Rhetorical Analysis Of Mark Bittman's 'Fast And Good For You'

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Food, either healthy or unhealthy, is a vital part of everyone’s lives; survival would be impossible without it. In April of 2013, Mark Bittman informs his audience through the article “Fast, Good and Good for You” of the development of healthy choices in fast food. This New York Times journalist argues that fast food should be real food, persuading the audience and owners of fast food chains that healthy is the best option. The argument made in Mark Bittman's "Fast, Good and Good for You" is effective due to his accurate use of Aristotelian appeals such as ethos, logos, and Kairos, and his excellent use of rhetorical devices. First, Bittman develops his argument by creating a sense of familiarity with the audience. He starts the article by …show more content…

Bittman uses immense amounts of data to speak on anything that ranges from profits, to calorie counts, to prices. He supports the food chain Lyfe the most, but isn’t afraid to say “Lyfe isn’t cheap. The owners claim that an average check is ‘around $15’” (Bittman 6). Bittman enhances his credibility by directly stating the expensive prices. To many, this may hurt his argument, due to them being unwilling to such high prices for fast food. Bittman’s confidence to put in such information proves his point that real (healthy) food is better regardless of its price. Kairos is a large factor in his argument. This era is filled with people who choose the healthy route when eating, mostly due to recent trends. “Soda consumption is down; meat consumption is down; sales of organic foods are up; more people are expressing concern about G.M.O.s, additives, pesticides and animal welfare” (Bittman 6). The timeliness of this article is more likely to get people who support his opinion because people are more aware of what they are eating nowadays. Bittman stated himself that ever since “Morgan Spurlock almost ate himself to death, our relationship with fast food has changed” (3). His allusion to such a powerful film that influenced many people expresses his strength in using rhetorical

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