The village imagery created in commercials and the "integrated" chickens produced by avian flu

Abstract

Taking into account the "modern" life in which even people living in small urban centers and towns are city-dwellers and "consumers", the emphasis put by food advertisements on the cleanness, purity, and healthiness of "nature" is significant. That "nature" implies the "natural" and "healthy" consequently makes the handmade productions more valuable. The "village" is the bearer of all these attributes and this fact determines the eating habits of people. However, a major rupture may instantly invert the eating habits and the image of productions which are "good for health". In this paper, making use of advertisements, I will show how the image of industrial organization as the representative of hygienic life has replaced the image of village and nature in food advertisements and interpret the change of image of "health", due to a major influence of avian flu epidemic.