eat today” (Food Inc.). Today’s food companies are so large that they control every aspect in the food industry. The company’s control who grows the crops, what crops are grown, where the crops are shipped, how the crops are utilized and who can use the new products. The farmers have no say on how to running their own farm. The companies try to portray a good image to the consumers by having old farming equipment or old fashion barns in their labels to act as if that is how that company farms their products. The consumer is not going to investigate what actually goes into the products or how they grow. That is unneeded work for the customer. This is why it works well for the companies. This documentary tries to persuade the viewer to buy local grown foods or organic foods from Wal-Mart. The documentary uses many tactics of persuasion to portray the images that they think will get their point of view across clearly. Food Inc. shows its viewers many life experiences to show why the companies’ way of farming is wrong. Food Inc. introduces Vince Edwards, a man who owns a chicken farm in Kentucky. Edwards hates what he does but he can’t quit because the companies put him into debt. Vince wanted to show the viewers inside of his chicken coups but Tyson Chicken wouldn’t allow that to happen. He then tells stories of things that the companies have done to him that should have never. Tyson made him feed his chickens so much that they could not walk. Tyson also made him expand and have four chicken coups instead of two which put him into debt. Similar stories happened to Carol, another chicken farmer form Kentucky. She was forced into buying so much farm equipment that she was in over her head in debt. She hated what she did because she thought it was inhumane to treat the chicken the way they did. Carol said “Companies



Cited: Food Inc. Dir. Robert Kenner. Perf. Eric Schlosser and Micheal Pollan. Magnolia Pictures Alliance Films, 2008. DVD

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