Social Movement Theory Blog Post

I have determined that farm to table ultimately aligns with the lyric frame of Burke’s frame analysis. Burke has three frames of approval, and also discusses three frames of rejection in his analysis of frames used by social movements, and it is clear that Burke’s lyric frame, a frame of approval, is relevant to the farm to table movement rather than the tragic or comic frame, which are largely visible in other social movements. Farm to Table is a straightforward movement, that some actually consider apart of the “amplification” model of social movements due to that the movement wants to be spread globally and be universally recognized. There is farming and agricultural living in many places all over the world, and the idea is to have the whole world eat farm to table produce for reasons such as eating local, organic, and healthy, as well as supporting local farmers so that they can stay in business. Also, farm to table’s purpose is to cut down on the transportation of food, which will cut down on pollution and reduce their carbon footprint. Farm to Table preaches how eating locally and reducing negative effects on the environment makes them a movement that is benefitting everybody, but there is not a ton of evidence that qualifies that everybody is benefitting from the social movement, specifically farmers who are being exploited by local restaurants. Even though there is controversy surrounding the Farm to Table movement, it is not an overly political movement, and not a movement that is fighting for civil rights and can become a polarizing topic to the extent of a movement such as Black Lives Matter or Amsterdam Squatters. Where the tragic frame or the comic frame can be easily applied to those movements, Farm to Table is simply not as polarizing as those movements because they are not nearly as political as those movements, therefore, pretty straightforward in their message, and applies more to the lyric frame compared to other social movements of a different caliber. The lyric frame, according to Burke’s analysis, is a frame that “gushes” over how “great or beautiful the subject is, usually without any qualification” (Burke).