Ag Communications Researchers Explore Tones and Topics in Animal Protein Blogs

The Problem

Both professional and personal blogs about the animal industry exist, but few research projects explore how bloggers use these platforms. Categorizing and characterizing blog coverage surrounding animal agriculture production is needed to fill this research gap. With more concrete information on the subject, researchers can help guide agricultural communicators to use blogs effectively to relay relevant, science-based information to consumers.

The Work

Jeff Miller, professor of agricultural education, communications and technology, and his research team selected 37 blog posts from eight blogs that discuss animal production, animal-based protein or protein alternatives. The blogs represented three categories: professional blogs written by experts like dieticians; organizational blogs representing industry or activist groups; and personal blogs written by non-experts on a variety of topics.

They identified prominent themes of the posts using a specialized coding system and the NVivo 11 content analysis software. The prominent themes were the environment, consumption of protein, alternative protein sources and alternative dieting. They also evaluated the tones of the blog posts and organized each post’s tone as positive, negative, or neutral.

Miller’s team included Kylie Hackworth, a former graduate student; Jill Rucker, associate professor; Cassandra Cox, an instructor; and Karli Yarber, a senior graduate assistant, all in the department of agricultural education, communications and technology.

The Results

The research revealed that bloggers discussing the consumption of animal protein and its dietary benefits wrote positively about the protein industry, and bloggers discussing the environment and consuming animal protein tended to criticize the industry. When bloggers discussed the consumption of protein, they wrote of the benefits of consuming protein. When it came to the environment, the bloggers often spoke about the risks of animal agriculture production on the environment. Blog posts about alternative protein sources and alternative dieting had a mixture of positive and negative tones about the industry.

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The Value

The results were not unexpected to Miller and his team, but this research provided an empirical description of the themes and tones through a credible research approach. This information can guide agriculture communicators — who are often tasked with promoting the animal production industry — in strategically sharing relevant, science-based information with bloggers in the agricultural industry.

About the Researcher