Rhetorical Analysis of Marcel Dicke’s Why Not Eat Insects?

...

Dicke appeals to ethos, or ethics, by his knowledge and by having a series of pictures of himself and other people eating insects to add to his credibility. He explains to the audience that he has been around the world meeting with well renowned people that agree with his teachings and philosophy. While showing a picture of himself eating a salad with many bugs as topping, Dicke informs the audience that he has gone to a restaurant in Lijiang, China where insects were the main focus. “If you go out for dinner, like a in a fish restaurant, where you can select which fish you want to eat, you can select which insects you would like to eat. And they prepare it in a wonderful way” (Dicke). This further proving that he is actually eating what he preaches. Towards the end of speech, he brings desserts; flan topped with whip cream and decorated with a grasshopper, cake popsicles covered in chocolate and dipped in worms, to name a few. Bruno Guissani is then asked to come on stage and eat one of the treats in front of the audience. “It’s all protein. That’s exactly the one you saw in the video and it looks delicious.” (Dicke). He seems to have really researched his topic well and through his use of pictures and live demonstration he backs up his main point and gives a more trustworthy outlook on the topic.

Dicke explains that in the near future most countries, if not all, will consume insects as if they were normal food. Insects are considered a delicacy in many counties and they are highly accessible by everyone so, why not eat insects? It is hard to counterclaim the strong arguments Dicke states throughout his speech using these rhetorical appeals. In the end, our population in the future will possibly be forced to eat insects so, we need to change our mindsets and to stop letting a society created taboo keep us from experience something new and greatly beneficial. In conclusion, Dicke leaves with the audience with this, message, “So why not eat insects? You should try it yourself” (Dicke).

Works Cited

Dicke Marcel. “Why not eat insects.” TED Global. TED. July 2010. Web. 22 Sept 2016.