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As the divide between consumers and producers in the agricultural industry increases, consumers are becoming less connected with the food they purchase. Without first-hand knowledge about the agricultural industry, consumers are relying more on the media to inform them about how their food is produced and processed. A growing form of media available to consumers is entertainment media, including documentary films. This research focuses on the ability of entertainment media to impact consumer perceptions about the agricultural industry, using the documentary film Food, Inc. The film Food, Inc. highlights aspects of the agricultural industry, including animal husbandry practices, governmental regulation of food production, and working conditions in food processing plants. This research uses a pretest and posttest to compare respondents' perceptions about the agricultural industry before and after watching the film. Findings indicate that consumers' perceptions were altered about the agricultural industry by watching the film. Based on this research it is recommended that future researchers and professionals in the agricultural industry work to positively influence and educate consumers about the agricultural industry through entertainment media. AbstractAs the divide between consumers and producers in the agricultural industry increases, consumers are becoming less connected with the food they purchase. Without first-hand knowledge about the agricultural industry, consumers are relying more on the media to inform them about how their food is produced and processed. A growing form of media available to consumers is entertainment media, including documentary films. This research focuses on the ability of entertainment media to impact consumer perceptions about the agricultural industry, using the documentary film Food, Inc. The film Food, Inc. highlights aspects of the agricultural industry, including animal husbandry practices, governmental regulation of food production, and working conditions in food processing plants. This research uses a pretest and posttest to compare respondents' perceptions about the agricultural industry before and after watching the film. Findings indicate that consumers' perceptions were altered about the agricultural industry by watching the film. Based on this research it is recommended that future researchers and professionals in the agricultural industry work to positively influence and educate consumers about the agricultural industry through entertainment media.

Individuals interpret words differently according to the experiences that have shaped their lives. As agricultural communicators, it is important to understand how individuals perceive certain words and if these perceptions influence their attitudes toward the agricultural industry. To better understand consumers' perceptions, this study used focus group methodology to present words commonly associated with agriculture to consumer participants. Four focus groups were conducted over a period of two weeks. A total of 36 individuals participated in the focus groups. The results indicated some words activated participants' attitudes and elicited a richer discussion. Divergent attitudes and perceptions were observed in the discussion of some words, while participants perceived other words similarly. For the agricultural industry to improve communications with consumer audiences, it is important to understand consumers' existing perceptions of such commonly used descriptors.

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