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Sara Wilson

Professor Ferrara

English 101

19 February 2019

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Anyone familiar with Global Warming should agree that our planet is in danger. A

speech titled, “What’s Wrong with What We Eat”, does a great job explaining to us that the

production of meat is detrimental to the Earth. The message Mr. Bittman tries to convey to us

has a great deal to do with the growth of society. When we are able to understand this, hopefully

we can become able to effect changes to help save our home. This speech by Mark Bittman is

very effective in his use of rhetoric.

Mark Bittman has been a published writer for decades. Among his credentials are Lead

Food Writer, and Writer for The Times Magazine. In this speech he uses logos to show that our

consumption of meat is destructive. Mr. Bittman states, “Nearly one-fifth of all greenhouse gas is

generated by live-stock production—more than transportation” (Bittman 1:34-39). He is

explaining the impact animals have on the environment by using logic. Bittman puts it bluntly,

“Livestock is one of the biggest culprits in land degradation, air and water pollution, water

shortages, and loss of biodiversity” (Bittman 1:52-58). This is compelling and enough to

convince me Mr. Bittman knows what he is talking about. He promotes the idea that “The

current health crisis however, is a little more the work of the evil empire” (Bittman 3:22-27).
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We have been given all the wrong information by big business disregarding their moral

obligations for monetary gain. This invokes feelings of betrayal by using pathos. Furthermore,

Mr. Bittman explains, “livestock is the second highest contributor to atmosphere altering gasses”

(Bittman 1:12). Our planet cannot sustain the gross production of all these animals. Besides, he

also goes as far as to say, “There’s no way to treat animals well, when your killing 10 billion of

them a year” (Bittman 6:18-22). Society has become a monster.

Mr. Bittman states, “Our demand for these things, not our need, our want, drives us to

consume way more calories than are good for us” (Bittman 3:00-05). To take a case in point,

Bittman is warning us with logos that we are widely responsible for our own health issues. As a

prominent writer, Bittman explains, “Half the people who developed the food pyramid have ties

to agribusiness” (Bittman 5:36-41). We have really never gotten the truth about what is healthy

to eat, and as a result, people not only have dangerous diets, they have dangerous appetites. Mr.

Bittman puts it simply, “Moms bought and prepared food” (Bittman 7:56-59). His point is that

one hundred years ago our food was local and good for us. Bittman describes to us a simpler

time, “Fats, carbs, proteins- they weren’t bad or good, they were food” (Bittman 9:02-07). For

instance he states, “Hardly anything contained more than one ingredient, because it was an

ingredient” (Bittman 9:09-14). In other words, Bittman believed these were healthier times, and

it appeals to my pathos because I like a farm lifestyle. He then moves on to explain, “From the

30’s on, road systems expanded, trucks took the place of railroads, fresh food began to travel

more” (Bittman 9:39-42). Ultimately this is when food starts to be manipulated by men. Mr.

Bittman tells us, “Suburbs took over farmland” and “The death of the family farm is part of this
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Puzzle” (Bittman 9:50-56). In making these comments, Mr. Bittman shares with us where we

went so wrong in history, which is a great use of ethos and pathos.

This speech reminds us to take action to effect changes. We need to emphasize these

changes and work to save our home. Bittman warns us, “Leading the way- what’s leading the

way? Meat, junk food, cheese: the very stuff that will kill you” (Bittman 14:42-49). In hearing

this it becomes hard to deny the damage we have caused. Mark Bittman is calling for change,

“This may be organic in letter, but it’s surely not organic in spirit” (Bittman 15:43-47). These

pathos may come as a shock to some folks. He continues to encourage us, “We all have to act on

our knowledge to change the way everyone thinks about food” (Bittman 16:01-07). The essence

of his argument is that we are directly responsible for the quality and length of our lives! Mark

Bittman points out the problem directly, “Which brings me full circle and points directly to the

core issue, the overproduction and overconsumption of meat and junk food” (Bittman 16:18-27).

One might say Mark Bittman uses excellent logos here, in an effort to sway us with logic.

The goal now is to effect the appropriate changes to save our home. Bittman implores us

to see reason, “But listen: experts who are serious about disease reduction recommend that adults

eat just over half a pound of meat per week” (Bittman 17:18-27). This fact calls for a change in

our diet that we cannot deny. Mr. Bittman strongly uses logos to convince us, “We don’t eat

animal products for sufficient nutrition, we eat them to have an odd form of malnutrition, and it’s

killing us” (Bittman 18:06-13). Furthermore, his use of ethos and pathos advocates, “I’ll never

stop eating animals, I’m sure, but I do think that for the benefit of everyone, the time has come to

stop raising them industrially and stop eating them thoughtlessly (Bittman 18:50-59). I think

through this process we will be amazed how much better and healthier we can become.
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I would overall characterize Mr. Bittman’s speech as necessary and effective. His style

and tone are appropriate. Food industry is big business. Millions of people are employed in these

sectors. People are going to continue their harmful habits if they don’t make a worthy effort to

effect change in their life and their world. The Planet gives breath to life on Earth, we must mind

how we consume this precious resource. Take care of yourselves and your home. I personally

have learned rhetoric is quite small when compared to topics like Global Warming. None the

less, rhetoric is a fine way to discuss these issues.

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Works Cited

“What’s Wrong With What We Eat?.” Ted.com, 2007.

https://www.ted.com/talks/mark_bittman_on_what_s_wrong_with_what_we_eat?language=en.