Healthy Food and Women’s Depression
In the blog post “Is ‘Eat Real Food’ Unthinkable?,” Mark Bittman uses sarcasm to poke fun at different agencies telling us what to eat. Throughout the article, the use of sarcasm and dry humor give the writer a personality. He comments “horray for that” on recommendations to drink less sodas and says the acronym for Solid Fats and Added Sugars is “fabulous.” The post references other sites and health conscious initiatives like Michael Pollan’s Unhappy Meals article, Oprah Winfrey’s challenge to go vegan, and Michelle Obama’s alliance with Wal-Mart. By referencing and interacting with these people he appeals to the reader’s connection with famous figures. The humor in the post is what captured most of my attention, like commenting on the fact that Coke, Tostitos, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Puffs are all vegan His bluntness was also humorous like his argument that a healthy alternative to a chip is not a fake chip, it’s a carrot.
He begins the post by commenting on the failure of corporations and government agencies to tell us what we should eat. Throughout the post he mainly focuses on the Department of Agriculture’s recommendation about what we should be eating less of, like Solids Fats and Added Sugars: SOFA. He argues that the advice people need to hear is to cook and eat more real food. He ends the article poking fun at the USDA’s SOFA acronym and saying we need to ERF: Eat Real Food. By commenting on and making fun of health recommendations, he is able to build his post and offer pretty good advice at the end- that real foods are best. I definitely enjoyed it, and I think it was successful in getting his point across.
I also read “Treating Depression Before It Becomes Postpartum” by David Bornstein. The article begins appealing to the pathos of the reader by telling the story of a new mother who was going through depression. The author then talks about Depression as the most common health problem women face and refers to several statistics about depression. His interaction with other organizations like the National Institute of Mental Health and Study and Treatment of Depressive Disorders at Northwestern build her ethos as a credible and knowledgeable writer. The author’s tone is very serious and sincere, quite the opposite of Eat Real Food. However his tone is essential because the purpose of the article raises awareness of depression and advocates for ways to offer help to women. The article ends by finishing the story of the young mother grateful for the help she received.
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I read the same blog post and i think you did a really good job interpretating his post. I did not exactly pick up on his sarcasm and dry humor like you did. I also liked the way you used the terms of pathos to talk about the post you read. It looks like you covered all the points professor Vee wanted us to comment on!