18 pages., Interdisciplinary agricultural research centers are becoming more common at land-grant universities. These centers often use an interdisciplinary approach to address complex science issues. As these centers address agricultural issues that impact society, effective science communication is a necessary activity. However, these centers may face unique barriers or opportunities. This study utilized a qualitative approach to identify the barriers and motivations of interdisciplinary agricultural center directors when communicating about science. Participants identified common science communication challenges, such as time and lack of funding. Funding was also identified as a motivation, as well as factors related to the tenure and promotion process. Recommendations from this work include evaluating the public relations and the effectiveness of science communication from these centers. Future research should also examine the financial structure of interdisciplinary centers to better inform best practices.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 123 Document Number: D11184
Notes:
Online via AgriMarketing Weekly. 2 pages., "A new poll reports awareness and interest in technology-driven foods but reveals the need for transparency and education to remove fears and potentially drive adoption."
United States: Texas Tech Univeristy, Lubbock, Texas
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12460
Notes:
115 pages, Lab grown meat is a new technology being developed as a potential alternative protein source. Although some research has been done about public perception of lab grown meat, no studies to date have analyzed social media content regarding this topic. Still yet, no studies have observed the effects of message themes on public perception of lab grown meat. This two-part study first sought to analyze the Twitter messages discussing lab grown meat using Meltwater, a social media monitoring software. Secondly, the study sought to better understand measures of uncertainty and risk and benefit perceptions after viewing a themed blog post about lab grown meat. In part one, a relevant keyword search from August 28, 2018 to February 28, 2019 collected over 11,000 Twitter messages. Sentiment of messages was analyzed with 47% of messages being neutral. Meltwater identified trending themes that were all closely tied to lab grown meat, and top content posters with the most amount of potential reach were identified. All top posters were found to be news entities or organizations instead of personal Twitter accounts. In part two, participants were randomly assigned one of three themed blog posts against lab grown meat, neutral, or support lab grown meat. Perception questions were asked after viewing the blog post, and a total of 238 responses were collected. Results indicated message theme had a statistically significant effect on risk perception, benefit perception, and intention to share, but not on message evaluation or measures of uncertainty. Further discussion as well as suggestions for future research are included.
Available online at www.centmapress.org, Using two different ranking procedures, main points of criticism as well as sideshows could be identified for fattening pigs, dairy cattle production, and laying hens
USA: Center for Food Integrity, Gladstone, Missouri.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 123 Document Number: D11183
Notes:
Via online release. 1 page., Findings of a digital ethnography report indicate that while the climate change debate is expected to grow 3.6 percent in the next two years, the conversation on causes is expected to grow 260 percent and solutions 202 percent.
Leiserowitz, A. (author), Maibach, E. (author), Rosenthal, S. (author), Kotcher, J. (author), Bergquist, P. (author), Ballew, M. (author), Goldberg, M. (author), and Gustafson, A. (author)
Format:
Research summary
Publication Date:
2019
Published:
USA: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication at Yale University and Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 136 Document Number: D11420
Notes:
71 pages., Via Yale Program on Climate Change website., This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey, March 29-April 8, 2019, among 1,291 U.S. adults. Findings provided detailed insights about current attitudes toward existence of global warming, causes of it, effects of it, level of concern, interactions and sources of information about it, and other aspects.
Online from publisher via membership. 2 pages., "In my view, people were placed upon this earth to be a part of nature, not apart from it. I believe that God expects us to appreciate its majesty, utilize its renewable resources wisely, and pass its treasures along to our children and grandchildren. It is our responsibility to serve as conscientious stewards of those, perhaps the greatest of His gifts, rather than to ignore it, keep it at arm's length, and to leave its care to somebody else or to some government agency."
USA: American Farm Bureau Federation, Washington, D.C.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 201 Document Number: D11898
Notes:
Accompanying news release obtained online at https://agrimarketing.com/ss.php?id=333510, Via online. 11 pages., Summary report of a survey of 2,000 U.S. adults. Conducted by Morning Consult. Survey data accompanied by a news release from AFBF entitled, "Poll shows Americans' unwavering trust in farmers and approval of sustainability practices." 2 pages. Dated November13, 2020, and provided online via Agri Marketing Weekly.
Clark, Beth (author), Panzone, Luca A. (author), Stewart, Gavin B. (author), Kyriazakis, Ilias (author), Niemi, Jarkko K. (author), Latvala, Terhi (author), Tranter, Richard (author), Jones, Philip (author), and Frewer, Lynn J. (author)
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2019-01-10
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 7 Document Number: D10240
Many members of the public and important stakeholders operating at the upper end of the food chain, may be unfamiliar with how food is produced, including within modern animal production systems. The intensification of production is becoming increasingly common in modern farming. However, intensive systems are particularly susceptible to production diseases, with potentially negative consequences for farm animal welfare (FAW). Previous research has demonstrated that the public are concerned about FAW, yet there has been little research into attitudes towards production diseases, and their approval of interventions to reduce these. This research explores the public’s attitudes towards, and preferences for, FAW interventions in five European countries (Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain and the UK). An online survey was conducted for broilers (n = 789), layers (n = 790) and pigs (n = 751). Data were analysed by means of Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. The results suggest that the public have concerns regarding intensive production systems, in relation to FAW, naturalness and the use of antibiotics. The most preferred interventions were the most “proactive” interventions, namely improved housing and hygiene measures. The least preferred interventions were medicine-based, which raised humane animal care and food safety concerns amongst respondents. The results highlighted the influence of the identified concerns, perceived risks and benefits on attitudes and subsequent behavioural intention, and the importance of supply chain stakeholders addressing these concerns in the subsequent communications with the public.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 8 Document Number: D10313
Notes:
2 pages., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign., Researchers report consumer research indicating that the "future of U. S. citrus may hinge on consumer acceptance of genetically modified food."
