Food Inc., a documentary by Robert Kenner, sheds light on the importance of food in our daily lives and its impact on our well-being. The film reveals alarming truths about factory farming and how it affects both humans and animals. Through his expertise as a renowned director and producer, Kenner effectively exposes the harsh realities of corporate agriculture.
Kenner argues that the food consumed today holds potential harm to people’s health and has negative effects on the lives of animals and humans involved in its production. To support his claim, Kenner uses pathos, exemplification, and imagery. The film evokes a sense of sadness and sorrow to appeal to viewers’ emotions. Pathos is evident in the documentary through the depiction of the cramped and substandard living conditions of chickens at Tyson farms, as well as the tragic death of a child named Kevin due to E. coli poisoning.
Kenner uses exemplification to provide examples of his argument and their connection to each claim. The versatility of corn and the effects of corn-fed cows are examples of this exemplification. Additionally, imagery plays a key role in conveying concepts and enhancing understanding. The movie’s tone is greatly influenced by the effective use of imagery, particularly in depicting the chickens’ living conditions, the amount of manure associated with cows in the slaughterhouse, and the working conditions at the Smithfield slaughterhouse.
Robert Kenner explores the genuine issue of the food industry’s true intentions and trustworthiness in providing food for markets and restaurants. Over the past fifty years, significant changes have taken place in the food market, with profitability becoming the primary objective for food industries. However, this mindset poses risks to both animals and humans. Kenner employs a problem and solution structure to enhance understanding of his argument. He utilizes pathos, or emotional appeal, through video clips that effectively evoke viewers’ emotions. These clips depict graphic, sorrowful, or harsh scenes that successfully invoke pathos. The first chapter titled “Fast Food to All Food” already incorporates pathos by highlighting the living conditions experienced by chickens. Due to high demand for food, companies like Tyson now mass-produce chickens at an accelerated pace without considering their well-being as living beings. As noted by Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, these chickens are raised and slaughtered twice as quickly compared to fifty years ago while also reaching double their previous size.
Kenner highlights this fact by displaying a striking visual representation of the size difference among the chickens. Carole Morison, a Perdue grower, explains how chickens developed in a span of seven weeks, emphasizing that “their bones and internal organs cannot match their rapid growth.” She observes that these chickens struggle to stand, even taking a few steps before collapsing under the heavy weight they carry. Witnessing such a basic task as walking becomes a poignant reminder of the chickens’ distress.
Tyson farms had small and problematic chickens. The living conditions were also concerning, with the chickens being raised in terrible farmhouses. Vince Edwards, a Tyson chicken grower, mentioned that the chickens “never see sunlight and are pretty much in the dark the whole time”. It is difficult to envision a world devoid of sunlight. Additionally, there is an excessive number of chickens, leading to accelerated disease transmission and heightened filthiness. Kenner presents footage of Carole Morison’s chicken houses as evidence of overcrowded conditions for the chickens.
Carole, a Perdue grower, describes her farmhouse as a place filled with dust and feces. Pathos is also evident in the third chapter titled “Unintended Consequences” where Barbara Kowalcyk recounts the loss of her son, Kevin, due to an E. coli infection. According to Barbara, Kevin went from being perfectly healthy to dead in just twelve days. Kenner highlights Barbara’s grief by mentioning the tears she shed while describing Kevin’s intense thirst in the hospital, leading him to “bite the head off of a [sponge].”
He pleaded for water incessantly, the only thing he could talk about. He contracted the infection from consuming a hamburger during a family vacation. Despite being a vibrant and robust young boy, Kenner opted for a smaller, square screen frame with a black and white color scheme and somber music in an attempt to evoke a sense of “home” in the video. Through showcasing clips of Kevin’s joyful moments on the vacation, the video evokes an emotional response from viewers, creating a melancholic effect. It is unfathomable to imagine the untimely demise of such a content and healthy young boy.
Watching Barbara’s son in the videos brought about a profound feeling of pity in me, as I witnessed the immense happiness he radiated shortly before his premature death. The occurrence of an E. coli infection serves as a stark reminder of how vulnerable food safety is and how anyone can be affected by its most severe consequences. Kevin’s infection was caused by a new strain of E. Coli known as E. Coli 0157:H7, which emerged due to changes in cows’ diet – they are now being fed corn instead. The following chapter, appropriately titled “A Cornucopia of Choices,” explores the significant role that corn plays in the food industry. It not only forms part of livestock feed but also acts as a base ingredient for various products like maltodextrin, xanthum gum, and high fructose corn syrup.
The presence of mysterious elements in modern food is exemplified by corn. It serves as a tangible demonstration to explain a larger idea. Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, explains that numerous food products are cleverly derived from corn. This versatile crop can be transformed into various substances including high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, di-glycerides, and others. Additionally, it plays a role as animal feed in the meat industries.
