The article titled “What’s eating America,” written by Michael Pollan, is extremely informative on the development of modern agriculture in America. The article’s primary focus is on corn, which Pollan refers to as miraculous grass, which has turned to be Americans’ staple diet. According to Michael Pollan, corn forms a significant part of all the food varieties available in American Markets. However, corn production is also highly dependent on synthetic nitrogen, which is fixed into the soil. However, the shift from the use of natural methods of nitrogen fixation to synthetic nitrogen has a significant impact on the environment as it causes acidic rains. Even though synthetic nitrogen is critical in corn production, synthetic nitrogen harms the environment.
The article is relevant to a variety of audiences for it addresses an issue that cuts across people in different spectra.
Some of the audiences to the article include stakeholders in agriculture and farming, environmentalists, and historians. Through the article, corn growers get an understanding of the danger synthetic poses to the environment. Environmentalists also get an insight into the level of pollution the use of synthetic nitrogen poses to the globe. Historians get to know the chronological development of the use of synthetic nitrogen for corn production. The article does also attract the attention of scholars as it provides a historical account of how an invention by Fritz Haber has greatly changed the global ecology. Policymakers in agriculture and environmental advocates can jointly use the information from the article to develop strategies to minimize the impact on the environment without compromising productivity.
On ethos, Michael Pollan’s article is very persuasive, and it provides a well researched and detailed chronology of events. The audience ethos can easily consider the Michael Pollan facts presented in the article as reliable. For example, it is a fact from independent researches that corn forms Americans’ staple diet and that there over 45,000 different products that are corn related. From a historical perspective, before 1492, the peculiar grass (corn) was unknown in Central America, making the historical chronology credible. The turning point of corn history in 1947 when the Alabama based Muscle Shoals munitions plant started making fertilizer is a real event making the facts presented by the author credible. Michael Pollan’s crdibility is also evidenced by how he pointed out the invention of nitrogen fixation by Fritz Haber, the German Jewish chemist in 1909. Thus, Michael Pollan’s article presents effective and persuasive arguments with correct historical events and facts making it credible and reliable.
On pathos, the impression created by the author through the article in the way the story is developed and presented is that the threat of synthetic nitrogen is real and needs to be addressed. In the introductory part of the article, Michael Pollan creates the impression that there is a high dependence on corn in the Americans’ diet. The author then provides a chronology of how plants store energy in carbon form or calories before providing the genesis of synthetic nitrogen use. The story is systematically arousing the emotion and feeling to know more about synthetic nitrogen use in corn production. The author then explains the invention of nitrogen fixation and how it has changed the reliance on natural solar energy to fossil fuel use. The development of the story creates enthusiasm to know more about nitrogen fixation. At the end of the story, the author concludes by indicating that nitrogen fixation has adverse impacts on the environment. Thus, the story development and presentation create the need to know more about synthetic nitrogen for corn production and how synthetic nitrogen negatively impacts the environment.
On logos, Michael Pollan has presented the story in a very logical manner, and facts back his arguments. The way the story is developed, it guides the audience towards understanding each stage of the story. The author uses terminologies that are relevant to understanding the subject matter being addressed. For example, the use of the terminology term nitrogen fixation to refers to the process where nitrogen is absorbed into the soil, the use of the term calories as a measure of energy stored, and the use of the term ecology to refer to the system of life in the environment. The use of relevant terminologies is an indicator of proficiency by the author. As the audience reads the article, there are various models of article development adopted. For example, there is the use of illustrations, cause and effect, process description, and comparison. The use of different modes of article development is an indicator that the author is well versed in the subject being discussed in the article and has a strong command in language use to present the article. In an instance, the author uses statistics to indicate the many products that are corn related. The use of statistics to support an argument makes the article backed by facts.
An analysis of the use of language in the article, the author maintained a formal professional language. However, throughout the article, a professional tone is maintained. There is an element of mixed models used in sentences. For example, when the author writes: “F1 hybrid corn is the greediest of plants, consuming more fertilizer than any other crop” (Pollan, p. 302), there is both an element and models of comparison and description used in the sentence. Through the use of mixed or multiple models in a sentence, the audience can get a deeper understanding of the issue under discussion. In another example in the sentence where Michael Pollan wrote “Though F1 hybrids were introduced in the 1930s, it wasn’t until they made the acquaintance of chemical fertilizers in the 1950s that corn yields exploded” (Pollan, p. 302), the author uses the model of description which is mixed with the element of history.
In conclusion, the article is interesting and informative on the development of modern agriculture in America. The audiences of the article include stakeholders in agriculture, environmentalists, scholars, and historians. On ethos, the article is very persuasive, and the facts presented in the article are credible and reliable. On pathos, the author’s impression is that the threat of synthetic nitrogen to the environment is real and needs to be addressed. On logos, the article is presented in a very logical manner, and facts back all arguments. The author used various models of article development, which is an indicator that the author is well versed in the subject being discussed in the article. The author also used relevant terminologies, formal diction or language, and professional tone, making the article a professionally developed piece