Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D11095
Notes:
137 pages., Examines the power of food as a communicative tool to bring people of diverse backgrounds together. Author argues that food enables people to look past their differences and focus on their similarities, thus creating a stronger sense of community via the sharing of a meal.
Online via Drovers News Source. 3 pages., Announces a petition from the United States Cattlemen's Association to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service to address "Product of the U.S.A. and "Made in the U.S.A. claims on U.S beef. Includes a link to full petition (199 pages). The petition ends: "To eliminate the likelihood of confusion and to better inform consumers, USDA contends that voluntary labels indication 'Made in USA' and 'Product of USA' or similar content should be limited to beef from cattle born, raise, and harvested in the United States."
29 pages., Findings of a survey among consumers indicated that consumers recognize different kinds of functional foods, are willing to pay a premium for their purchase, and perceive possible health value. However, they appeared anxious about the health benefits these foods communicate in their labels.
Via UI online subscription., The foodservice industry generates food waste by disposing of unserved food in the kitchen as well as uneaten food from consumers’ plates. In all-you-care-to-eat dining settings, such as university dining halls or buffet-style restaurants, food waste can be problematic because there is little monetary incentive to take less food. In addition, university dining facilities primarily serve young consumers who tend to be more wasteful than the average adult, further increasing the likelihood of waste. Appeals to money-saving have generally been identified as the best motivator to reduce consumer food waste; however, alternative motivators are needed when the quantity of food and its associated cost are not directly linked in all-you-care-to-eat settings. The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of a food waste reduction campaign in a university dining hall. Consumer plate waste was collected, sorted, and weighed in a treatment and comparison dining hall for a semester to assess the impact of the campaign on the quantity and type of food waste. Results reveal that the campaign had a modest, though insignificant, impact on waste behavior, but there were changes in students’ beliefs related to food waste, which may be an important first step to achieving behavioral change.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 124 Document Number: D11226
Notes:
Via online Better News. 7 pages., Describes how the Sacramento Bee newspaper experimented with serving specific audiences for food stories in an effort to grow digital subscriptions. "The sprint terminology is borrowed from developers. We liked it because it allowed us to learn and get results quickly. If we failed, that was fine. If we found success, we kept going." Sprint efforts run from six to eight weeks. A drafted plan includes the strategy and tactics used to achieve SMART goals (SMART standing for specific, measurable, aggressive yet achievable, relevant and time-bound.) Team members measure "obsessively," meeting every week to discuss results and build new story plans. In a reported sprint example, digital subscriptions increased by more than 50 percent in 2018.
