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Jillian Meade
Bret Zawilski
RC 2001
31 August 2015
Rhetorical Analysis
When discussing nutrition, undernutrition and malnutrition are some of the more
talked about terms in this day and age. Malnutrition can be defined as not receiving enough
sufficient nutrients, or a having a poorly balanced diet. Essentially one has access to some
varieties of foods but chooses not to utilize those varieties, therefore they do not receive all
nutrients. On the other hand undernutrition can be defined as those who cannot access a variety
of foods therefore, they lack key nutrients in their diets. These terms can somewhat be used
interchangeably but, the most important thing to take away from these words is that they both
represent one of the most substantial issues happening in the world today. The Lancet Journal
and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations website both use different
rhetorical features to argue their stance in regards to this issue.
While both texts focus on these interchangeable terms, they vary in their content and
approach. When examining the rhetorical features of these texts it is evident that both share a
similar exigence. According to the Lancet Journal (2013),
Accelerated gains are possible and about a fth of the existing burden of stunting can be
averted using these approaches, if access is improved in this way. The estimated total

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additional annual cost involved for scaling up access to these ten direct nutrition
interventions in the 34 focus countries is $9.6 billion per year.
While examining the other text Peter Mayer (2014) of the Food and Agriculture
Organizations Media Relations personnel states,
Governments are urged to educate and inform their citizens about healthier eating
practices, and also to introduce social protection measures, such as school-feeding
programs, to provide nutritious diets to the most vulnerable. Initiatives to combat obesity
should be reinforced by the creation of healthy environments that also promote physical
activity from a young age.
Both texts discuss the difficult task at hand and what it will take in order to improve the
problems with malnutrition. While the approaches to the problems may be slightly different as
stated previously, there is no argument when it comes to the fact that something must be done.
Both articles discuss these alarming solutions because they want individuals to realize that
malnutrition is a serious issue happening globally. By making statements in regards to the
billions of dollars needed to implement access to important nutrients for over 34 countries, it
allows one to look at the bigger picture of malnutrition.
The purpose of both of these texts is not to point out all the alarming statistics on how a
large percentage of people in the world are not getting sufficient nutrients. Instead both texts
mission is to state the problem and provide numerous resources and examples for the audience.
For example, The Lancet Journal (2013) states, We identied and relied on the most recent
reviews with good quality methods for all interventions and updated the evidence by
incorporating newer studies, when available. The FAO (2014) provides a similar statement by

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saying The Framework lays out effective accountability mechanisms, including monitoring
frameworks to track progress as well as nutrition targets and milestones based on internationally
agreed indicators.
Another feature that can be compared is rhetorical appeals. The first appeal, ethos
emphasizes the authors or the sources credibility. The source, The Lancet Journal has
credibility because it is a well-known independent medical journal. It provides the names of
those who contributed information into the journal, which includes professors like Professor Z.A.
Bhutta, PhD, Professor R.E. Black, PhD, and Professor S. Horton, PhD, Hospital for Sick
Children, and Johns Hopkins University all of which are well-known. The Lancet Journal also
listed several pages of statistics and charts that one would not know unless they were a part of
that discourse community. The journal did this so that when other members of the scientific
community read this excerpt they will know that what they are reading is coming from a reliable
source. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations website is very similar to
the Lancet Journal when it comes to credibility. The FAO is also a well-known organization that
is used by the United Nations. Attached with the article featured on the FAO website is a video
of the international conference discussed in the text. By including this it shows that what the
article is reporting is correct and is backed up by the actual footage and pictures from the
conference.
When discussing pathos, again, both texts are very similar. Both texts seem to pull at the
heart strings when they describe the millions of people that go hungry or lack important nutrients
every day. It allows one to look at the bigger picture and see the struggles that millions face
every day. For example The Lancet (2013) goes into grave detail by saying, Maternal
undernutrition contributes to 800,000 neonatal deaths annually through small for gestational age

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births; stunting, wasting, and micronutrient deciencies are estimated to underlie nearly 3.1
million child deaths annually. The Food and Agriculture Organization (2014) uses the same
tactic by saying, Undernutrition is linked to almost half of all child deaths under five years of
age, some 2.8 million per year.
Pathos also highlights the tone of the authors, or text. In the Lancet Journal a very serious
approach is taken. Both professors like Professor Z A Bhutta PhD, Professor R.E. Black PhD,
and Professor S. Horton PhD, childrens hospitals, and University Health departments contribute
their research into this piece. The text in the journal uses a wide variety of technical jargon, and
is quite discussion based. For example the text uses serious medical terms such as, Iron, and folic
acid supplementation, delayed cord cramping, severe acute malnutrition. The subject matter is
not light and there is a clear emphasis on maternal, and child care malnutrition. The journal
wanted to do this to let its audience know that the material discussed is to be taken series,
because malnutrition is not a common cold. While the FAO is serious in regards to the solutions
for malnutrition, the author takes a lighter approach. The article is not directly discussion based,
and does not include excerpts of research from multiple academic fields. The website also steers
away from using technical jargon, therefore the audience is able to understand its meanings
better. There is a box available that allows you to tweet your opinions of the article and to see
what others have to say. This makes the tone of the entire article seem much lighter, because it is
open for opinion whereas, The Lancet Journal leaves no comment box, or room for outside
audience to contribute.
There are other appeal factors to both the journal, and web article. For example the FAO
uses a photo gallery that includes images of families around the world and the type of foods they
have access to as well as the serving sizes. The website also includes video and audio from the

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conference held, along with a related links tab, and a twitter feed. By including all these features
it allows the audience to feel like they can be a part of the solution. The audience for this piece of
text would most likely be everyday people therefore by using a form of social media that is so
prevalent in this day and age, the website is automatically able to connect with its audience.
While the Lancet Journal instead uses an extreme amount of technical jargon and leaves little to
no room for the outside audience to contribute, it does have its rhetorical appeals. The journal
includes pages upon pages of charts, and diagrams. By doing so it does open some doors for
those individuals who are not necessarily part of the scientific community to understand the
technical vocabulary by visually see the numbers and trends.
In conclusion both the Lancet Journal and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations both use similar approaches in there rhetorical features and appeals however,
they both differ in the way they are structured and the audience they are trying to target. The
Lancet Journal takes a very scientific approach to the solutions to malnutrition by using
technical terms, a serious tone, and not necessarily including ways for the audience to contribute.
While on the other hand The FAO article takes a much lighter approach to the problem with
simpler terms, and numerous appeals that would make an audience want to be a part of the
solution. However, what is clear in both texts is that at the end of the day malnutrition is huge if
not one of the most important issues in our society today and something must be done to help.

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Works Cited
Maternal and Child Nutrition." Lancet Journal 382.9890 (2013): 452-77. Science Direct. Web.
03 Aug. 2013.
Mayer, Peter. "Countries Vow to Combat Malnutrition through Firm Policies and Actions." Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. N.p., 2014. Web. 15 Sept. 2015