The Need for Seed: News Framing of the Pandemic Gardening Boom

Authors

• Lisa Perks, Merrimack CollegeFollow
• Amanda Davis Gatchet, Montgomery County Community College
• Roger Davis Gatchet, West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Environmental Communication

Publication Date

8-26-2022

Abstract/ Summary

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the U.S. and other countries around the world saw a dramatic increase in the number of people starting pandemic gardens. In this article, the authors use rhetorical framing analysis to explore how news coverage of this gardening boom presented the illusion of control framed around the themes of economics, food sovereignty, physical and mental health, and community and connection. It concludes with a discussion of how these four themes offer an overly-optimistic view of gardening that deemphasizes sustainability, focuses on processes over harvests, and ignores food chain inequities.