Meat + Poultry - September 2005 - 76

MODIF YING MEANING

THE EVOLUTION OF

WORDS
Ag-related terminology takes on new meaning
with everyday use.

England's potato farmers are angry.
They believe that unfair parallels
have been made between their product and unhealthy behavior. What
has the British Potato Council in an
uproar? The phrase "couch potato."
This idiom started as American slang
meaning "a person who spends
leisure time passively or idly sitting
around, especially watching television
or video tapes." The council believes
that this unhealthy definition is giving the vegetable a bad image. But
even after protests, editors of the
Oxford English Dictionary insist that
words are rarely taken out of the
dictionary, and this is no exception.
Is this an isolated case? Or have
words really taken on lives of their
own?

Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is an
approach to farming that allows
resources to be renewed and reused
over time. Sustainable equals long
term, and this is what all producers
want their operations to be.
However, the organic movement's use of this word has made it
almost synonymous with organic
agriculture. The Organic Consumers
Association declares it "promotes
organic food and sustainable agricul-

ture." Sustainable farming does
suggest limiting inputs, but as the
organic segment grows and uses the
word "sustainable," it has morphed
into meaning using only natural
inputs, if any.
An article in The Herald Sun of
Durham, N.C., quoted a farm-festival
organizer: "We'd focus on how
things used to be done, and where
things are going in the future in relation to sustainable agriculture, i.e.
organic, fresh, locally produced."
Even more extreme is an editorial from the San Francisco Chronicle
arguing against animal agriculture.
The writer mentions that "only a
plant-based diet is truly sustainable."
"'Sustainable' can be confusing
to the public," says Bill Allen, a
professor of agricultural journalism
at the University of Missouri who
was in the news business for 28
years. "It's used too loosely. I wonder
how many members of the general
public know what that means."

Factory farm
"I think the term 'factory farm' might
have been originally coined as a
pejorative by animal activists," says
Chuck Jolley, who has been involved
in the meat and poultry industry for
30 years and is president of Jolley

and Associates. What activists call
"factory farms" are known more
formally as concentrated-animalfeeding operations. These operations
use large-scale methods of raising
animals for human consumption.
Allen points out that the term
"factory farm" leaves a cold and
industrial feeling and makes farming
feel less personal. "Factory farm" is
often used by activists who may describe a CAFO's method of operations
as cruel, inhumane and environmentally irresponsible. One activist Web
site (www.factoryfarming.com) provides its definition: "Factory farming
is an attitude that regards animals
and the natural world merely as commodities to be exploited for profit. In
animal agriculture, this attitude has
led to institutionalized animal cruelty,
massive environmental destruction
and resource depletion, and animal
and human health risks."
"This is a definition loaded with
emotional terms and hyperbole,"
Allen says. "For example, the word
'attitude' is meant to imply 'meanness.' 'Merely' implies 'careless
inhumanity,' as does 'exploited.'
'Cruelty' is an obviously emotional
term. 'Massive' is a hype term.
'Health risks' is a phrase that can be
read as scientific (quantitative) or a
Continued on page 12

10 FSI

FOOD SYSTEMS

ınsıder

SEPTEMBER 2005
http://www.factoryfarming.com
Meat + Poultry - September 2005

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