GMO vs. Organic Food: Top 100 Influencers and Brands

GMO stands for “genetically modified organism” and uses biotechnology to alter plant DNA, making certain crops resistant to pesticides and other chemicals so that farmers can more easily protect their crops from diseases and pests. Scientists make GMOs by taking the plant, and adding DNA from bacteria, virus or another plant to it. The plant structure has now been changed so it can be stronger and more resistant to disease or bugs, or benefit us by having a better taste, medicinal properties or longer shelf life. This process results in faster production of consumable and sellable food.

GMO is considered the big beast in the food health discussion, it raises sincere concerns over what they do to our body, especially toxic herbicides. The long-term effects of many synthetic substances are not known. The growing popular alternative to GMOs and chemically-treated food is buying organic. It is a popular view that the goodness and nutrients we receive from food should be natural and not tampered with. It must be stressed however that although chemicals are used on GMO seeds, GMO and chemical application to food are two separate issues. Processed meat for example can be organic from source but then chemically treated later.

GM foods are almost impossible to avoid. In the US up to 80% of processed foods are genetically modified, but they are not always clearly labelled. In 2014, Vermont became the first state to require mandatory GMO labelling, however in response to this an anti-GMO labeling bill was passed and will be introduced in the Senate soon. Dubbed the DARK act (“Deny Americans the Right-to-Know”) this law would block state GMO labeling and make it virtually impossible for the FDA to develop a national GMO labelling system. This has caused much outrage with people demanding the right to know what is in their food. Wherever you stand on the GMO vs. Organic debate, it’s important that you are allowed to make you own choices.

WHAT ARE THE EXPERTS SAYING?

We reached out to some of the top influencers identified on our list to ask them for their views on the GMO vs. Organic food debate.  We spoke to the Author Jennifer Lang (#1), the founder of Kids Right to Know Rachel Parent (#3), Kevin Folta from The University of Florida (#4), the journalist Michael Gray from Common Space and The National (#7), and Tamar Haspel from The Washington Post (#11). Be sure to follow them to stay up to date on their stories! (click on the names to see their Twitter profiles)

 

Jennifer Lang – GMO Activist & Author of “The Whistle-Blower’s Confession”

 

“People don’t realize how something as beneficial as food can be used as a weapon to enslave generations…..If GMOs came in like tanks…rolling down our streets, we would take up arms. But to “secretly” slip them into a nation’s food supply and tell everyone…that they are good for you…is diabolical. And moreover, once the people become educated and ‘opt-out’ of their GMO experiment, their cries are silenced  and ignored with more corporate propaganda and political coercion. For the handful of organic farmers who fight to stay alive and afloat in the biggest  cafeteria food fight on earth,  I applaud them. Government goes to great lengths to make them jump through all these hoops, just to “prove” that their foods are organic, whereas The World Health Organization has stated that the number 1 weed killer used on GMO crops probably causes cancer and government does nothing to ban them. Our generation has one hope and one mission…..choose NON-GMO Verified foods and eat Organic. Then unseat every political candidate that chooses to vote for a corporation’s  bottom line rather than vote to save the lives of the people who elected them. Our revolution/evolution starts with our consumer dollars and ends with our votes at the polls.”

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Rachel Parent – Founder of Kids Right to Know

 

“It’s been about two decades since genetically modified crops were first commercialized in North America by a handful of profit driven chemical companies. In that time, there’s been a lot of debate about their potential environmental and health impacts, their so called “improved yields”, their contamination of Organic and non-GM crops, the corporate control that accompanies them, and their need to “feed the world.”  The truth is, GM crops have not improved yields, they’ve led to a dramatic increase in the use of pesticides,  mass production of GM Crops for animal feed and factory farming, becoming one of the top contributors to Global warming, farmers have lost their farms fighting big corporations, and we’re no closer to “feeding the world” with GMOs than we were two decades ago.  In reality, we produce enough food today to feed 9 Billion people. People go hungry because of poverty, broken distribution systems, corrupt governments, and waste, not because of lack of food.  It’s a matter of political will, not technology. Teaching people organic farming in small communities around the world, giving them control of their seed supply and access to markets will feed the world, not GMOs. By choosing Organic or Non GMO products, we are contributing to the regeneration of our earth. Our socially responsible and ethical goal, must be to leave the earth, better than we found it.”

 

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 Kevin Folta – Professor at the University of Florida

 

 

“Good agricultural technology can be organic or GMO. Our focus should be to get the best technologies to farmers and the needy so that they may produce food sustainably.”

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 Tamar Haspel – The Washington Post

 

 

“There shouldn’t be a debate between GMOs and organic agriculture because they ought to co-exist.  We’ve got a population of seven billion people, and every single one of them has to eat.  To feed them, and the billions slated to join them in the next couple of decades, we need to identify, and use, the best of every agricultural system on the planet.  The GMO/organic line in the sand leads nowhere. A responsible, wholesome food supply needs cooperation and collaboration. Urgently.”

