Student: Savannah Weinstock
Graduation date: May 2015
Type: Concentration (single major)
Date approved: November 2012
Summary
For my concentration, I will be looking at different forms of agricultural production in America, and the rhetoric used to advertise their products. The history of agriculture in America points to mechanization as the crux of industrial production today, due to the fact that “by contributing to the general enlargement of farms and the rises in commercial sales, and enabling fewer farmers to feed more people, mechanization has had enormous social significance” (Edwin, 1974). Although industrialization changed the face of agriculture in America, different scales of agricultural producers must still be acknowledged, especially considering that “American folklore and political rhetoric idealize the ‘family farm’ and romanticize the intrepid and resourceful pioneer yeoman” (Edwin, 1974). Due to the importance of these factors, my concentration will be situated in agricultural production in America, including corporations practicing conventional industrial agriculture and corporations practicing organic industrial agriculture, to smaller organic farms, and many that fall in between. The inclusion of producers of different sizes provides an important comparison considering that small scale farming operations necessarily operate on a different economic scale than large scale agricultural corporations, in their manner of production, distribution, and marketing. I will explore the different kinds of rhetoric used in agricultural advertising, including images, campaigns, slogans, and labeling techniques. Many of these have a basis in history in the form of environmental-rights type movements, and the image they project to invite and cause change. These movements, and therefore the way food producers represent themselves, is rooted in a firm history of referencing classically American ideals and experiences, such as Manifest Destiny and Judeo-Christian images of earthly paradise (Meister and Japp, 2002). These echoes of environmental advocacy have taken root in consumer culture because “green advertising affirms the belief that the market can be an avenue for change” (Cox, 2006). In that same vein, the manner in which food producers represent themselves aims to occupy a place in the American social sphere, in the same way that “art, literature, historical narrative, folk drama, and religion traditionally dominate the symbolic environment,” and prove that “the influence of advertising in the symbolic environment of popular culture is enormous” (Meister and Japp, 2002). Food’s role as holder of “moral implications,” a “social entity,” and “one of our most intimate links to the environment,” denotes the power that the agricultural industry controls (Capaldi, 1996; LeBesco and Naccarato, 2008). America’s role as one of the biggest spenders on advertising in the world, along with its significantly fewer government-mandated agricultural regulations as compared to other industrialized nations make America a unique country to study in terms of agriculture and advertising. America’s relatively young status as a country has also only led to a few centuries of food culture accumulation, making our food culture a quick-moving and malleable one. The overwhelming space that advertising occupies in the American psyche, economy, history, and social sphere point to its importance and national power.
My concentration relates to the greater world of environmental studies in that it takes a large part of American life, rhetoric and advertising, and looks specifically at the agricultural aspect of it. I will be exploring the way food producers represent themselves through marketing, from big to small, organic to conventional. Just as Environmental Studies is interdisciplinary, so too in my concentration. I will be looking at the history of agriculture in America, specifically within the contexts of mechanization and industrialization, and the organic and post-organic movements. A large part of this will be considering the economic power held by agriculture and advertising in America; agricultural products earned $56 billion in 2007, the last censused year, and 2012 spending on advertising is projected to hit $153 billion (USDA, 2007; WPP, 2012). Another major aspect of agricultural production and rhetoric is political interest, which can manifest as regulatory measures mandated by the USDA. Such regulatory measures concern overall laws regarding food safety and production, parameters for organic labeling, and the recent consumer push for GMO labeling. The social connotations and psychological interactions we have with food and advertising also must be considered due to food’s “spiritual, and metaphysical…and transmutative effects,” and advertising’s role as constructor of “webs of meaning that help shape our views of ourselves, others, and our place in the world” (Fernandez-Armesto, 2002; LeBesco and Naccarato, 2008). Our culture is one of consumption: we consume food, and we consume ads. An example of one way to situate all of these actors in regards to my concentration would be focus in on one type of agriculture, industrial organic. From there, focus in further on a particular brand, such as Whole Foods’ store brand of organic products called 365 Organic Everyday Value, then on a particular product, such as 365 skim milk. Looking specifically at 365 skim milk would require taking into account the FDA’s regulations regarding organic certification and the political and social interests that got these instated in the first place. The history of milk production in America would also be important, as well as the economic value of the milk industry, and cultural capital placed on milk by Americans. And let’s not forget that milk has had one of the most pervasive, longest-running adverting campaigns in the history of American agriculture.
References
- Capaldi, Elizabeth D. Why We Eat What We Eat : The Psychology of Eating. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1996.
- Cox, J. Robert. Environmental Communication and the Public Sphere. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2006.
- Edwin, Ed. Feast or Famine : Food, Farming, and Farm Politics in America. New York: Charterhouse, 1974.
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Fernández-Armesto, Felipe. 2002. Near a Thousand Tables : a History of Food. New York: The Free Press.
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LeBesco, Kathleen, and Peter Naccarato. Edible Ideologies : Representing Food and Meaning. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008.
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Meister, Mark, and Phyllis M. Japp. Enviropop : Studies in Environmental Rhetoric and Popular Culture. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2002.
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“USDA – NASS, Census of Agriculture – Economic Fact Sheet.” 2012. Accessed November 29. http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Online_Highlights/Fact_Sheets/Economics/.
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“GroupM Forecasts 2012 Global Ad Spending to Increase 6.4% – WPP.” 2012. Accessed November 29. http://www.wpp.com/wpp/press/press/default.htm?guid={23ebd8df-51a5-4a1d-b139-576d711e77ac}.
Questions
- What values, wants, needs, and morals do agricultural advertisers cater to?
- In what ways do agricultural advertizing strategies target certain socioeconomic groups?
- What are the ethical implications of food product labeling, either as mandated by government regulations, obtained by independent certification, or employing non-specific terminology or buzz words?
- How does agricultural advertising reflect our cultural values about food?
Concentration courses
- SOAN 249 (The Political Economy of Food, 4 credits), fall 2012. The broad frameworks provided in this class regarding global food production systems give me a great starting place to exploring different models of agricultural production of many sizes.
- RHMS 398 (Adea, 4 credits), fall 2013. This class fits perfectly into my concentration's focus specifically on American advertising and rhetoric, and its many forms.
- RHMS 200 (Mass Media Messages: Design and Analysis, 4 credits), fall 2013. This class will not only give me a more in-depth look at the technicalities of rhetoric, but give me the opportunity to create advertisements myself, giving me insight into the minds of those who do it on a professional scale.
- HIST 331 (American Culture and Society: 1880 to 1980, 4 credits), fall 2013. This class will give the broad background knowledge of American culture and society that I need in order to situate agricultural and advertising narratives and histories in America. Its wide time frame covers a significant portion of the time in which America grew the most as a nation in terms of industrialization and production pressure for a burgeoning population.
Arts and humanities courses
- HIST 261 (Global Environmental History, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.
- PHIL 215 (Philosophy and the Environment, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.