Download a printer-friendly PDF of this issue
Insights in the 2025 U.S. Food and Health Survey
Here are examples of findings in this new survey research report from the International Food Information Council:
- 64 percent graded their diet as a B- or better, while only 24 percent gave the same grade to the average American’s diet.
- Awareness of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans continued to grow – to 44 percent saying they know at least a fair amount about DGA. That’s nearly double the share from 2009.
- 57 percent said they now follow a specific diet or eating style – up sharply from 36 percent in 2018 and led by focus on high-protein eating.
- More than 80 percent fell short of recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables.
You can read “Americans grade themselves better than average for diet healthfulness” by open access.
Recent topics in the Journal of Applied Communications
The third 2025 issue of JAC includes these articles:
“Sorting out the details: A Q method study investigating wheat industry professionals’ soil health management practices, information needs, and communication preferences” by Maureen Victoria, Jean A. Parrella, Holli Leggette, Morgan Orem, Jamie Foster, Haly Neely, and Clark Neely
“An assessment of college students’ use of social media for agriculture-related information seeking” by Enoch Teye Kwao Ametepey, Casandra K. Cox Dr, Kobina Danful Fanyinkah, and Grace Vehige
“When machines speak science: Testing consumers’ perceptions of AI-generated communication messages” by Alexa J. Lamm, Kevan W. Lamm, Allison R. Byrd, Masoud Yazdanpanah, Nicholas K. Gabler, Anna K. Johnson, Catherine Sanders, Fallys Masambuka-Kanchewa, and Michael S. Retallick
“Exploring the use of infographics to alter consumer opinions and perceptions of sustainability within the U.S. beef industry” by Gabriella F. Johnson, David S. Martin, Jason T. Sawyer, and Don Mulvaney
You can read these articles by open access to the issue via https://newprairiepress.org/jac/vol109/iss3.
Many Iowa farmers who adopted conservation practices dropped them
We are adding to the ACDC collection a 2025 research summary from Iowa State University which “sheds light on the evolving landscape of agricultural conservation in Iowa.” Findings published in Society & Natural Resources revealed that “many farmers who adopted two key conservation practices – cover crops and no-till – did not continue to use the practices …”
“The study shows that adoption is not a one-time decision – it’s a dynamic process influenced by a range of factors. …we need to understand the degree to which farmers are disadopting conservation practices, and figure out how to help them maintain the practices over time.”
You can read “Study finds many farmers who adopted conservation practices drop them over time” by open access.
How adolescents respond to food advertising (unhealthy and healthy)
“Regulation of unhealthy food advertising should address adolescents and social media.” That was the conclusion by authors of a 2020 article in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
Here are some of the reasons, based on research among secondary school children in Dublin and Ennis, Ireland:
- Advertisements for unhealthy food evoked significantly more positive responses, compared to non-food and healthy food
- Adolescents were more likely to wish to share unhealthy posts
- They were more likely to recall and recognize more unhealthy food brands
You can read “See, like, share, remember: Adolescents’ responses to unhealthy, healthy and non-food advertising in social media” by open access.
Welcome to Abby McBride
We are delighted to welcome Abby McBride to ACDC as a new graduate student with a part-time appointment. Abby is a first-year student in the School of Information Sciences here at the University of Illinois. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology at DePauw University. She brings experiences in archival processing, preservation, event planning, and community building to this position. She will catalog and process materials, identify preservation needs, and work on a variety of special projects.
Communicator events approaching
Here are agricultural communicator event plans you may find helpful, including contact information you can use for details. We welcome suggestions or revisions for this calendar.
November 7-9, 2025
ScienceWriters2025 in Chicago, Illinois, at the Marriott Chicago O’Hare. Hosted by the National Association of Science Writers and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. Information: https:///www.nasw.org
November 12-13, 2025
“Communicating the Science in Agriculture.” Fall virtual conference of the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE). Highlighting the power and purpose of science communication. Information: https://ACEweb.org/fall-virtual-conference
November 19-21, 2025
National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) convention in Kansas City, Missouri, at the Westin Crown Center.
Information: https://nafb.com/events/nafb-convention-0
May 31-June 2, 2026
Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) Institute in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Information: https://communicators.coop/professional-development/cca-institute
A lesson from the rice stalk
During this Midwest U.S. harvest season, we close this issue of ACDC News with a Tagalog proverb from the Philippines. It advises being down-to-earth and humble:
“Be like a rice stalk. The more grain it bears, the lower it bends.”
ACDC is a deep and open resource for you, so please feel free to invite our help as you search for information, local to global. You are welcomed to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique and valued international collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, 510 ACES Library, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801) – or in electronic format sent to acdc@library.illinois.edu