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 Michael Gray – The Common Space / The National

 

 

“Ideally, an effective food system would be healthy, locally produced with a fair distribution of goods. The problem with genetic modification is not the science, which has many advocates, but the nature of its political economy. Dominated by giant profit hungry corporations like Monsanto, empowering GM based produce allows the roots of a debt and profit based food economy to dig deeper into an area that should be focused on human health and security. In a world of starvation, we need technological innovation. But it’s crucial that such progress is built on economic justice.”

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MAPPING THE GMO VS. ORGANIC COMMUNITY

We were very interested in seeing which professionals and brands were leading the online discussion, so we analysed over 760K tweets matching the following query: #GMO OR GMO OR “Genetically Modified Organism” OR GMOs OR NoGMO OR “Organic food” OR “Organic crops” OR Monsanto OR “Genetically Modified Crops” OR “Genetically Modified” OR “GM Crops” and identified the top 100 most influential brands and individuals leading the discussion on Twitter. We discovered a very engaged community, with much discussion between individuals and brands, joining together in conversations. Below you can see a network map of the online conversation created with our Influencer Relationship Management software IRM. This map shows the #3 Influencer Rachel Parent, founder of Kids Right to Know and writer for the Huffington Post at the centre, and the conversations to and from the influencers in her field.

 

 

Be sure to click on the map to enjoy the full size network diagram in greater detail!

 

 

Below you can see another network map created in IRM showing the #1 brand Just Label It at the centre, and the conversations to and from the different influencers. As you can see it is a very engaged community with many conversations. If you are interested in learning more about identifying, managing and engaging with influencers click here to get in touch!

 

 

TOP 100 INDIVIDUALS

We looked at all the individuals engaging on Twitter to bring you a list of the top 100 most influential individuals in the GMO vs. Organic Food debate.

Be sure to hit the download button below to grab the full report and see who ranks beyond the top 50.

Rank	Twitter Handle	Name	Organisation	Influencer Score
1	@jlang10001	Jennifer Lang	Freelance Author	100
2	@saletan	Will Saletan	Slate	49.75
3	@RachelsNews	Rachel	Kids Right to Know	37.9
4	@kevinfolta	Kevin Folta	University of Florida	37.56
5	@garyruskin	Gary Ruskin	U.S. RIGHT TO KNOW	28.5
6	@michaelpollan	Michael Pollan	Freelance Author	23.43
7	@GrayInGlasgow	Michael Gray	The Common Space / The National	18.09
8	@drvandanashiva	Dr. Vandana Shiva	International Forum on Globalization	17.07
9	@mark_lynas	Mark Lynas	Freelance Author	15.39
10	@RealAlexJones	Alex Jones	Infowars	14.46
11	@TamarHaspel	Tamar Haspel	The Washington Post	12.93
12	@RobbFraley	Robb Fraley	Monsanto	12.64
13	@mercola	Dr. Joseph Mercola	Mercola	11.86
14	@chelliepingree	Chellie Pingree	United States House of Representatives	11.72
15	@annalappe	Anna Lappé	Small Planet Institute	11.43
16	@keithkloor	keith kloor	Freelance Writer	11.22
17	@foodawakenings	Robyn O’Brien	Allergy Kids	11.16
18	@chucknicecomic	Chuck Nice	Star Talk	10.79
19	@AgBioWorld	C. S. Prakash	AgBioWorld	10.63
20	@mem_somerville	mem_somerville	Independent Researcher	9.56
21	@RichardLochhead	Richard Lochhead	The Scottish National Party	9.46
22	@JeffereyJaxen	Jefferey Jaxen	Independent Journalist	9.23
23	@tracyldickerson	Traybird	Liberal Democrats	8.82
24	@tomcolicchio	Tom Colicchio	Chef	8.61
25	@ErinSchrode	Erin Schrode	Turning Green	8.15
26	@tomphilpott	Tom Philpott	Maverick Farms	8.04
27	@DaniNierenberg	Danielle Nierenberg	Food Tank	7.93
28	@dhlovelife	Daryl Hannah	DHLoveLife	7.76
29	@RobinWigg	Robin Wigglesworth	The Financial TIme	7.64
30	@Gary_Hirshberg	Gary Hirshberg	Stonyfield Farm	7.56
31	@SavorTooth	Nathanael Johnson	Grist	7.45
32	@KariHamerschlag	Kari Hamerschlag	Friends of the Earth	7.16
33	@ksenapathy	Kavin Senapathy	Freelance Writer	7.1
34	@mslopatto	Elizabeth Lopatto	The Verge	6.57
35	@MadeleineLove	Madeleine Love	Independent Researcher	6.55
36	@MichaelBTI	Mike Shellenberger	Breakthrough Institute	6.52
37	@chuckabbott1	Charles Abbott	The Fern	6.1
38	@AnneGlover_EU	Anne Glover	Aberdeen University	6.02
39	@GlobalEcoGuy	Jon Foley	California Academy of Sciences	5.98
40	@robedwards53	Rob Edwards	Freelance Journalist	5.9
41	@prometheusgreen	Val Giddings	ITIF	5.85
42	@bendreyfuss	Ben Dreyfuss	Mother Jones	5.62
43	@rsaik	Robert Saik, PAg,CAC	Agri-Trend & Agri-Data	5.35
44	@VanceCrowe	Vance Crowe	Monsanto	5.33
45	@VibeHi	Ali Hannibal Shakur™	Hannibal is at the Gate	5.18
46	@WyoWeeds	Andrew Kniss	Weed Control Freaks	5.17
47	@calestous	Calestous Juma	Harvard Kennedy School	5.14
48	@RachelFeltman	Rachel Feltman	Washington Post	5.13
49	@amy_harmon	Amy Harmon	The New York Times	5.08
50	@LangBanks	Lang Banks, WWF	World Wildlife Fund	5.03

