Spectacular environmentalisms: media, knowledge and the framing of ecological politics

Goodman, Michael K.; Littler, Jo; Brockington, Dan; Boykoff, Maxwell

doi:10.1080/17524032.2016.1219489

Cited by 73 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…We might view the palatable disruption presented in claims for a post-milk generation as premised on a mode of what Goodman et al (2016) term 'spectacular environmentalism'. This concept develops Guy Debord's analysis of the rise of the 'society of the spectacle', in which 'visual commodity fetishism' supplants 'real forms of human connection and sociality' (Goodman et al 2016, p. 678).…”

Section: The Spectacle Of Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Palatable disruption: the politics of plant milk

Clay

Sexton

Garnett³

et al. 2020

Agric Hum Values

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Plant-based milk alternatives-or mylks-have surged in popularity over the past ten years. We consider the politics and consumer subjectivities fostered by mylks as part of the broader trend towards 'plant-based' food. We demonstrate how mylk companies inherit and strategically deploy positive framings of milk as wholesome and convenient, as well as negative framings of dairy as environmentally damaging and cruel, to position plant-based as the 'better' alternative. By navigating this affective landscape, brands attempt to (re)make mylk as simultaneously palatable and disruptive to the status quo. We examine the politics of mylks through the concept of palatable disruption, where people are encouraged to care about the environment, health, and animal welfare enough to adopt mylks but to ultimately remain consumers of a commodity food. By encouraging consumers to reach for "plant-based" as a way to cope with environmental catastrophe and a life out of balance, mylks promote a neoliberal ethic: they individualize systemic problems and further entrench market mechanisms as solutions, thereby reinforcing the political economy of industrial agriculture. In conclusion, we reflect on the limits of the current plant-based trend for transitioning to more just and sustainable food production and consumption. Keywords Alternative food network • Dairy • Food industry • Neoliberal • Protein • Vegan The rise of plant milks "If you want to change the world change your milk" (Plenish Drinks 2019). "The subtle sweet and creamy flavour of Alpro Soya will brighten any breakfast. It isn't plain, it's plain delicious!" (Alpro 2019). Plant-based milk alternatives (or mylks 1) are booming. In the US, sales rose by 61% between 2012 and 2017 (Mintel 2018), reaching $1.9 billion by 2019 (Good Food Institute 2019). Varieties have expanded beyond the traditional soymilk to include mylks made from almond, oat, coconut, pea, hemp, and other grains, seeds, nuts, and legumes. Mylks now account for 13% of total retail milk sales in the US (Good Food Institute 2018) and around 8% in the UK (Mintel 2019). Other plant-based dairy substitutes (ice cream, yogurt, creamer, and cheese) have seen similarly rapid growth, with US sales doubling over the past 2 years to $920 million in 2019 (Good Food Institute 2019). Once sidelined in natural food stores and health food aisles, plant mylk has 'gone mainstream,' as a recent piece in The Economist affirms, proclaiming 2019 'the year of the vegan' (Parker 2018). Yet, the recent surge of plant-based milk and meat may owe less to people adopting vegan diets and more to the emerging flexitarian trend (Wohl 2019).

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Section: The Spectacle Of Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Palatable disruption: the politics of plant milk

Clay

Sexton

Garnett³

et al. 2020

Agric Hum Values

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“…The figure of the celebrity farmer works to provide us with (emplaced) "Food from Somewhere"-rather than (industrial) "Food from Nowhere" (Campbell, 2009, p. 318)-that is, food which is 'placed', authentic, trustworthy and knowable. It is also a reflection of the currency of celebrity as a model for the enactment of a range of contemporary public identities (Turner 2004) and activist politics more broadly (Goodman et al, 2016;Goodman and Littler, 2013;Brockington, 2014;Richey, 2015). In the food space, this includes not just already well known "food celebrities" such as celebrity chefs and entertainment celebrities (Johnston and Goodman 2015, p. 206).…”

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confidence: 99%

The celebrification of farmers: celebrity and the new politics of farming

Phillipov

Goodman

2017

Celebrity Studies

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Farmers are the real rock stars," says American celebrity chef Mario Batali (2014, p. 9) in the opening line of his tenth and most recent cookbook, America farm to table: simple, delicious recipes celebrating local farmers. For Batali (2014, p. 10), the popular influence of the "celebrity chef" should be replaced by that of the "celebrity farmer", a figure with much greater potential to change not only how we cook at home, but also the food system as a whole. A few months after Batali's book was published, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Karen Barrett Ross, was reported as saying that it is her "dream to make farmers [like] rock stars", as has happened with wine makers and celebrity chefs (Potter 2015). These comparisons of farmers to rock stars highlight significant changes to the public profile of farmers and farming in recent years. While over the past few decades, farmers have enjoyed less cultural prominence than other food industry figures in the global North-most notably, celebrity chefs and food personalities such as Michael Pollan-they are now undergoing similar processes of celebrification. We can see this in the emergence of internationallyrecognised farmers such as Joel Salatin and José Bové as the public faces of opposition to industrial food production-Salatin through his defiant eco-local livestock production and Bové through his fierce anti-corporate food activism. We can also see it in more 'everyday'

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“…From the early phase of satoyama imagery, the places on the pictures and films are always identified in detail. It is not an anonymous piece of melting Arctic ice, it is a "spectacle'ized" (cf Goodman, Littler, Brockington, & Boykoff, 2016) place with geographically identified shutter spots, faces of people who work there, unique food items, localized tastes, singular identified deities or rituals, and media celebrities. Frames of outstanding, geographically localized biodiversity are carefully transmitted through bodily practices: satoyama walks, nature study camps, events, food degustation, handicrafts, and festivals.…”

Section: Devices Of Localized Harmonymentioning

confidence: 99%

Classic and cute: Framing biodiversity in Japan through rural landscapes and mascot characters

Lindström

2019

Popular Communication

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Japan is an active player in international biodiversity politics and has ambitious domestic biodiversity targets. The government considers environmental communication crucial for reaching these. This article analyzes two major frames that state institutions employ for communicating biodiversity: traditional agricultural landscapes called satoyama and embodied mascot characters called yurukyara. Both frames attempt to reach the public by transcending the discursive reality. Employing well-established stylistic devices (court culture, Japanese cute), prestigious metanarratives (Japanese as nature people), and established institutional systems of tourism and governance, the frames have reached huge popularity. Yet awareness surveys indicate that people continue to consider biodiversity a matter of governmental policy rather than individual lifestyle. There has been a clear positive effect on the localities singled out for satoyama campaigns. However, it can be argued that the overall effect of celebratory framing coupled with pleasing aesthetics favors complacency and does not invite new forms of civic mobilization.

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Spectacular environmentalisms: media, knowledge and the framing of ecological politics

Cited by 73 publications

References 36 publications

Palatable disruption: the politics of plant milk

Palatable disruption: the politics of plant milk

The celebrification of farmers: celebrity and the new politics of farming

Classic and cute: Framing biodiversity in Japan through rural landscapes and mascot characters

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