Blog Post 8: Ted Talk Analysis

In her Ted Talk, “Obesity + Hunger = one global food issue”, Ellen Gustafson begins by telling us about how she started reading books on security policy after the events of 9/11, and then moved on to researching food security. She is establishing her credibility and informing us that she is qualified to speak in this area (ethos). Then, she moves to using logos when she reasons that if you and everyone you love are hungry, then you will be personally angry, and possibly less secure as a country. She believes there is a connection between food security and global security. Gustafson tells us that she worked with the World Food Programme, a food aid-focused extension of the United Nations. This is another appeal to ethos. She lists facts about hunger statistics, and uses logos when comparing the graphs, saying that if there are 1 billion people hungry, and 1 billion people who are obese, there may be a related link(food) that can be addressed. When she tells about the Feed Bag project, there is an element of pathos, because bringing up the hungry children in Haiti and our own country, and reminding us that they shouldn't or don't have to be hungry can tug on our heartstrings. Gustafson shares facts and interprets the data, but doesn't go overboard trying to convince us by our emotions; she lets the data speak for itself. By dropping the well-known names of Michael Pollan and Jamie Oliver, Gustafson is employing ethos and perhaps a touch of pathos, since the listener may already have established listening rapport with those speakers and their work. At one point, Gustafson shows a list of things that began 30 years ago, and while she does not explicitly say they are connected, it is perhaps implied. This, if not backed up, may be the fallacy of illusory correlation. She ends her speech telling us that the redistribution of food and smarter ways of funding its production are necessary and extremely possible. She gives us hope by telling us that we can see the results of our actions in this area, and that change is needed.

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