TOP 100 BRANDS

With all the discussion and resources available online, our analysis produced a great set of independent information resources and communities. Influential brands such as Just Label It, Monsanto Slate and GM Watch are leading the debate.

Rank	Twitter Handle	Name	PageRank (Normalised)
1	@justlabelit	Just Label It	100
2	@MonsantoCo	Monsanto Company	66.67
3	@Slate	Slate	55.26
4	@GMWatch	GMWatch	49.95
5	@StarTalkRadio	StarTalk	42.5
6	@ChipotleTweets	Chipotle	37.12
7	@food_democracy	Food Democracy Now!	36.51
8	@ewg	EWG	36.4
9	@Monsanto_AR	Monsanto Argentina	35.19
10	@GMOFreeUSA	GMO Free USA	29.59
11	@TrueFoodNow	Center 4 Food Safety	27.9
12	@EcoWatch	EcoWatch	26.34
13	@OrganicConsumer	Organic Consumers	24.53
14	@Syngenta	Syngenta	20.59
15	@thefoodbabe	Food Babe	17.57
16	@foe_us	Friends of the Earth	17.34
17	@CivilEats	Civil Eats	16.83
18	@GlobeOpinion	Boston Globe Opinion	16.68
19	@EnviroNewsTV	EnviroNews	14.56
20	@TakePart	TakePart	14.27
21	@foodandwater	Food & Water Watch	14.26
22	@8extremes	8extremes	13.51
23	@GeneticLiteracy	Genetic Literacy	12.91
24	@MotherJones	Mother Jones	12.56
25	@GMOInside	GMO Inside	11.96
26	@Noamonsanto	#FueraMonsanto	10.84
27	@Food_Tank	Food Tank	10.63
28	@SafeAffordable	Safe Affordable Food	10.36
29	@TheAntiMedia1	The Anti Media	10.33
30	@FPAction	Food Policy Action	9.87
31	@franknfoode	Frank N. Foode	9.72
32	@GMOjournal	GMO Journal	9.55
33	@USRightToKnow	US Right To Know	9.31
34	@Stop_Monsanto	StopMonsanto #NoTTIP	9.28
35	@benandjerrys	Ben & Jerry’s	9.23
36	@MarchAgainstM	MarchAgainstMonsanto	9.05
37	@DrBronner	Dr. Bronner’s	8.85
38	@green4EMA	Enviro. Media Assoc.	8.46
39	@GMOAnswers	GMOAnswers	8.45
40	@ConsumersUnion	Consumers Union	8.25
41	@GenEngNetwork	GENetwork	8.13
42	@TakeThatGMOs	Take That, GMOs!	8.06
43	@OrganicTrade	Organic Trade	8.04
44	@pesticideaction	PAN	8
45	@FERNnews	Food&EnvReportingNet	7.84
46	@TurningGreenOrg	Turning Green	7.47
47	@techreview	MIT Tech Review	6.82
48	@Climatejustice1	GlobalJusticeEcology	6.72
49	@7W1773RS70RM	SAY NO 2 #GMO	6.64
50	@ConsumersKenya	COFEK ConsumersKenya	6.52

 

Influencer Marketing campaigns generate impressive results, the average earned media value (EMV) from US influencer marketing programs was 1.4 times higher in H1 2015 than the overall average in full-year 2014. At Onalytica we love building these lists and want to give back to our loyal readers as much as we can. If you’re interested in other topics (such as Machine to Machine, Wearable Tech, Internet of Things) be sure to have a gander on our blog or why not propose some topics to us on twitter? We also build some very cool software to manage all of these influencers. Get a free demo today by clicking the button below!

REQUEST A FREE DEMODisclaimer: As ever with these lists, it must be stressed that the ranking is by no means a definitive measurement of influence, as there is no such thing. The brands and individuals listed are undoubtedly influential when it comes to driving discussion around the GMO vs Organic food debate. The PageRank based methodology we use to extract influencers on a particular topic takes into account the number and quality of contextual references that a user receives. These calculations are independent of a user’s number of followers, but we do filter our lists based on how much a user is engaged in the conversation and the influence they drive through their networks.

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