Moises Molina

Writing 2
2 November 2015
Got Meat?
When it comes to bacon-wrapped hotdogs, triple-meat hamburgers, saucy ribs,
juicy steak, spicy wings, and carne asada tacos all should have the ability to cause two
effects. One, make your mouth water and stomach twist and turn craving them and two
the most recommended if youre a meat lover, cause enough worry (and not because
these have about a million calories each) to stop reading this paper, throw away all the
meat in your fridge, and drive to the nearest hospital to get checked out. Using both
scholarly and non-scholarly articles on the topic the meat packing industry and its effect
on health, although has completely ruined the rest of my life by taking away all fast food,
continues to provide research that proves the consumption of meat can be dangerous to
the bodys health.
These academic and nonacademic articles appeal to different audiences leading to
their use of different conventions such as diction and presentation to communicate
their messages effectively. If such convention or action used by the author can be deemed
justifiable it is also referred to as a move. Since both types of articles can be deemed
credible, due to their use of reputable scientific research, they both accomplish the
purpose of explaining the dangers of consuming processed meat.
Before one analyzes the level of credibility the articles each hold, it is important
to note that each article has a different purpose and audience. It is important to analyze
the purpose and audience of the articles because as professor of rhetoric Mary Jo Reiff

explained, one must call on genre knowledge to orient [oneself] to the expectations of
this genre. Meaning that it is important for an author to use conventions that reflect the
genre it is written in to fit the probable expectations of the audience the piece is
intended for.
In the scholarly article Reducing Salt: A Challenge for the Meat Industry Eion
Desmond presents the heavily researched argument that many meats can possess an
excessive amount of salt and can be dangerous to human health. Eion mainly backs this
argument with research, using facts on the nutritional make up of meat and recommended
food intake. Under the discipline of nutrition, Eion often refers to scientific language- i.e.
anions, myofilaments, isoelectric, and lactobacilli- to prove his point. This peer
reviewed paper, a paper accepted by professionals on the topic, along with the choice of
diction prove that the audience of this paper is intended to be well-educated, likely in the
fields of nutrition or science.
Similarly, in the second scholarly and peer reviewed article Relation of meat, fat,
and fiber intake to the risk of colon cancer in a prospective study among women Willett
writes the article to prove that with high levels of meat consumption can come higher risk
for colon cancer. Using proctology as the basis of his argument, Willett uses a language
similar to that of Eions scholarly article often referring to scientific terms like bile
acids, enzymatic modifications, and colonic flora. The diction along with the highly
advanced mathematical methods of research presented in the article imply that this article
is intended for educated members of society, most likely those specializing in scientific
disciplines.

On the other hand, the article Processed Meats do Cause Cancer published by
BBC uses data and research from the World Health Organization, a specialized agency of
the United Nations concerned with health, to argue that processed meats are highly
correlated with risk of cancer. Because this is a non-academic article, a separate genre
from academic writing, so it utilizes different conventions such as diction that is more
accessible to its readers. Because the BBC article does not use personally conducted
research, but studies performed by a third-party, it differs from most scholarly pieces. It is
understandable, however, that these pieces differ because the intended audiences of the
articles vary leading to the authors appealing to their readers through the use of different
conventions. The different conventions and audiences lead to the categorization of the
pieces in different genres.
Although the conventions- detailed images, accessible diction, and summarized
studies- differ from those of the scholarly piece, BBCs non-scholarly article is still
effective in that its conventions fit the audiences expectations. For example, in
explaining processed meat BBC described it as meat modified to either extend its shelf
life or change the taste and the main methods are smoking, curing, or adding salt or
preservatives. As Dirk would argue it is important knowing what particular genre is
called for in a particular situation; therefore, the BBC article chooses to simplify the
explanation of processed mean by simply listing the methods rather then listing the actual
preservatives, like the scholarly articles did. BBCs decision to simplify the definition
shows how the conventions of this article fit the expectations of a less- scholarly, or
typical, adult.

It is obvious that the articles each hold unique conventions and audiences;
furthermore, they all use credible scientific research to back their claims. Eion, for
example, argues that the nutritional make up of the meats can be unhealthy to the human
body. In the article the author uses research from a variety of reliable sources- i.e. the U.S
Health and Human Services, USDA, Food Standards Agency- a credible way to back his
argument. The use of large amounts of cited research is due to the methods that Eion
forms his arguments with. He separates each aspect of the argument into separate
sections- i.e. role of salt in meat products, effect of salt on microbial stability, salt content
in meat products- and connects the evidence at the end. Using a transitive method, X
causes Y (source), Y causes Z (source), and therefore X causes Z, Eions argues because
high sodium levels cause higher chances of cardiovascular disease (U.S. Health and
Human Services), and meats are often high in sodium (Food Standards Agency), the
consumption of meat correlates to higher chances of cardiovascular disease. The use of
this form of argument is to use two cited facts from reputable sources to form a
conclusion, a tactic effective at building credibility.
Instead of using a multitude of sources to show effective credibility, Willett
instead performs his own peer-reviewed and accepted research. He does this by using an
anonymous (very important to note) questionnaire asking about a list of anything
consumed throughout the day for about 100,000 women and used this information to
correlate high meat consumption to colon cancer. By doing this, Willett is able to pinpoint
animal fat as the main correlation to colon cancer. The use of his own research to come
up with this claim can still be seen as credible because the research used in his article was
reviewed by a board of specialists and found the methods of research acceptable.

BBCs article similarly argues that processed meats do in fact cause cancer using
a variety of credible research from the World Health Organization. The World Health
Organization, a United Nations, organization, dedicates itself to providing research on
many of the worlds leading problems in health, in this case meat. Although not an
academic source because it does not contain the same academic language and peer
review, the article references the World Health Organization with each assertion to
qualify its conclusions.
All in all, the discipline, audience, genre and purpose the authors target affect the
presentation of information in an article. Here we can see the type of paper, whether
experimental or simply a research paper, can affect what titles one chooses and the
different moves that could be associated with this form of writing. For example, in the
article that studies woman it is necessary for the author to present the methods, which
took place in the experiment for the reader to understand the accuracy of the data, while
for the articles on the reduction of salt and processed meats it is necessary to only cite the
research rather than to explain how it was received.
So when it comes to pretty much every meal you eat, ask yourselfis colon
cancer, expensive medical bills, (not living to see me as president), cardiovascular
disease, a fat stomach, and dying early worth it? If so, Id love to see my McDonalds,
Taco Bell, and KFC gift cards get off my hands!

Works Cited

Desmond, Eoin. "Reducing Salt: A Challenge for the Meat Industry." Reducing Salt: A
Challenge for the Meat Industry. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
Dirk, Kerry. "Navigating Genres." Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. By Charles
Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. Vol. 1. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor, 2010. N. pag.
Print.
"Processed Meats Do Cause Cancer - WHO - BBC News." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web.
02 Nov. 2015.
Willettt, Walter. "Relation of Meat, Fat, and Fiber Intake to the Risk of Colon Cancer in
Prospective Study among Women." The New England Journal of Medicine. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.