Moore 1 Addaya Moore Professor Mary Rhet 105 May 9th, 2018 The View On The Birth Of Modern Food and Healthy Eating Styles: Rachel Laudan Views on dietary and food choices ranges in many different ways. Rachel Laudan, the author of a short essay on the Birth Of The Modern Diet in the book Food Matters originally published by Holly Bauer, had much to say about the birth of the modern diet. Rachel s entire main point of the essay is the talk about the history of food and how it compares to today's food. More so between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Which Lauden believes was the birth of a variety of foods. Also, that its way more healthy than today's generation, but of course increasingly changed. Before I talk about my analysis of Lauden s reading I will discuss the 6 parts of the toulmin model which include: thesis or claim, the main part of the reading. Support or evidence, which helps the author prove their point. The warrant on what the author values, although it may not be stated in the reading. And the last three, qualifier, backing and rebuttal. As a reader who had analyalized laudens essay, she had a lot of support or some may call evidence to her claims. For example on page 58 paragraph 4 in the food matters book lauden talks about how according
Moore 2 to doctor Guy pattin from the university of paris deemed that certain food such as mushrooms being cold and wet should be avoided no matter what. (58) Another piece of support that can back up laudens claim is the talk of health experts, one who so happened to be the health physician to King James the second in the past around the sixteenth century who had high praises for certain beverages such as wine. The physician believed believed that wine was not only good for flatulence and infertility but, it also forfeits the brain and and natural strength...causes foods to be digested and produces good blood. (59) As I continued reading Laudens essay, i've realized that she had a strong value in healthy eating and the history of food, politics, etc. which can become the warrant of her essay. Which brings me to the qualifier, what in Laudens reading makes us second guess her statements? Unfortunately, at the very beginning of Laudens discussion, mostly the first couple of paragraphs she used the words might and maybe very often. For example she says in the late 1600s dishes on the table MIGHT be served with this or MIGHT be that. She also uses the word pretty much. As a reader I believe that the usage of the word pretty much doesn't give me a great amount of certainty, which is why I would see those words as qualifiers. (55) So far I have described at least four parts of the toulmin model. The thesis, support,warrant,and qualifier. Along with making my analysis I will always use a little bit of the rhetorical triangle. Which include the ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos is what makes the reading and author ethical, while pathos is what is the emotion of the author and her reading, the connection between the two. Lastly logos is the logistics,what statistics and data does lauden have that makes us the readers want to believe what she is saying. As I continue to make my analysis on laudens essay, keep in mind that she may not have everything that is either in the
Moore 3 rhetorical triangle or the 6 parts of the touloum model. But there may be some input that can be inserted into the essay that can complete what the readers are looking for. For my ethos I believe there is multiple reasons on why Lauden would be a credible source and that's why she should listen to her. Lauden studied history and science at the University of Paris where she received her PHD, where she later decided to turn her passion of science into the love of the history of food science. Not only that, but she has won multiple awards for essays on the history of food on research mostly about politics, economics, religion, and technology and how its led to the birth and rebirth of diets and varied relationships with food giving us the glimpse of the modern diet of seventeenth-century notions on food and nutrition.(55) As I continued making my analysis it was personally difficult for me to find an emotional connection between Lauden and what she was writing about pathos. I did come across Lauden explaining something that may have been an emotional connection, but as a reader I was not sure about. For example, she says that The moral was clear: Sugar was dangerous, perhaps even a poison. Again, I found it hard to compare that to her emotional connection of her reading because I believe there is no feeling into it. Not only that but also she just talks about assumptions of what physicians thought about sugar before she made the statement. Therefore she never made her own assumption and explained in the writing what she believes in for once. Things would have been just a little bit more not burdensome if maybe Lauden gives us her own opinion throughout the essay every now and then. Causing her to maybe write a statement that shows emotion and feeling towards what she is writing about. With her doing this, it will cause
Moore 4 us to find the pathos so much easier although as readers our assumption is that she has passion for what she is writing about because she had studied this type of research for a living. (61) Although it was difficult to find an emotional connection for the ethos in the reading, I do believe there are a plethora numbers of statistics for my last analysis of the rhetorical triangle on lauden s writing, logos. She inserts a number of statics throughout the entire writing. For example she talks about authors of books such as Arnold Villanova ( a leading medical writer and physician of King James II of Aragon) who would be a very credible source for her reading. She explains how Argon only had high praises for beverages such as wine. She mentions that Argon talks about how wine is not only good for flatulence and infertility, but it's also fortifies the brain and natural strength... causes food to be digested and produces good blood. (59) Coming to a conclusion on my analysis of Rachel Laudan and her essay on The Birth Of Modern Food Diet originally in the book Food Matters published by Holly Bauer i've explained multiple ways in either the toulmin model or the rhetorical triangle. Again, the toulmon had six parts to it. If I was unable to cover a certain part of not only the toulmon but also the rhetorical triangle it was because I found it difficult to look for those parts in the reading. Overall I enjoyed Lauden s reading and found it very knowledgeable for the future. As my first analysis on any type of reading, I found this one very enjoyable to look over and would recommend this reading in the future.
Moore 5 Works cited Bauer, Holly. Food Matters: A Bedford Spotlight Reader. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2017. Print. Laudan, Rachel. "Birth of the Modern Diet." Scientific American Sp 16.4 (2006): 4-11. Print.