American Wasteland Summary

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The author of American Wasteland, Jonathan Bloom, uses many techniques to steer readers in his direction. Bloom talks about a big issue concerning American in 2010 and is still an issue today in 2016, six years after he wrote this book. As a result of broad research, the main issue today is expiration dates and how state regulations and laws promote food waste (Linnekin). As other books, articles, and documentaries explain this issue they use evidence, positive and negative connotations, and bias to connect with a general audience or supporters.
In chapter three of American Waste, Jonathan Bloom starts us off on food insecurity. According to his research, the USDA defines this phrase as, “limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable …show more content…

This is an interesting phrase Bloom chose to use to support his argument; let’s look at the two words separately. The term guerrilla is defined as, “a person who engages in irregular warfare especially as a member of an independent unit carrying out harassment and sabotage” (“Guerrilla”). The term give has many definitions making it a perfect word to use when using guerrilla in an argument about food waste. The general meaning of give or giving is to add something whether it’s good or bad (“Give”). The author also mentions that health codes prohibit anyone to redistribute leftovers on official channels. Making people distribute leftovers in other ways thus the meaning of this phrase becomes clearer. Independent people or units are harassing the rules the government has given businesses in order to give homeless people food. Despite, research this phrase is not effective and does not do them justice. This is an example of a negative connotation because the word guerrilla takes some individuals back to the Cold War. I was born after the Cold War but this phrase gave me a bad feeling even before I knew the definition. This phrase again supports his dislike for the government. All in all, the author should have used a different word to describe what these people are trying to