A Company Presents Itself to the World

Abstract

 As we all know, environmental breakdown is rooted in capitalism’s quest for perpetual growth. According to O’Connor (quoted in Büscher et al 2010/2013, p. 3) the “environmental crisis has given liberal capitalist society a new lease on life.” He continues: “Now, through purporting to take in hand the saving of the environment, capitalism invents a new legitimation for itself: the sustainable and rational use of nature”. “Those who hold the power and they are not all heads of state, see themselves as saviours of the world, and offer the population the opportunity of becoming their clients” is how John Berger has referred to such cognitive dissonance. Critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics are employed to scrutinize a powerful corporation’s website. This company produces and distributes food globally. The story it presents to the world maintains that it protects animal welfare, the environment and people, among other things, in all its operations. The language it employs on its corporate websites will be subjected to close analysis.