Barf Blog: A Humorous Insight into the Food Industry

Criteria: Relevant blogs that have to do with “safe food from farm to fork” Relatable language and situations discussed in the blogs—seems like it was written to be read by normal people not extremely smart doctors A page to establish credibility and explain purpose Information available to a wide audience, not just written Barf Blog is successful in neatly displaying information written for both the average person and the highly respected doctor. That being said, some of the blogs and blog categories appear to be off topic from the subject of food safety. The public tends to be attracted to a visually appealing website. Barf Blog succeeds in doing this. Yes, the name seems at first a little gross, but the clean layout and earthy color pallet convinces the reader otherwise.  Once the layout draws the reader in, the relatable blogs on the very first tab will most likely hold his attention. Once a reader has entered the blog section of the website, she can explore a world—and I literally mean a world. One can read about steak tartare (complete with a Mr. Bean video) and then read the blog entitled “Poop Doggy Dog Part II,” regarding Salmonella found in dog food. Have a question on food or where it comes from? Chances are you can find a blog or Infosheet. The doctors who write the blogs present the information in a humorous manner--hence the "Poop Doggy" title. This widens the audience to teenagers who may not be initially interested in food or diseases like E. Coli.  At first glance, it may seem like the blogs are written by normal people with an interest in food safety. One blog written by Doug Powell starts off with how he had to explain what sequestration was to his mother—not exactly how a typical medical paper starts off. This is a key feature that attracts readers. The 'About Us' tab explains the qualifications of the doctors that post. Knowing that the information comes from doctors and not just random people blogging in their free time gives the reader a sense of security in the information given. Despite the credibility and wide variety of information on food, some of the categories seem slightly irrelevant. There is a “Wacky and Weird” section in which there is a selection of both war and biting soccer player articles. I will give the website credit for the name of this category, for it is indeed wacky and weird. I do appreciate the attempt to gain an audience through different interests, but I believe the same result could have been achieved through the other blogs about food related topics. These random blogs caused confusion, and although still written by doctors, detracted from the overall credibility. Despite the few arbitrary posts, Barf Blog exposes the inner workings of the food industry.