Constituting Vegetarian Audiences: Orchestrations of Egocentric, Anthropocentric, Ecocentric Exigencies in Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals

Authors

Oren Abeles, Michigan Technological UniversityFollow
Emma Lozon, Michigan Technological UniversityFollow

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

12-13-2020

Department

Department of Humanities

Abstract

Employing Jonathan Safran Foer’s bestseller Eating Animals as a case study, this chapter forwards the rhetorical technique of “orchestrated appeals,” as a persuasive strategy for communicating vegetarianism to potentially resistant audiences. Orchestration, an overlaying of egocentric, anthropocentric, and ecocentric appeals, addresses a seemingly singular issue like food choice from multiple perspectives. In Foer’s case, the argument for vegetarianism resonates more broadly by way of its connections to family, ethics, health, and the environment. By mapping the web of relationships between food and varied life areas, rhetors can identify with values already held by audiences with diverse ideological commitments and explore alignments between existing beliefs and exigencies for change.

Publisher's Statement

© The Author(s) 2021. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53280-2_11

Publication Title

Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series

Recommended Citation

Abeles, O., & Lozon, E. (2020). Constituting Vegetarian Audiences: Orchestrations of Egocentric, Anthropocentric, Ecocentric Exigencies in Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals. Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series, 271-290. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53280-2_11
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/15051