Balancing Food Risks and Food Benefits: The Coverage of Probiotics in the UK National Press

Abstract

The 1980s and 1990s were marked by a series of food crisis, environmental disasters and the emergence of so-called ‘superbugs’. At the same time, social scientists, such as Ulrich Beck, began to study the rise of a modern ‘risk society’. The late 1990s and early years of this new millennium have been marked by increasing consumer interest in organic and natural foods but also in novel food products, such as probiotics or friendly bacteria which, as supplements or added to yoghurts, promise to help fight various effects of ‘modernity’, from stress to superbugs. Using thematic analysis and corpus linguistic tools, this article charts the rise of probiotics from 1985 to 2006 and asks: How did this rise in popularity come about? How did science and the media contribute to it? And: How were these bacteria enlisted as agents of attitudinal change? Analysing the construction of certain food benefits in the context of a heightened state of anxiety about food risk might shed light on aspects of ‘risk society’ that have so far been overlooked.

Fecal microbiota transplants: emerging social representations in the English-language print media

“…However, this changed when the "war" against germs and/or bacteria was sometimes interrupted by periods of peace and reconciliation, as it became clear that there are also friendly bacteria that enhance human wellbeing. Moreover, there has also been a shift from only glorifying antibiotics as saviors, to celebrating probiotics and enlisting them in fighting disease (Nerlich and Koteyko 2008).…”

“…'It is the ultimate pro-biotic treatment,' said Thomas Riley, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of WA.' (Asian News International (ANI), 14/07/2011) Some, echoing probiotic marketing language (see Nerlich and Koteyko 2008), invoke "vitalism", such as this headline: "Vital signs: Fecal pills help balance body bacteria" (The Ticker: Baruch College 23/02/2015). Others even invoke a supernatural power, calling FMT "God's probiotic" (thespec.com, 17/07/2010).…”

“…(Indiana Daily Student: Indiana University, 04/02/2016) These ecosystems and communities can only work if they are not disturbed or thrown out of balance. The balance metaphor, also conspicuous in discourses around probiotics, is prominent here (Nerlich and Koteyko 2008). "Antibiotics so upset the balance of her internal microbial ecosystem that she eventually was treated with a fecal transplant" (The Calgary Herald (Alberta) 13/11/2013).…”

The experience of risk as ‘measured vulnerability’: health screening and lay uses of numerical risk

“…1996). These reports range from the identification of behavioural traits that should be modified to the introduction of specific foods into one’s diet (Nerlich and Koteyko 2008). Rosenberg (2009) refers to this contemporary climate as one of ‘ambient risk’.…”

Nutritional altruism and functional food: lay discourses on probiotics

“…Nevertheless, the proposed modes of action and nature of any practical benefits to healthy people remain uncertain (Verdu 2009) with consequent difficulty for physicians and patients in making informed choices about benefits and side effects (Sharp et al 2009). Messages to consumers have yet to achieve consistency (Nerlich and Koteyko 2008).…”