The Jungle, Omnivore's Dilemma And Food, Inc.

As we go through The Jungle, Omnivore’s Dilemma, and Food, Inc., it becomes apparent that all of these publishings target ethos to appeal to their audience. Upton Sinclair uses ethos during the time when he describes workers washing their hands in the water used for the sausage (Sinclair 143). This is bias because it compels the reader into acknowledging that the things going into food is not right, however it does not show any good qualities in the meatpacking industry. Therefore, this affects the reader’s value system because when they were informed of the monstrosities going on within the food industries, it changes their trust towards the industry. Another example of this is Michael Pollan’s bias __ the food industry when he states that

In The Jungle, Sinclair expresses deep emotions towards the slaughtering of hogs, even going as far as to say their suffering deserved some sort of redemption (Sinclair 37). The bias Sinclair feels towards the hogs are clearly expressed through his disheartened tone and voice, which he uses quite often throughout his entire novel. His deep emotions towards the mistreatment capture the hearts of the readers and urges them to support Sinclair’s cause. Similarly, Pollan communicates his bias with the use of expressive words such as ‘miserable,’ ‘bored,’ and ‘indifferent’ (Pollan 80). This tone brought by Pollan gives the reader a sense of sadness. The opinions of the reader could be altered once their heart is open to the author. Additionally, Food, Inc. emphasizes the loss of a young boy due to a previously nonexistent disease created by the food industry (Kenner 31:22). This shows the audience the lack of remorse the industry feels towards the child’s death and tugs at the viewer’s heartstrings, pleading for them to take action. The story of Kevin, the young boy who died of E. coli, was only added to inflict hurt into the audience’s heart, making pathos the only reason the story was

The Jungle is a fictional novel based on the indiscretions within the meat industry, but there are instances in which the author is giving the subtle truth. For instance, Sinclair insinuates the existence of poisoned rats being mixed into our food, filling the reader with newfound suspicions that the meat we are eating is not as it seems (Sinclair 143). The facts shown to the reader forces them to acknowledge the dangers of trusting the meat industry and pushes their bias towards a healthier lifestyle. In addition to Sinclair’s hints, Pollan displays the industry’s apathy towards the prevention of life-threatening diseases when he states that nearly 80% of the E. coli found in cows’ newly-acidic stomach can disperse if they were fed grass 5 days before slaughter (Pollan 82). This shows the reader the industry’s care for profit rather than their well-being, and it has the potential to cause the reader to have a negative bias towards the food