You can help spread the word about food science via social media. These guidelines will help you navigate each of the social media channels to spread the word. Before you start, please be sure to check your company’s social media policy.
By spending a few hours in your community, you can make a difference by educating people on food issues or by ensuring those individuals have enough to eat. Volunteering for food related causes is a great way to meet others interested in food sustainability, safety, and nutrition who may not have a full understanding of the positive impact food science can have. It’s also a great opportunity to introduce food science as a viable career choice to younger audiences.
Within your organization, there may be several colleagues who make not be aware of the valuable resources available to them. You can raise awareness and to help sell the story of food science and technology by reaching out to colleagues in your corporate communications, marketing, public relations office, or government relations team.
In the email, take a few minutes to introduce yourself and share a few resources that may be valuable to your colleagues. You can use the following template email to raise awareness of IFT resources that can help your organization’s communications professionals respond to consumers, media, local community groups, or government officials.
Dear [Colleague]:
Since you often get requests from the public and the media, I would like to share resources that may be useful to you. The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) has developed tools to help spread the word about the important contributions food science makes in providing the world with an abundant food supply. I would like to call your attention to these tools compiled on IFT’s website and hope they can be of use to you as a communications professional.
I hope you will be able to use these tools to help raise awareness about the importance of food science to ensuring our global food supply is safe, nutritious, and sustainable.
For more information, go to ift.org or call +1.312.782.8424.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Dear [Family or Friend]:
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) has developed tools to help spread the word about the important contributions food science makes in providing the world with an abundant, safe, and nutritious food supply. I hope you find the information on IFT’s web site interesting and share it with others.
I hope these tools are helpful to gaining a better understanding of how important and essential food science is to ensuring our food is safe, nutritious, delicious, and sustainable. Please let me know if you have any questions. I’m happy to be a resource.
Many thanks,
[Your Name]
Dear [Reporter]:
I recently [read or viewed] a news story that discussed [add topic of news story], and I wanted to reach out to you to make an introduction. Your story on [topic] raised important perspectives, and I wanted to share a scientific perspective since I have a background as [add your expertise].
Your article covered important issues on [add positive aspects of the media story]. However, I noted that your story did not include information on [add information that you feel was missing or incorrect]. Also, I wanted to share background from the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) about the important contributions of food science. At ift.org/foodsciencematters, you’ll find information and several videos providing examples of how food science plays an essential role in ensuring our global food supply is safe, nutritious, and sustainable. You may also be interested in other free resources on ift.org. Another resource is called Food Facts at ift.org/foodfacts .This web site is full of information and videos about food science and its positive impact on nutrition, food safety and quality.
I hope you will be able to use these resources to help increase understanding on food issues, and I would be happy to answer any questions if you plan to do any stories in the future.
Sincerely, [Your Name and Contact Information]
Reaching out to your elected officials is another great way to share the positive impact food science has.
To find the phone number of senators and representatives, you may search free government websites at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov, or you can call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask the operator for contact information for your elected official.
Remember that telephone calls are usually taken by a staff member, not the member of Congress.
NOTE: You may also request a written response to your telephone call.
E-mail is the most popular choice of communication with a congressional office. If you decide to write an e-mail, this list of helpful suggestions will improve the effectiveness of your correspondence:
NOTE: You may also request a response to your e-mail.
Generally, the same guidelines apply as with writing e-mails to Congress. You may find a mailing address for your senators and representative directly at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov. However, please note that there is a considerable lag time between when you send the letter and when it is ultimately received in a House or Senate office. Therefore, you may want to opt for phone calls or e-mails.
ADDRESSING CORRESPONDENCE:
To a Senator:
The Honorable (full name)
__(Rm.#)__(name of)Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator:
To a Representative:
The Honorable (full name)
__(Rm.#)__(name of)House Office Building
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative:
Note: When writing to the Chair of a Committee or the Speaker of the House, it is proper to address them as:
Dear Mr. Chairman or Madam Chairwoman:
Dear Madam Speaker or Mr. Speaker:
Kellogg has announced that construction has commenced on a new manufacturing line at its Pringles factory in Kutno in the Lodz Special Economic Zone in Poland.
Avansya, the joint venture between Cargill and Royal DSM, has started production at the first commercial-scale fermentation facility for stevia sweeteners in the United States.
The J. M. Smucker Co. has announced an evolution of its executive leadership structure and team reporting to Mark Smucker, president and CEO.
Cornell University is co-leading a $9.95 million, five-year U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant that aims to transform nutrition and water use in the poultry industry in order to improve its environmental impact and enhance human health.
Dean Foods has announced that it and substantially all of its subsidiaries have initiated voluntary Chapter 11 reorganization proceedings in the Southern District of Texas.
Food scientists and technologists encounter numerous challenges each day as they work to bring better, safer, tastier, and more nutritious foods to consumers. Tackling these challenges often requires critical thinking, teamwork, tenacity, and perhaps a little creativity. Acclaimed Chef Sean Sherman discovered a unique challenge early in his culinary career and drew inspiration to address it from an unlikely source – his heritage.
IFT hosted a Diversity and Inclusion Virtual Town Hall earlier this week, sharing key research findings, a set of core principles to guide our path forward, system-specific recommendations, and a request for member feedback.
Research shows that a culture of inclusion has a direct correlation on innovation. Two IFT members share how they have personally experienced the connection between inclusion and innovation within IFT divisions.
A group of researchers has conducted a comprehensive genomic analysis of all seven species, leading to the development of a new resource that may enable breeders to cultivate tasty, appealing watermelons that are also more disease-resistant and that can be grown in more varied climates.
Of the major food crops, only rice is currently able to survive flooding. Thanks to new research, that could soon change—good news for regions of the world where rains are increasing in both frequency and intensity.
A recent study sponsored by Chr. Hansen has determined that if certain strains of probiotics were administered to the U.S. public, healthcare costs related to respiratory infections would decrease by up to $1.4 billion.
In the first population-based study to examine the association between onion and garlic consumption and breast cancer in Puerto Rico, researchers at the University of Buffalo and University of Puerto Rico found that women who consumed sofrito more than once per day had a 67% decrease in risk compared with women who never ate it.
