| Writing Award Winner As part of our commitment to professional improvement, The ByLine highlights articles honored by the 2005 AAEA Writing Awards program. This month we focus on the Editorial Opinion category, won by John Vogel
of American Agriculturalist. Click here
to read the winning entry.
"This editorial arose from several discussions with an animal health disaster management expert who was instrumental in controlling past U.S. avian flu outbreaks. She contended that the risk of farm-sourced bioterrorism by foreign agents is very low, because most animal diseases are very tough to keep virulent during transport by hand. They would be, however, much easier to slip into foods processed with little inspection safeguards, then imported into this country. Pair that with the cost of changes required for a national animal ID program, and there's no risk-balancing to our bioterrorism protection. That's the point of the editorial. Think about it: We have thousands of illegal aliens running loose in America, and millions of farm animals penned up. Guess which we're spending billions on to track? "Final challenge: Draw readers into a topic they don't relish reading about. I chose to humorize the lead with a farm-based absurdity - chickens with ear lobes. Humor is a potent, underused editorial vehicle that farmers appreciate and need. Don't have a fun bone in your body? Try writing about what pops into your head after a glass or two of wine - after hours, of course. Most of us can grow our senses of humor, and need to." - John Vogel |
Here are comments
"A logical argument. It is strong and clear."
The 2005 Writing Awards Program was made possible by AAEA through a grant from Syngenta Crop Protection. |
