In the article “Attention Whole Foods Shoppers,” Robert Paarlberg, Betty Freyhof Johnson ’44 Professor of Political Science and an associate at Harvard’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, focuses on the problem of the food crisis and global hunger in Africa and South Asia and discusses the methods of its solving. The author adduces a persuasive argument that the food crisis in many developing countries is caused by ineffective agricultural policies implemented by local governments, and, to change the situation, rich countries should provide financial assistance to Africa and South Asia.
Though one may assume that the article is directed at the general audience, in fact, it addresses activists and financial donors that are looking for a chance to help people suffering from poverty and hunger in Africa and South Asia. Without the proper understanding of the socio-economic situation in Africa and South Asia, the governments of developed countries would not even attempt to provide any help to people suffering from poverty and hunger, and the task of the author is to explain the complexity of the situation in the developing states. To support his arguments, the author applies to ethos, logos, and pathos. Ethos is realized by Paarlberg stating that it would be immoral for rich countries not to give support to those suffering because of the food crisis. In the text, the author constantly emphasizes the idea that the world should not ignore the situation in Africa and South Asia and their requests for assistance and support. However, mentioning that some help has already been provided for a number of countries, the author appeals to the readers’ positive emotions. For example, he names such organizations as the Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the U. S. Agency for International Development that help to finance fertilization of plants and infrastructure projects.
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The author also uses logos emphasizing that, by donating in emerging countries, financially stable states will benefit themselves. Paarlberg states that there are two alternatives for the governments of rich countries: they can choose either a “worry later” approach or provide financial assistance to people suffering from hunger in developing countries. The latter is expected not only to solve some agricultural problems in Africa and Asia but to bring economic and political rewards to the donors. Applying to pathos, the author manipulates by readers’ emotions by describing the pictures of poor farmers and starving children. He also refers to universal human values in his audience, according to which one should help those in need, and to their understanding of the general mechanisms of economic development and interactions between countries.
As an expert in the fields of the international agricultural and environmental policies in Africa and the developing world, Paarlberg provides a detailed analysis of the current situation in the agricultural sector in both poor and financially stable countries. His argument is supported by statistical data, historical overview of the problem, and descriptions of particular cases, such as the one with a biotech company and Percy Schmeiser involved. Moreover, Paarlberg provides an example of Peru: once, there was an abundance of various sorts of potatoes grown on some territories of the country, but now, because of the wrong agricultural policy pursued by the government, only some of them are still cultivated. Another method the author uses to demonstrate the persuasiveness and argumentativeness of his idea is referencing to the counter-arguments and objections made by skeptics and critics of farm modernization who claim that, instead of donating money in new agricultural technologies, financially stable countries should better provide people with food aids. For instance, in many countries that were supported with food, the situation stabilized only until the foreign assistance was pulled back.
Paarlberg argues that this approach is both ineffective and economically unprofitable. More than that, he emphasizes an idea that food crisis has developed on the territories of Africa and South Asia not because people have exhausted the croplands potential but because too little has been invested in its development. As a result, the “recent effort have been undercut by deeply misguided advocacy against agricultural modernization and foreign aid (Paarlberg 82).”
As for the general characteristics of the article, the overall tone of the author is formal, critical, and objective since all the arguments Paarlberg presents are supported by examples and analysis. At the same time, the language used by the author is rather straightforward that allows readers with different educational backgrounds to understand the article and to grasp its central idea. Different subheadings divide the text into logical parts making it easy to comprehend and to follow the author`s ideas. Each argument is supported by clear evidence such as court cases analysis, stories of farmers, descriptions of the goods production processes in different counties, and changing food trends.
All the things considered, Paarlberg expresses a persuasive argument aimed at involving financially stable governments into investing in the development of the agricultural sector of emerging countries in Africa and South Asia. To support his idea, the author applies to his background knowledge, logic, audience’s beliefs and emotions, and ethics. Also, he represents counterarguments expressed by his opponents and a brief overview of the factors that have led to the food crisis in some countries. The author supports all his arguments with precise and relevant examples from various fields so that readers are able to see the whole picture of the socio-economic situation in Africa and South Asia.
- Paarlberg, Robert. “Attention Whole Foods Shoppers.” Foreign Policy, vol. 179, 2010, pp. 80–85.