Kevin contracted his infection from an E. Coli 0157:H7 strain-infected cow, which was fed with corn. According to Pollan, cows are naturally meant to consume grass, not corn. However, feeding cows corn can lead to the development of harmful bacteria like E. Coli, which can then infect humans like Kevin. Kenner presents Kevin’s case as a symbolic illustration of the potential consequences of participating in the food industry. In his argument, Kenner employs vivid imagery to support his viewpoint.
Imagery refers to the use of descriptive language to depict objects, actions, or concepts. Several scenes containing vivid imagery left a lasting impact on me. These included the deplorable living conditions of the chickens, the excessive amount of manure on the cows, and the state of the workers in the Smithfield slaughterhouse. Another unsettling image from the “Fast Food to All Food” chapter was the appalling living conditions of the chickens. Carole Morison, a Perdue chicken grower, described her chicken house as follows: “it is nasty in here, there is dust flying everywhere, there is feces everywhere.”
I find this living condition absolutely disgusting. Another image that disturbed me was the amount of manure the cows in the slaughterhouse had to deal with in the “A Cornucopia of Choices” chapter. Michael Pollan stated, “the animals stand ankle deep in their manure all day long” and once the cows reach the slaughterhouse, “their hides are caked with manure.” Considering the abundance of manure, it is difficult to imagine how unclean our meat must be. The situation of the workers in the Smithfield slaughterhouse in the “In the Grass” chapter affected me with great disdain.
One Smithfield worker compared the workers to the hogs, noting that both are considered “temporary” and that “everything has an end”. The worker mentioned that employees would often develop infections under their fingernails, causing them to separate from their fingers. Additionally, workers would regularly be covered in blood, feces, and urine. Hearing about the workers’ fingernails separating was shocking for me and made me realize the harshness of their working conditions. The descriptive language used in this documentary sends shivers down my spine when it comes to the realities of the food industry.
Robert Kenner’s documentary effectively provides strong evidence to support the assertion that today’s food can be unsafe for consumption. Furthermore, he emphasizes the negative impact on both animals and humans involved in the process of producing food. Kenner expertly employs pathos, exemplification, and imagery to strengthen his argument. The use of pathos is evident in scenes depicting the appalling living conditions and overcrowding of chickens bred for slaughter. It is also illustrated through Barbara Kowalcyk’s emotional devastation following her son Kevin’s illness caused by E. coli contamination.
coli. The author uses exemplification to illustrate the versatility of corn and the development of E. coli in corn-fed cows. Additionally, Kenner employs imagery to describe objects, actions, and ideas. The overall argument is that the food we consume is dangerous, and the food industry operates on a market system.
Country Lovers Theme Analysis
It is extremely important when writing a story to have a noticeable theme. A theme is something that portrays what the real meaning of the story is, and the message that the author is trying to get across. According to our text, “theme in a story is a representation of the idea behind the story” (Clugston, 2010). Without a theme in a story, it would just be words written without any real goal in mind. A good theme in a story can jump out and grab the reader and keep them engaged.
Such a theme is present in “Country Lovers” by Nadine Gordimer. The theme in this story is that of the boundaries of racism. This particular theme is a much visited and powerful theme in literature, but few have done it as well as Nadine Gordimer has in this piece. The plot of the story itself actually helps us to identify the theme in this story of an interracial love affair. A rich white boy, Paulus, forms a childhood relationship with Thebedi, the black daughter of a man hired to work on Paulus’ father’s farm.
The two youngsters play together as children, and as they get older begin a love affair which continues all the way into their early adult years. Because of the racial differences of the two lovers, their love affair must be kept a secret, never to be spoken of or observed by others. The fact that their friendship is even frowned upon shows us that racism builds walls in our lives that are never supposed to be climbed or broken down. Later in the story, after the two socially forbidden lovers had been on a break from their affair, Paulus discovers that Thebedi has born a child from their past love.
Due to the social restrictions and boundaries put on them because of the colors of their skin, Paulus murders his child so that nobody can ever find out about the past love that he once shared with Thebedi. The idea that others may find out that he had fathered a biracial child was so horrible to Paulus because of the racial boundaries and walls that had been built up in South Africa for many years previous to the time that “Country Lovers” is meant to have taken place.
Along with the plot in “Country Lovers”, the setting plays a very large role in helping us to identify the theme of the boundaries of racism. The setting for this story is a farm in South Africa in the 1900’s. More specifically, Gordimer set the story in mainly three locations: the village where Thebedi lives, the riverbed where the two lovers meet up, and the farmhouse of Paulus. In the story we read about Thebedi only ever going to the Paulus’ farmhouse late at night on the weekends that his parents have left him alone.
This is because of the barriers that have been erected on the basis of racial boundaries. If the young black girl was seen being taken as a guest in the home of a rich farm owner, the white family would be strongly criticized in the community as South Africa had a legal ban on interracial marriages starting in 1949 (Bruton, 2013). Now, Paulus and Thebedi were only engaging in sexual acts, but that would still be punishable by society if not by law. The riverbed where the two lovers meet is a space where they know that no eyes will be on them, so that they can be together.
