Running head: GENRE ANALYSIS 1

Genre Analysis: Factory Farming

Valeria Holguin

The University of Texas at El Paso

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Genre Analysis: Factory Farming

Introduction

Factory farming is a very controversial topic in today’s society, since there is more

consciousness of what we eat and how it is being processed, especially when deal with large

corporations. The idea of factory farming consists of corporate entities where the animals are

enslaved to produce consumable products, while living their days in artificial environments. This

contentious topic has caused many to either oppose or be in favor. This particular. Issue has

created the available resources of information about the topic, which proves people with the

knowledge to a take a stand against or in favor of it. Genres are an essential part when picking a

side since people require research in order to be informed. It is also crucial how these genres and

resources are delivered and how the message is conveyed in order for the audience to respond

either negatively or positively to each specific genre.

The first genre which is a website, Farm Sanctuary has a more successful method of

delivering the information to its audience than the TED talk presentation by Michele Merkel. The

typography is more manageable and has a broader layout of its data. The other genre, the

YouTube video, is considered to be iconography and it is about a speech given by Michele

Merkel about her first-hand encounter with farm factory industries. The video conveys its

message successfully, but the genre being a video has its limitations and is not as informational

as the typography.

Audience and Purpose

The intended audience for the very first genre, being the website Farm Sanctuary, is

mainly targeted to meat consumers, eggs, and dairy products. The overall audience would also be
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vegans, factory farming industries, and also animal activists who are in favor of abolishing this

type of animal cruelty. The audience mostly knows how the animals are being treated and what

the conditions of these farms are, due to social media, telecommunication ads, etc. The main

issue that the audience wants to know is how these industries are affecting us as humans and our

health. It has been shown that these large corporations are causing environmental pollution,

which affects rural areas and could affect everyone in a future on a grand scale. Not only it is

causing pollution, but it could directly affect our health by producing diseases when animals are

kept in such conditions(Farm Sanctuary, 2016).The second genre, which is the YouTube video of

a TED Talk, can be seen as also having the same audience, but it also incorporates a legal

perspective. In this TED talk, Michele Merkel, a lawyer who used to work for these big

corporations, gives her testimony of the conditions of these farms and how it is not only affecting

our community, but it also affects family farms who are being taken away profits by these

monopolistic competitions. The average amount that the audience would spend with this

information may depend since it can lead to much more research and people may decide to

follow a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. The purpose of the iconography and the typography is to

inform its audience about the consequences of these large industries. Since both of these genres

are made to inform, the vocabulary used is informal, the language is clear, and concise. Since the

typography was a website, it included many visuals, such as pictures and even videos. The font

was neutral, which portrayed a clear and succinct message. The iconography genre was much

simpler since it was a video. In the TED talk video it included pictures and black and red colors

due to the conference where it took place.

Rhetorical Issues
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The iconography and typography genres both successfully used rhetoric in order to

convey its message, create credibility, use emotion and logic as well.

Ethos

In the first genre, being the website, it has a tab where it shows everyone who is involved

in Farm Sanctuary, such as the authors and many animal activist who have different roles in this

organization, which creates credibility and reliability. It also establishes its vision, mission and

values as an organization and states how it is the “nation’s largest and most effective farm and

animal rescue organization.” (Farm Sanctuary, 2017)

The second genre, being the video, states its credibility by being a TED talk, which is a

conference held by many important figures in order to discuss controversial topics and issues.

The woman giving this presentation is Michele Merkel who presents herself as being a lawyer

currently fighting against these factory farming corporations. Merkel also states her credibility

by mentioning how she used to be a lawyer for these industries and witnessed first-hand these

animals living in such cruel conditions and how it was affecting nearby rural areas.

Pathos

These genres both successfully use pathos in order to portray emotion since this

controversial topic is mostly based on empathy towards these animals. The first genre, being the

website, uses pathos by displaying various pictures of the conditions in which these animals are

living in. The pictures of these animals form a sense of compassion and the audience may react

with consciousness of what the issue is and with the initiative to change the industry of factory

farming. The second genre, which is the TED talk video, uses pathos by Merkel’s delivery in

which she encourages her audience to fight big corporations and support family farms. The tone
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in which it is given is motivational and empathetic towards the animals and family farms who are

losing profits due to monopolistic industries.

Logos

In the first genre, the way logic is being demonstrated is by showing various statements

of how this industry is harming the environment and causing pollution, “According to the

USDA, animal waste can contaminate water supplies and omit harmful gases into the atmosphere

when over-applied to land” (Farm Sanctuary, 2017). This shows liability to what the purpose of

this website is and the message being perceived. The second genre had a slightly weaker

evidence, but is still reliable and valid. The speaker in this TED Talk, who is co-director of Food

& Water Justice and the legal branch of this organization, states how she witnessed the cruel

ways these animals are being treated. Another thing that creates validity is her involvement in

animal activism organizations. This creates more reliable evidence towards the message and

what its purpose.

Structure and Delivery

The first and the second genre were structured and delivered differently since they were

distinct types of genres. Even though the typography and iconography were not the same, they

conveyed the same message. The first genre has its homepage with the main topic and has

various tabs where each is linked to more detailed information on how factory farming is

affecting the animals and people. The second genre, consist of a video, which is structured by

first giving general information and then going more deeply on to how this is affecting

consumers, family farms, animals, and it is also a call to action. The genres being a website and a

video, both have limitations. The first genre has the limitation of not being able to expose all

companies that are a part of this industry. The web page has the limitation of not having someone
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share their testimony. Even though the second genre, the TED talk, did include a testimony given

by Michele Merkel, its limitation was that only a certain amount of information can be conveyed

in a video. Time is a limitation for this genre since the conference and presentation is timed.

Even though the limitations of these genres seem to only hamper how the message is

conveyed, the structure and delivery facilitate the whole purpose of the genre. The structure of

both these genres is straightforward and precise. These genres are simple in order for the

message to be understood clearly. The first genre is very well organized and the second is

constant on what the main message is about.

Conclusion

Altogether both genres successfully conveyed the main message, which is that factory

farming should be abolished, but the most effective is the iconography. The website has a

broader layout and more detailed information of what the message is displaying to its audience.

The second genre also conveyed its message, but contained more limitations than the website

since it was a video. The genres both strongly impacted its audience in different yet similar ways.
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References

Factory Farming – Farm Sanctuary. (n.d.). Farmsanctuary.org

Merkel. (2015, March 16). Using the legal system to fight factory farms | Michele Merkel |
TEDxManhattan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za1aWllWfWs&t=41s