Morgan Van Der Maas
Prof. Hunter
English 110
Source-Based Essay
Source Based Essay
Abstract
In this rhetorical analysis essay, I review four articles on the cattle industry, both currently and presently. The rhetorical situation, author, audience, language, tone, stance, genre and purpose of each article will be reviewed in order to learn the rhetorical pieces of database articles on a topic of my interest.
Introduction 1:
In Masterminding Nature, Margaret E. Derry covers a large portion of the history of cattle breeding and its current effect on the world. For the purpose of this essay, the sixth chapter- “Biology, Industry Needs, and Morality in Livestock Breeding” will be used. Specifically, this chapter covers the genetical engineering involved in the cattle industry, the ethical needs vs. industry needs, and the commercialization of livestock.
The Rhetorical Situation
The chapter “Biology, Industry Needs, and Morality in Livestock Breeding,” speaks on the ideas of creating industries out of cow milk and cow meat. It involves specialization to produce large quantities for a high demand. It insists on emphasizing the “shifts in fundamental strategies towards how to practice artificial selection,” (Derry, pp 163). Here, Derry speaks lays out the situation of this chapter: the changes in breeding, the economics of the industry, the implications and ethical issues. The chapter is most likely intended for educational purposes, as it’s published in a textbook; therefore alone, it is less of a persuasive piece, and more of an identification.
The Authors and Audience, Language, Purpose, and Tone
Margaret Derry has written many books recording the history of animals to human benefit. She continues to create stories, memoirs and textbooks on her passions. She equally states the entire background of each subject. She uses simple word choice, “The general move towards dairying meant that fewer farmers bred and fed cattle for meat,” (pp162), to demonstrate accessibility to all learners.
Those interested in the history of the cattle industry, those researching selective breeding or those with intent to breed or farm cattle are most likely the main audience of this text. Its historical and present evidence and information is presented in a meaningful and descriptive way.
The author’s purpose is to inform, analyze and account for all sides of the cattle industry changes. Derry strictly says “My intent is to present the information in an illustrative rather than analytical way,” (Derry, pp160). The simplistic, yet investigative tone is presented throughout the text, as the author creates room for discussion on each text, as the facts are strictly presented.
The Genre and Stance
Masterminding Nature: The breeding of animals, 1750-2010 is a textbook. With the idea of informing, the text is available on many public databases. Because of the fact that the text is available publicly, the genre adds to the rhetorical situation of intent to supply collected knowledge of the subject of animal breeding. It is important to note the absence of photos. This adds to the professional stance of this textbook, while maintaining a focus on the text.
Introduction 2
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit: slaughterhouses have faced backlash from climate laws, as “national economic policy measures decreed this year have greatly increased cattle raisers’ costs.” The article “Nicaragua Economy: Clouds Loom Over Cattle Industry Outlook” published by “Economist Intelligence Unit N.A. Coordinated” points out the past and present changes in the industry, and the effects on cattlers. The two sections “Recent growth spurt hard to explain” and “Hard times are on the way” suggest the presence of a compare and contrast situation. This article does not state the author, solely the publisher.
The Rhetorical Situation
The notes of the cattle industry’s effects on climate change are becoming much more emphasized and discussed out publicly, likely leading to the publication of “Nicaragua Economy: Clouds Loom Over Cattle Industry Outlook.” The article was published September 23, 2019; significantly, during the week of an international climate strike week. The world was very openly interested in climate change during this time.
The Audience, Language, and Tone
The audience of this article is likely those keeping up with stock market levels, and those looking to learn on climate change effects on cattle breeding. The language of this piece exhibits a descriptive, yet easygoing and simple tone/ This can be seen especially in the section titles, “Recent growth hard to explain” and “Hard times on the way.” The two titles are short and literal, while also maintaining true leeway into the following paragraphs.
The Purpose, the Genre and the Stance
The purpose of this article is to supply vital information on a very large part of Nicargua’s economy. The recent changes in meat sales could essentially lead to the demolishment of the industry. Signifying that “so far, there is little evidence that they are selling off female animals of reproductive age, which would signal distress,” (Economist Intelligence Unit N.A. Incorporated), the publishers prove the purpose of their own description on Gale Academic OneFile- “[To provide] analysis on the latest country developments and industry trends.”
The publishing of this piece as an article can suggest a sense of urgency and the need to spread information clearly and straightforwardly. Because of the large size of the cattle industry, those involved must stay to date with economic fluctuations and updates. The stance is undefined, and shows few to no signs of bias. Predominantly, the existence of the words “Although they represent opposed interests…” displays the research on both sides of the industry.
Introduction 3
In ‘To beef or not to beef: Unveiling the economic environmental impact generated by the intensive beef cattle industry in an arid region,” an article from the Journal of Cleaner Production, the collective authors are reaching out to inform on the cattle industry based in Mexico. The article lays out the Comarca Lagunera’s use of natural resources, sustainability levels, greenhouse gas emissions, and profit margins through scientific and factual analysis.
The Rhetorical Situation
In “To Beef or Not to Beef…,” the point is pretty straightforward. The authors clearly and thoroughly display the trends in environmental impacts from the Comarca Lagunera, a region which has “an important beef industry.” (Navarette-Molina). The authors research and display the mathematical findings on the beef industry’s effects and repercussions.
