The food system in our country has a plethora of issues. With such a large landscape of problems I have decided to focus this project on spreading awareness through social media of the “Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act.” If passed in congress, this bill would require any food product containing any GE ingredient to be labeled as containing a GMO. Regardless of the effects of genetically modified organisms in our food, we have the right to know what is in our food. We deserve to have the choice to disregard the risks of consuming gene-altered foods or not.
There is a reason why the European Union has banned GMO foods from being imported and why they refuse to use GE seeds in their fields. They recognize them as unknown, unpredictable, and potentially very hazardous to the health of their citizens. GE seeds are altering organisms that have been evolving for hundreds of thousands of years with which our bodies have developed with as well. Changing these organisms will surely change the way our bodies deal with them and the effects are potentially devastating.
Another issue with GMOs is pesticides. The entire reason seeds are being modified is to withstand the pesticides that get dumped on the plants. This was intended to decrease the need for spraying pesticides but on the contrary has only multiplied the use of pesticides. These are just another unknown hazard that has been linked to birth defects.
The social media site I will be using to spread awareness will be YouTube, Twitter, a blog, and Facebook. In using these outlets I will seek to join groups and organizations that have already been established in the area of food justice as well as use my personal contacts to spread information. The overall goal will be to get people behind the “Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act” and ultimately get it signed by the President. Lofty goal, yes, but I do believe that this can be accomplished with enough support.
With YouTube I will try to produce brief informational videos describing the issues and the bill. By keeping them short and concise they will be easily viewed and shared via YouTube itself or links on Facebook.
Facebook will be a platform to begin a group and link with other groups. In doing so, I will invite my group of friends and encourage this to spread to each of their networks.
Twitter will be used to update where the project stands and inform of any progress made.
As for the blog, I haven’t decided whether I will continue on my own or begin a new blog specifically for this effort. We shall see.
Any suggestions or ideas anyone has would be greatly appreciated.
We really don't know what we are putting in our bodies and is our organic food completely organic. The food we get is run by monopolies and they are concerned with mass producing and making money. Another issue is why is organic food so damn expensive? It may be healthier but most people cannot afford it, so how does that help us protect ourselves from GMOs and hormones? I am excited to learn more about your project because I know I eat food with GMO. I try not to, but it is bound to happen in this day and age.
ReplyDeleteThis issue is so incredibly important to our society and in not being treated as so. These big corporations like Monsanto are getting away with this because the public is unaware. Congress allowing GMO's in our food without a label is only because no one knows about it in order to vote against it.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing you can do to help change this is to encourage other people to know where their food is coming from, how it was made/grown/killed/processed etc. and do something about it!
There are delivery companies that will deliver produce to your door for a fee. They are called mile high organics and door to door organics. You should look into it. Buying organic produce locally is beneficial to you and your community. If you split the fee with roommates its totally doable and for fruits and veggie lovers like myself, could actually end up saving you money in the long run.
If people started to realize what these big organizations are doing to our food, and stop purchasing them, and start buying locally..local prices might go down and Monsanto might reconsider their business ethics...
Ben, this is a really exciting topic and I'm glad you chose it for your project. It is an important issue and I think the key is figuring out ways of using social media to make this issue personally meaningful to your social network and the wider society. Your social media plan sounds great and I'm looking forward to seeing these videos. I know there is not much time to get fully engaged with all the social media activity but do the best you can. I hope this is a project that can continue especially for this act. Also, I would like you to think critically about how the features within these social media services and how you produce your video affects your audience. How can you design and produce this material in a way that is personally meaningful to others that will encourage them to act. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns as you proceed.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dr. Sophia B. Liu
I think this is a great topic and I'm excited to hear more about it. I think part of passing the Right to Know Act will be informing people what it is they're learning. A lot of people don't know what a GMO is and labeling food as such won't do them any good. I think social media is a great way to inform people about that. I'm a habitual clicker-- if it says something catchy, I'll totally click on it and watch it. Since you can do video editing, I think this is a perfect way to get tell people about what GMOs are and how they affect the environment. You never know what might go viral on youtube now a days...
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