World Food Prize: News Media Analysis

Analysis of News Media in Reference to the World Food Prize Since the advent of the internet and the explosion of unlimited content and media available on line, our society continues to evaluate this “news” and “content” to determine if the quality is the same as the old print and broadcast media. The internet has added things like blogs and tweets where anyone with a computer or even a phone can become a journalist or expert on anything. As Tom Nichols discusses this recent phenomenon in his article “The Death of Expertise”, he believes anyone with access to the internet can obtain high level knowledge on many subjects and the line designating someone an “expert” has blurred. Previously someone was considered an “expert” if they had a

This award is given out to an individual or individuals who help to combat hunger by increasing the quantity, quality, and the availability of food around the world. In a fact sheet published in September 2013, Food and Water Watch evaluates The World Food Prize with a skeptical eye. The irony presented in the article is the sponsor of the award is a non-profit organization with a goal of increasing quality, quantity and availability of food around the world, but they receive most contributions from big agribusiness companies whose primary goal is profit and not combating this problem of hunger in our world. The major contributors include companies like Monsanto, John Deere, and DuPont Pioneer. These companies sometimes have diverse goals including developing genetically engineered seeds, chemicals, and machinery that may improve agricultural production, or may simply increase profits for shareholders. The donors also use the contributions to improve their image and appear to provide solutions to this problem; it plays well to the general public and the mass media. The article also suggests that the large donors control the selection process of the award, and therefore tend to present it to executives or representatives of the very same companies that provide

This issue is one that will need multiple players to provide a long term solution, the big agribusiness interests are one of those necessary and other participants including: federal, state and local governments, churches and nonprofits, the media, and all consumers. The role of large agribusiness need to involve innovation and development, including producing heathier foods, foods that can be easily transported, and foods that can be easily grown in various geographic areas. The agribusinesses along with the government and the media need to also help educate all consumers about the food supply and benefits of eating heathy. We live in a world and society where corporate influences play a significant part in the foods, agriculture, and how we eat and live. Just think about the foods that we eat, corporate influences for profit have created things like candy, potato chips, soft drinks, snack foods, and fast food restaurants. Just think if these same corporate influences were incentivized to produce healthy foods that people craved like candy or potato chips, and “what if” these same corporate influences made profit based on the number of people that were feed or the