The Authors and Audience/ Language
The authors of this article are various students and educators on the health of the planet. Technically, the students are researching the effects of a large industry, on the planet. The “student status” these students have proves the research-based and released information.
Navarette-Molina and Meza-Herrera are from the Regional Universitary Unit on Arid Lands, Chapingo Autonomous University. Navarette-Molina is also from the Institute for Graduate Studies-IDEP-UCO, Department of Forest Engineering, School of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering, University of Cordoba. Herrera-Machuca is from the Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University. Lopez-Villalobos is from the University Center UAEM Temascaltepec, Autonomous University of the State of Mexico. Lopez-Santos also attends Chapingo Autonomous University, and Veliz-Deras attends the Graduate Program on Agricultural and Livestock Sciences, Antonio Narro Agricultural Autonomous University. The authors’ status proves them to be well established in the focus of this article.
The Genre
Because of the journalistic article, this piece is meant to be informative to the Journal of Cleaner Production readers. The use and demonstration of the mathematical analysis in this article shifts it to readers who are looking to research this specific issue. It is clear that those looking for a light daily reading are not going to be choosin this, due to the research-result layout of the piece.
The reason this is published in a journal is likely due to the subject, as it concerns a very important economical and environmental industry. The Journal of Cleaner Production creates a spot for these two worlds to meet and intertwine.
The Tone and Purpose
The tone of this article is definitely informative and dignified. It uses word choice to create a formal and serious tone, and manages to stay fact-based and objective. There are no expressed opinions and no use of first-person point of view, committing it to informing on the beef industry in Mexico. The use of both pros and cons when it comes to the listed findings demonstrates a clearly driven point: to inform.
The Stance
The stance in this article, as stated in the conclusion, is “This is the first study that clearly and forcefully demonstrates with a long-term information base that the environmental and economic impact of the blue water footprint and the emission of greenhouse gases generated by the intensive beef cattle fattening system in the CL is significantly greater than the economic value that this activity generates in the region.” This stance is determined AFTER the findings and research is listed, therefore creating a very small chance of prejudice.
Introduction 4
“Mapping the cattle industry in Brazil’s most dynamic cattle-ranching state: Slaughterhouses in Mato Grosso, 1967-2016,” similarly to “To beef or not to beef…” focuses on Brazil’s largest industry: cattle. The article notes the growth and shrinking of slaughterhouse production from 1967 to 2016, a very large time period. The presence of comparison of historical to present data creates a clear demonstration of change.
The Rhetorical Situation
Throughout the mid 20th century and early 20th century, not only the spread of information, but the population size has increased. Due to this fact, there have been many ways of communicating and relaying information; significantly, the planet has faced a large shift in both economic and environmental aspects. With the vitality of new findings being released, research is being conducted and put together for the public frequently. This article sets patterns within time structures to demonstrate the effect on history the slaughterhouses both gave and received, further providing to the understanding of the slaughterhouse.
The Author, Audience, Language and Tone
The authors of this piece are Brazilian and American students, adding to the reliability of the evidence. The language is best understood by those with higher-educational backgrounds, and likely aimed at those looking to truly understand the statistics of the economic history of the slaughterhouse. With “non-conversation” word choice, such as the sentence “Mapping the expansion of the slaughter infrastructure will improve our understanding of the patterns, drivers, and impacts of increased agglomeration and market power by larger players…” (Vale, Et al, pp. 2), the authors create an educational tone. The language, author, audience aim and tone intertwine to create a piece that explores thorough statistical and mathematical evidence.
The Purpose, Genre and Stance
The purpose of this article is very clear: to experiment, gather data and supply collected information. The release of the piece in a journalistic article suggests the students have correctly proposed the historical economics of the three time periods listed. It’s worth noting that the students mention their intent within the abstract, “which would increase our understanding of the dynamics of cattle slaughter and their impact on land use” (Vale, Et al, pp 1). The publishing in a journal also adds to the stance demonstration. “The PLos Journal” is a journal which accepts peer-reviewed essays. It is compelling to assume the students gathered their information with intent to inform.
The Conclusion
Overall, each of these articles contributed to the expansion of the knowledge of economic and environmental change in relation to the cattle industry. Each article varied in stance, author, audience and tone, but a few things remained clear: times are changing. Because they were once booming, slaughterhouses created a large economic circle. The spread and growth of the industry is demonstrated, while also acknowledging the downfall it has since faced. The climate change acknowledgment has led to a similar rhetorical situation within all four of the articles: there are problems within one of the world’s largest industries, and there is historical and current data to back it up.
Works Cited
Derry, Margaret Elsinor. Masterminding Nature : The Breeding of Animals, 1750-2010. University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division, 2015. EBSCOhost,
Navarrete-Molina, et al. “To Beef or Not to Beef: Unveiling the Economic Environmental Impact Generated by the Intensive Beef Cattle Industry in an Arid Region.” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 231, 2019, pp. 1027–1035.
Petterson Vale, et al. “Mapping the Cattle Industry in Brazil’s Most Dynamic Cattle-Ranching State: Slaughterhouses in Mato Grosso, 1967-2016.” PLoS ONE, vol. 14, no. 4, 2019, p. e0215286.
“Nicaragua economy: Clouds loom over cattle industry outlook.” Economist Intelligence Unit: Country ViewsWire, 23 Sept. 2019. Gale Academic Onefile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A600496843/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=882e7277. Accessed 25 Sept. 2019.