By having to meet in private in an area such as this riverbed, Paulus and Thebedi are showing us that the boundaries of racism in South Africa at this time would not let them even be friends, let alone lovers. Both the setting and the plot in “Country Lovers” affect the narrative theme in very basic ways. The setting, South Africa in the 1900’s, guides the narrative theme because race was a huge issue in South Africa at that time. It would be consider socially taboo to engage in an interracial friendship, let alone an interracial sexual relationship during that time in South Africa.
The plot in this story of love and race allows the reader to get a better idea of just how dangerous it was for the two young lovers to being taking on such a relationship. With every paragraph, and every single sentence, we can feel the stakes getting higher and higher due to the racial borders that have been set by South African society. When we get to the point of Paulus finding out about Thebedi’s secret child, we just know that Paulus’ life as he knows it will be at an end if anyone is to find out that this biracial love child carries his blood.
Nadine Gordimer did a wonderful job painting a clear picture of how racism built up walls and created boundaries socially in South Africa. Her use of setting and plot help us greatly to understand that those racial boundaries can concur even the most passionate of loves between man and woman. Even more, the fear of anyone finding out about a man’s escape from those boundaries can even concur the natural love that a man has for his own child. Racial boundaries are everywhere, and touch everything. Gordimer has done a fantastic job of showing us that by using it as her theme in “Country Lovers”.
About Antigen-Antibody Interaction
Antigens usually bind to the side chain of the antigen binding site of the antibody, which may either be a protein, polypeptide or lipid. Antigens and antibody interactions are mediated by non-covalent bonds such as electrostatic forces, van der Waals forces and hydrophobic forces. Binding mediated by this type of bonds produces a reversible reaction.
Antigens and antibodies are complementary to each other and each antibody binds to specific kind of antigens. The specific antibody binding site of antigen is called epitope. The epitope is usually made of amino acid residues or monosaccharides. Multivalent antigens have multiple epitopes hence several binding sites of different kind of antibodies. Interaction between multivalent antigens and antibodies is more stabilized and strong. Any binding between antigen and antibody is reversible. As the results of experiment show that saturation curve is never reached and multivalency can cause steric difficulties. Their bimolecular interaction depends on thermodynamic principles.
Affinity of antibody with a particular antigen is determined by the affinity constant (Ka). Antigen and antibody complex (in molar concentration) is divided by the product of free antigen and antibody.
The time required to attain equilibrium depends on the affinity of antibody for antigen and also on the diffusion rate. The affinity constant varies depending upon the type of antibody-antigen interaction.
The antigen-antibody interaction can be described using equilibrium constants which describe the strength of the interaction. Another important aspect of this interaction that should be looked into is the dissociation rate which describes the rate at which the unbinding reaction occurs.
Equilibrium constants and the dissociation constants may be determined using a method called equilibrium dialysis. This allows the reaction to reach equilibrium. Upon reaching this state, the concentrations of free antigen, antibody, as well as the antigen-antibody complex are measured. In a given experiment, an amount of antibody was placed in side 1 of the dialysis chamber. Then, side 2 of the chamber was modified by adding radioactive antigen. Upon reaching equilibrium, samples from both sides of the membrane were taken. A scintillation counter was used in obtaining the counts. The specific activity of the radioactive antigen was found to 1015 cpm/mole.
Using the data obtained, bound antigen was plotted against the free antigen.
Another way of looking into the antigen-antibody interaction is the use of a scatchard plot. A scatchard analysis employs plotting the concentration of the bound antigen against the ratio of the bound antigen to the free antigen.
The following shows the data transformed using scatchard analysis. Transforming these data involves dividing the number of bound antigen with the number of free antigen found in side 2. The following is a sample computation.
From the transformed data above, a scatchard plot may then be constructed with the ratio of the bound over free on the y-axis. The x-axis contains the concentration of bound antigens.
The scatchard plot allows for the determination of the affinity constant of the antibody (Ka). By getting the slope of the generated line, a constant is obtained. The negative reciprocal of this constant gives us a value corresponding to Ka. By using two points from the line, a slope is obtained using the following computations. Getting the negative reciprocal of – 0.013 gives us the affinity constant 76.92.
If affinity constant is high it means that affinity of antibody for antigen is also high and more antibodies are attracted towards antigen binding sites. If affinity constant is low it means that affinity of an antibody for an antigen is low and fewer antigen binding sites are occupied by antibodies. Avidity determines the stabilization of the antigen-antibody complex. Cross reactivity is the binding of antibody to the epitope of another antigen. This only happens when the stabilization of the antigen-antibody complex is not very strong or specificity of antibodies is not very strong for particular type of antigens but it can bind with different antigens with somewhat identical epitopes.
References
- Antigen antibody interaction. http://www.chemicon.com/resource/ANT101/a1.asp
- Antigen-antibody interaction. www.lclark.edu/~reiness/immuno/lectures/Ag-AbInteractions.pdfvv