HarrisonGiknavorian

WRTC103
Feb.16,2016
ProfessorFielding

Ishealthy(organic)foodworththeprice?

Lessthan1%ofU.S.farmlandiscertifiedorganic(USDAEconomicResearch
Service).Withstatisticsthislow,onecanunderstandwhyorganicfoodissoexpensive.
InAcataFeltonsarticleIsOrganicProduceWorthYourHardEarnedGreen?she
expressesherconcernaboutthehighpricesoforganicfoodthroughherresearchdoneon
farmersinadditiontothelistoflawsandrestrictionstheyface.Thearticleisconfigured
inawaythattalksaboutallthemajorissuesorganicfoodproductionfaces.Throughout
thearticle,Feltonexpressesthatthehighpricesarenotduetothedesiretomakeahigh
marginalprofit.Itisduetotheexcesscoststomaketheproduct.Whileshecontinuesto
expressthisasthecentralproblembehindthehighcost,shealsomentionshowrigorous
itistomakeorganicfoodbecauseoftherestrictions.Anexampleofthisishowfarmers
havetousefertilizersandgrowingagentsthatareorganictogrowtheirproductsfor3
yearsbeforetheyareableselltheirorganicfoodwithalabelthatspecificallystatesits
organicgrown.Sincesheexplainsthereasonsbehindthehighprices,sheconvincesthe
readersthereisnoreasonwhythecustomershouldcomplainaboutorganicfoodbeing
expensiveexcess.Sheisabletoprovethatthereisnoreasonpeopleshouldcomplainby
persuadingheraudience.

TheauthorFeltonutilizespathosthroughoutherarticletoinvokeasenseof
emotionoutofheraudience.Thisisdonetoconvincetheaudiencethatfromthe
perspectiveofthecoststoproduceorganicfood,thepriceatthesupermarketisnt
drastic.Anexampleofpathosis,Mostorganicfarmsaresmallanddonotenjoythese
benefits.(Felton,P.8)Theauthorraisesasenseofpersuasionbystatinghowfarmers
cannotenjoythebenefitsthatotherfarmersreceivebyproducinggeneticallymodified
plants.Feltondoesthisbecausethepublicdoesntunderstandsomeofthedisadvantages
farmersthatproduceorganicfoodface.Shealsousespathosinthestatement:They
couldbechanged,especiallyiforganicconsumerstargetthespecificcausestobringthe
priceoforganicsdown.(Felton,P.11)Thisisexcerptwasdesignedtospeaktothe
audiencedirectly.Bydirectlyspeakingtotheaudience,Feltonproducesasenseof
persuasiontomaketheaudiencetakeaction.Thiscouldpotentiallycauseadirecteffect
ontheorganicfoodpricesiftheaudiencedecidestotakeaction.WhileFeltonuses
persuasiontomaketheaudiencetakeaction,shejustifiesthisthroughherlogical
explanationsandfacts.
ThroughoutthearticleFeltonpresentslogicalfactstojustifyherstatements.This
isbecauseshewantsheraudiencetobelieveherrationalandnotquestionwhatshesays.
ThisbeginswhenshesaysTheAgriculturalAppropriationsbilloffered$4.6billionin
loansand$460millioninsubsidiestofarmersin2011.(Felton,P.5)Feltonincorporates
logosbyusingstatisticsthroughoutherarticletoshowthatsheisasourcethatcanbe
trusted.Notonlydoessheprovidestatisticsthroughoutthearticle,butshealsoprovesher
logicalexplanationsthroughherdetailedexplanationsthroughouttheentirearticle.This

isseenwhenshegoesintodetailaboutthetransportationandadvertisingoforganicfood
Again,sizecounts.Largefarmsgetbulkdiscountsorowntheirowntransportation
systems.(Felton,P.8)Theuseoflogosinthisinstanceillustratestheimportanceof
producinglargeamountsoffoodorelseafarmercouldfacemassiveexpenses.Felton
doesthistoshowhoweasypricesonorganicfoodcanriseandeventuallycostmoreat
thesupermarket.NotonlydoesFeltonuselogostosolidifyherargument,butshealso
finalizesherargumentbyshowinghercredibilitytoproveherpoint.
FeltonalsoutilizesethosbyhavingthearticlepublishedthroughtheStanford
universitywebsite.Thisestablishescredibilitybecauseitisascholarlyarticlethathas
beenverifiedmultipletimesbeforebeingpublished.Thisnotonlyshowscredibility,but
alsoestablishestrustintheauthorforhavingherarticlepublishedonacreditedwebsite.
Thisalsoshowsasenseofreliabilitybecauseitisdifficulttogetanarticlepublishedona
prestigiousschoolwebsite.Feltonprovestotheaudiencethatorganicfoodshouldbethe
priceitisthroughheruseofpathos,logosandethos.

