My basketball coach used to say, "There's no point in beating your head on the same post over and over again."
Surely it's obvious that the "good guys" have done a surprisingly poor job of convincing the general public that CAFOs are a public health and environmental concern. Maybe we should stop and wonder why?
Have you ever seen Newt Gingrich's list of words to use in Republican-speak? Words meant to invoke gut reactions. "Farm" is a positive word, it invokes a pastoral picture of green grass and dairy cows and Grant Wood pictures. That's why Farm Bureau uses it.
I take it at face value that you believe "farm" and "factory farm" have different meanings. Logically yes, but nobody is talking logic. And we're not convincing the critical mass that there's an issue at hand.
So, if we're talking about influencing opinions, if we're talking about people who don't live and breathe this stuff, then we need to reach their emotions. The right emotions. As someone who grew up on a farm, you are asking me to hear the word "farm" and think bad things. My head says "yes". My heart says "You Go to Hell."
So let's call these horrors "animal factories" as that is a far more accurate visual connotation anyway. We can use emotions to our advantage too, just as the "bad guys" do.
Donna
On Aug 18, 2011, at 12:39 PM, Thomas Mathews wrote:
Peter Singer used the term "factory farm" in his book Animal Liberation
back in the mid-1970's. I think the term was in use even before that. It's
been part of the language for a very long time now, and it's used not by
CAFO supporters and operators, but by OPPONENTS of concentrated animal
feeding operations.
"Farm" and "factory farm" indeed have two different meanings. Yes the
Farm Bureau calls CAFOs "farms," in a dishonest attempt to make us believe
they are red-barn family farms, just like in the 1950s. But the Farm
Bureau never uses the term "factory farm", because that has all the bad
connotations of animal cruelty and environmental devastation, along with
the destruction of true family farms.
I don't think therefore that the term "factory farm" is about to be
abandoned by opponents of CAFOs. Because the good guys use the term
against the bad guys.
Tom
In a message dated 8/18/2011 11:17:01 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
PS:
Whoever is using the term "factory farm" needs to stop it NOW. I
grew up on a farm and the word has very special -- and very emotional --
meaning. That's why Big Ag uses it against us. These are animal
factories for sure. Cruel and unusual absolutely. But emotional
buzz words are the mantra of Big Ag -- and we walk right into their trap when
we use "farms" in our communications.
Donna
On Aug 18, 2011, at 11:11 AM, Donna Buell wrote:
The
national nonprofit Environmental Integrity Group has joined the Iowa Chapter
of Sierra Club and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement to begin legal
action they hope will strip the Iowa Department of Natural Resources
of its power to enforce federal water quality rules.
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe
from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]
Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp
Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out
twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe
and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists
support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp
Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out
twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe
and view recent editions at
http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]
Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp
Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship
e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's
latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent
editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/