Entry Six: Theorizing the Farm Through Visual Rhetoric

In examining the visual rhetoric associated with farming—including flyers and signs commissioned by the government, and most recently, farmers’ market posters—it becomes clear that farming is often used for rhetorical purposes. These images strategically use color, rhetoric of war, and synecdoche to emphasis the significance of engaging in certain farming practices for the overall good of the nation. For example, a poster commissioned by the National War Garden Commission published in 1919 is titled “The Seeds of Victory Insure the Fruits of Peace” and shows an farmer walking in a war-like march, an Army of vegetables waving an American flag behind them. Such an image pushes individuals to engage in the practice of farming for patriotic reasons. In addition, Many images also use farming as a means of protest, employing language like “Vote With Your Fork” to persuade individuals to boycott or propone certain foods or companies through the food they consume. As such, it’s possible to theorize the farm as a place of politics and power.



(View image citations HERE)