“Activism in paradise”: A critical discourse analysis of a public
Tracking number
relations campaign against genetic engineering.
ICA-15-10063
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structured interview with one of the main drivers of the GE Free coalition campaign, the GE
spokesperson for Greenpeace NZ, to establish the underlying strategy for the campaign.
This paper looks at the communication aspects of this issues-management campaign on three
levels, using Fairclough’s (1992) Critical Discourse Analysis to analyze the texts, the ways in
which messages were communicated to publics, and the social values and ideologies
underlying the strategies evident in the campaign.
Results and Discussion
The GE Free campaign
After the report of the Royal Commission, in July 2001, a number of environmental interest
groups, many of whom had gained “interested person” status, and presented submissions to
the Royal Commission, combined to form the GE Free coalition. They commenced a
deliberate and unified political campaign for a genetic engineering-free New Zealand both to
represent the viewpoints of the wide member base and to generate further support for their
position. The following member groups were listed on the GE Free website on 27 August,
2001:
•
Biodynamic Gardening and Farming Association of New Zealand
•
Bio-Gro
•
GE Free New Zealand in food and environment (Rage)
•
Greenpeace NZ
•
Green party
•
Jews for GE-Free food
•
Pesticide Action Network NZ
•
Safe Food Campaign
•
Soil and Health Association of New Zealand (NZ)
Convention