Veganisme, kostvalg og retorisk analyse

Explain briefly what veganism is, and give an outline of the various attitudes to veganism in the three texts.

Veganism is a lifestyle, that doesn’t allow whoever is following it to consume, or use animal products. The first text (Half a million Britons are now vegans) very clearly thinks veganism is a positive influence on the world, and explains why so many people in the UK have gone vegan. The first text even states that “Going vegan is the best thing any individual can do for the animals, the planet and their health”. The second text (Five reasons you should stop worrying and go vegan) states five reasons why you should go vegan. In the third text (Stop telling me not to eat meat: we should all be flexitarians) Toby Moses explains that he understands and cares about the issues vegans often address, but argues that the best solution for most people is to become flexitarians, and cut down on their consumption of meat, instead of quitting it altogether.

Analyse how Toby Moses engages his reader in text 3. Give examples from the text.

The very first line you see after reading the headline is “There are many reasons to forgo meat – but it’s delicious.” By doing this he engages the reader and they start thinking about the reasons why someone would avoid meat, and perhaps they even start to think about why they do or don’t avoid it themselves. Toby Moses describes meat as “the bloodthirsty variety”, in everyday conversation bloodthirsty would be quite a strong word to use, this makes the reader form an opinion on the topic early on. A lot of people might be uncomfortable about being bloodthirsty, and would therefore think more about the reality of what they eat.