Rationale

Cattle ranchers, an important asset within the American West economy and unknowing

causes of the current environmental crisis, need our support as much as we need their’s. To curb

the increasing production of methane seen in agriculture, we ask them to replace a small portion

of their cattle’s diet with seaweed, a task that may seem daunting given the relatively recent

discovery on it’s benefits. However, we cannot demand such an order without providing

adequate information and sources on how or why to go about this dietary change, therefore we

have put together multiple well-researched artifacts to make the seaweed food source transition

as smooth as possible. Our website and posters will communicate our plan to cattle ranchers

efficiently because they are easily accessible, up to date, and convincing.

Because our audience is seen all around the United States, it is important our argument

reaches them quickly and does not rely on easily lost mediums, such as mail or word from a

friend. Our website is a permanent fixture in the internet’s database, making the information we

are trying to communicate accessible to all cattle ranchers. For a more local approach, we opted

for posters, a physical copy of our argument and convey the facts and points within our argument

we deem most important. In short, “the ongoing presence of websites allows potential supporters

to learn about and participate in SMO campaigns over time and at their convenience, overcoming

the temporally sensitive nature of other forms of contact” (Stein). Posters follow the same

structure, but they cover the areas a lack of wifi hinders our website from spreading.

Furthermore, it is not just baseline accessibility where those interested can reach our argument

that we are going for. Accessibility to us means our audience, specifically ranchers, do not have

to wade through a sea of environmental jargon to understand our main goal of implementing

seaweed in cow diets. Throughout our website and posters, we use straightforward language and
thorough explanations on our plans and demands of ranchers in order to allow for anyone to

internalize our argument without issue. For example, one of our posters reads “16% of all

greenhouse gases comes from cow farts.” Despite the crude language, the cause of methane

production is now easy to understand for some ranchers as it’s presented in layman terms. Even

down to the design of each artifact, we ensure no text is too small, too flashy, or too hard to read

in general. Reviewing our website reveals our use of dark texts on light backgrounds and vice

versa. The last thing we need is for our ranchers to become frustrated with our work and ignore

our message. Using a well-detailed website and catchy posters efficiently persuades our audience

of ranchers by feeding them information on seaweed diets for cattle through easy to navigate

mediums.

Furthermore, we acknowledge the push for a seaweed-inclusive diet is a new movement

as research on the benefits continues to be released as we move forward, hence we ensured our

mediums can match the pace. With our website, our webmasters can easily update information

and upload new content through the interface, making it a prime and fresh resource for ranchers

interested in our cause. On the other hand, with posters, while they are not able to be constantly

improved to relay the most recent information on our research with seaweed diets, they are easily

remade and redistributed given their generally paper medium. The expectation of eye-catching

graphics and short blurbs works in our favor as we do not have an obligation to spend days on

each poster; we are only required to convey our talking points in short, catchy bullet points.

Moreover, the slower update time of posters actually aids us in our argument as “environmental

posters fill the gap to inspire action and change by taking the ideas and emotions put forth by

photos and experiences” (Lewis 4). The images seen on our posters as well as posters in general

allow for our audience to experience the environmental issues we are trying to alleviate.
Showing, rather than telling, ranchers the horrors of the current environmental crisis that cattle

directly contributes to is sure to invoke grief and fear that will spur them on to join our cause.

Within the context of our argument, we are not specifically selling ranchers on a seaweed diet via

an environmental crisis stance, but by appealing through pathos, we assume ranchers will be

more open to the change in their cattle’s diet. By plastering images of methane-affected

landscapes and cows, we are able to immerse our target rancher’s within the effects of their cattle

without a seaweed diet curbing that damage. While posters aren’t as easily updated like a website

is, the delay in information and intent to relay information and photos of past occurrences allows

us to utilize this medium for a rapidly developing cause as the poster is still effective in

communicating what needs to change. Whether we advertise our cause via a website or a series

of posters, we have chosen the best mediums for keeping up to date information circling cattle

rancher communities.

It’s a well researched concept that websites and posters are among the top

methods for pushing a movement within environmental concern. By creating both mediums as

our artifacts, we are sure our cause will be well-received by ranchers given how convincing each

communicator of information is. For example, as Susan Jacobson states, “Audiences increasingly

rely on digital media as sources of information” (Jacobson 7). As the new age of technology

progresses, we can easily assume ranchers are going to be focusing on information they find

from the internet, which is why we have created our own website to advocate our cause towards

our intended audience. Our goal is to have our website come up as one of the first results for

seaweed diets in cattle, making environmental salvation a click away from cattle ranchers. The

credibility the internet has garnered for itself, plus the multitudes of tech companies like Google

advertising only the best websites, is enough evidence for our targeted audience of cow ranchers
to follow the demands within our website. Additionally, there’s a reason posters have been used

in social movements for centuries; they “stimulate active exploration, debate, interaction,

participation, and engagement with local environmental issues” (Ndaruga). If done correctly,

posters do not need years of scientific knowledge, long periods of time to read, and exclusive

machinery to create. Catchphrases- such as “Switch to Seaweed!,” ''Get your tax incentive!,” and

“One ingredient. One planet. One change.-” are simple hooks seen on our posters to relay our

point without revealing too much of the argument. By making our posters catchy and straight to

the point, we can communicate to cattle ranchers faster that they should begin to corporate

seaweed into their cows’ diets. We even published our posters on our website in order to allow

for printouts by individuals not directly affiliated with the cause, spreading our argument even

further. Posters are convincing because of their memorability; the simple graphics and easy to jot

down talking points that fill each slip of paper are easily in the forefront of every viewers’ mind.

Our artifacts not only take advantage of the recent surge in technology to further our cause, they

rely on more traditional methods of persuading targeted audiences as well.

After extensive research and general observation, our group concluded creating a website

and a series of posters are the most effective set of artifacts for communicating information on

seaweed diets and convincing our targeted audience of cattle ranchers to join our cause. With

how time sensitive the environmental issue of methane and other greenhouse gases has become,

it’s crucial we spread the method of curbing harmful gas production from agriculture as quickly

as possible among ranchers. Websites are easily improved, understood, and trusted as are posters

with a slight delay in updated information.

 Works Cited

Jacobson, Susan K., et al. “Love or Loss: Effective Message Framing to Promote Environmental

Conservation.” Applied Environmental Education & Communication, vol. 18, no. 3, 2018,

pp. 252–265., doi:10.1080/1533015x.2018.1456380.

Lewis, Dacy Marie. “Environmental Communication Strategies through the use of Posters: A

Comparative Analysis.” (2015).

Ndaruga A.M (2009) Teacher Valuation and Use of Posters to Promote Sustainability of

Wetlands in Kenya’, Applied Environmental Education & Communication[1],8 (2) 85 —

93

Stein, Laura. “Social Movement Web Use in Theory and Practice: a Content Analysis of US

Movement Websites.” New Media & Society, vol. 11, no. 5, 2009, pp. 749–771.,

doi:10.1177/1461444809105350.