Kevin Dockter Professor Bates Communication Studies 101 11 December 2014 Analysis of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in the Documentary “Milk?” Ethos is the audience’s perception of a speaker’s credibility. In the case of “Milk?”, the documentarian, Sebastian Howard, uses a wide variety of farmers, doctors, scientists, and nutritionists to argue for a number of different perspectives on cow’s milk • • • • • • • • • • • • Use of Robert Cohen, author of Milk the Deadly Poison, as an opponent of all types of cow’s milk Use of Arthur Hill PhD, food scientist, as a supporter of pasteurized non-hormone milk for its complete list of essential nutrients Use of Lisa Rutledge, nutritionist, as a supporter of pasteurized non-hormone milk consumption for its calcium content Use of Peter Hardin, Senior Editor and Publisher of “Milkweed”- a monthly paper that analyzes the economics, marketing, and politics of the U.S. and global dairy industries – as a supporter of non-hormone pasteurized milk for its nutrient content Use of John Pagel, owner of one of the largest dairy farms in the U.S., as a supporter of pasteurized milk Use of Jim Goodman, owner of Northwood Organic Farms, as a supporter of raw organic milk, but a seller of organic pasteurized milk Use of Tom Frizzle, of the sizeable dairy farm Larry Mead, as a supporter of raw milk, but a seller of pasteurized milk Use of Neil Barnard M.D., physician and clinical researcher as an opponent of all types of cow’s milk, citing that the proteins in milk have been shown to cause cancer growth in test tube studies Use of Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell as an opponent to all types of cow’s milk, citing the same argument as Neil Barnard Use of Michael Schmidt, producer and seller of raw cow’s milk, as a supporter of raw milk Use of Ron Schmid N.D., author of Untold Story of Milk, as a supporter of raw milk Use of Cezar Khursigura PhD, microbiologist, as an acknowledger of the potential health benefits of raw, organic, milk Pathos is an emotional appeal made to the audience. In “Milk?”, Howard relies on nostalgia – commercials and generalities invoking memories of the viewer’s childhood – as well as a mixture of music and visuals. • Credits spelled out with alphabet cereal in a bowl of milk with a sparse solo cello playing in a minor tonality • • • • • • • • • • 1986 milk commercial with documentarian voice over about remembering how important milk was during childhood Shots of slowly spilling milk with voice over questioning its healthfulness Interviewing average people on the street about whether or not they drink milk Wide shots of the grazing fields with slow solo banjo playing over Shots of domesticated cats drinking from bowls of fresh milk in the milking areas 1956 commercial of husband and wife sipping milk together Documentarian takes cold milk bath in his own bathtub Documentarian ponders the current controversial nature of milk over shots of his long, snowy, drive to Quebec Footage of a mother breastfeeding her baby after raw dairy farmer Michael Schmidt describes milk as being “crystalized love” and the “manifestation of love” Footage of a police raid on Michael Schmidt’s raw dairy farm (selling raw dairy in Quebec at the time was illegal) Logos is the speaker’s use of facts and statistics to make their case. Most of the examples of Logos in this documentary come from the anti-milk side. They present evidence for the power of the dairy industry – thus the overwhelming presence of milk in the lives of Americans – and the cancer promoting qualities if milk. • • • • • • • • Robert Cohen: There are 177 million of foodborne illnesses annually and the average American diet is 40% dairy products according to CDC Lisa Rutledge: Only 10% of the calcium in broccoli is bioavailable to humans while 30% of calcium in dairy is bioavailable to humans Neil Barnard: Studies show that frequent milk drinkers have no extra protection against bone fractures and may suffer more fractures than non-milk drinkers T. Colin Campbell: In a 20 year test on dairy, it was found that the main protein in milk, Casein, triggered cancer growth in test tubes experiments Robert Cohen: From files retrieved via the Freedom of Information Act, Richard Nixon was recorded to have received three million dollars from members of the dairy industry on March 23, 1971. The next day, Nixon arbitrarily raised milk prices by $0.17 per hundred pounds – a $300 million price increase – despite the Secretary of Agriculture stating that no dairy price increase would occur that year due to a substantial surplus Neil Barnard: rBGH in cows causes an increase of IGF-1, a substance proven to promote cancer cell growth in test tube experiments, in milk Lisa Rutledge: While it is legal to use rBGH in the U.S. it has been banned in Canada Robert Cohen: Before going to testify in front of the Food Pyramid Committee, Robert Cohen found multiple members to be employed by dairy related companies such as Dr. Ilene Kennedy, who is both the Undersecretary of the USDA and a member of the Danon Research Board
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