Description: This image illustrates the price difference between organically grown eggs
and eggs grown with pesticides, and other chemicals that are prohibited when growing
organic food.

InthisposterbyHarrisonGiknavorianbasedonAcataFelton,hepresentsthe
differenceinpricesoforganiceggsandeggsgrownwithchemicals.Despitebeing
simplistic,theimagestillsendsaprofoundmessagethatremindstheviewersthatfarmers
arenottoblameforthehighprices,insteaditstheregulationsandrulesthataffectthe
pricedifference.
ThroughthisPSA,Giknavorianutilizespathostocreateanemotionalappealwith
theaudience.Thisisbecausehewantstheaudiencetotakeactiononthisissue,andby
usinganemotionalappeal;heisabletosucceedbecausepeopledonotwanttospend
excessmoneyonaproductthatcouldbeloweredjustbyseekingjustice.Theuseofthe
pricetagonbotheggsaddsthisemotionalappealanddoesitsimply.Thissimplicityis
thebestsourceofemotionalappealbecauseitiseasytoseeandeasytounderstandthat
thereisapricedifference.WhileGiknavorianbringsanemotionalappealthroughthe
pricesofthesameproduct,healsobringsasenseoflogicaswell.
GiknavorianincorporateslogosinthisPSAbecauseitgivestheaudiencethe
abilitytothinkcriticallyandmaketheirowninterpretationsbasedonthefacts.Thisis
seenvisuallyinthepricepercartonforeggsorganicallygrownversusthechemically
enhancedeggs,itisalsoseeninthestatisticprovidedinthePSA.Bothofthesegive

enoughlogicfortheaudiencetobaseadecisionwhethertheybelieveifthisisanissue
applicabletotheirlifeornot.
ThroughthisPSA,Giknavorianincorporatestherhetoricaldeviceethosto
showheisacrediblesourcethatcanbetrusted.Thisisessentialtoprovinghis
pointbecauseitallowstheaudiencetounderstandthatheisanaccreditedsource
thatcanbetrusted.ThisisseeninthebottomcornerofthePSAwhereacompany
hasdecidedtoembedtheirlogotoshowtheirsupportforthecause.This
organizationprovestotheaudiencethatthematerialprovidedbyGiknavorianPSA
basedonFeltonsargumentsmaterialisanissueofimportanceaswell.Theuseof
rhetoricaldevicesprovesessentialbecauseithelpsgivetheaudiencean
understandingoftheissueoforganicfood.
AsdepictedintheverbaltextandthePSA,FeltonandGiknavorianreveal
thesameissuethroughethos,pathos,andlogos.WhilethePSAutilizesavisual
aid,itdoesntfullygrasptheissuetheauthoristryingtoportray.Instead,itappeals
totheaudienceseyeandbringsasuperficialrepresentationofwhattheauthoris
saying.Theimageofthesameproductbutonewasgrownorganicallyandonewas
grownwithchemicalsubstances;thisemphasizesthedrasticchangesinpricesthat
signifythatthereisanissuebecauseofthepricedifference.Thisimageisused
appropriatelyandeffectivelytoconveytheultimateissuethatorganicfoodismore
expensivethanregularfoodbecauseofregulationsandrulesinplaceduetothe
rigorousguidelinesinproducingorganicfood.
AsseeninboththeverbaltextandthePSA,FeltonandGiknavorianshow

twodifferentdepictionsofthesameissue.Throughtheexplicituseofemotional,
logicalandcredibleappeals,Giknavorianisabletocreateaneffectiveargument
throughherPSAimage.Throughthisspecificimage,Giknavorianhighlightsthe
drasticpricesandhowitshouldntbeblamedonthefarmeronly.Thisconvincing
argumentusestherhetoricalstrategiestohelpconvincetheaudiencethatfarmers
shouldntbeblamedontheextremepricesoforganicfood.WhilethisPSAdoes
bringashallowideaaboutwhattheauthorFeltonistalkingabout,theverbaltext
stillincorporatesmoredetail,andbringsmoreinformationthanthePSAdoes.
ManypeopleviewthisPSAwithoutanybackgroundknowledgeontheissue.
Theyquicklyglanceandquicklybecomeintriguedbecauseoftheimageselectionthat
bringsthemtotheattentionoftheoverallissue.TheyeventuallyrealizedthatthisPSA
andverbaltextbothutilizerhetoricalappealstocommunicatetheoverallissue.

WorkCited:
Feltons,Acata."IsOrganicProduceWorthYourHardEarnedGreen?Nittygritty."
StanfordMagazine.StanfordUniversity,5Jan.2012.Web.16Feb.2016.
"Facts'nStats."INORGANICWETRUST.N.p.,n.d.Web.16Feb.2016.
Andrei,Mihai,HigherPricenotHigherQuality,2015.Photograph.Blog.ZMEScience.
Web.21Feb.2016.