Biography

Associate Professor, Communication Studies & Provost's Fellow for Sustainability
Health Science & Communication
Ph.D. University of Southern California 

Dr. Broad is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies and a member of Rowan University's Catalysts for Sustainability initiative. He holds secondary appointment in the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. His research explores the relationship between 21st century social movements, innovations in media and technology, and the contemporary food system. He is the author of More Than Just Food: Food Justice and Community Change, as well as a variety of articles on food's relationship to environmental sustainability, economic equity, and the health of humans and nonhumans alike. As an engaged scholar, Professor Broad writes for both academic and public audiences, and works to develop collaborative research projects with a variety of social change-focused organizations. His teaching experience includes courses on environmental communication, communication and the food system, persuasion, public interest media, communication theory and research methods. He is originally from the Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey area, completed his undergraduate education at Rutgers University, and earned his PhD from the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Prior to joining Rowan, he was a faculty member at Fordham University, and previously served as the George Gerbner Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication.

Ongoing Projects

Alternative Proteins and the Future of Meat

Industrialized animal food production has been criticized for creating major problems related to climate change, environmental injustice, animal suffering, and public health. The alternative protein sector – encompassing both the nascent cell-cultured meat industry (also known as lab-grown, clean, cultivated, or in vitro meat) and the long-standing but evolving enterprise of plant-based meat production – has emerged in response. This wide-ranging and multi-method research project examines the key narratives and networks of alternative protein advocates and opponents, as well as explores public opinion related to the future of meat and its alternatives.

Communication and Food Tech Justice

Society is in a moment of newfound excitement and contestation around an emerging generation of food and agricultural technologies; this sector includes "upstream” innovations that are close to the farm (such as farm machinery, management software, agricultural biotechnology, and novel farming systems), as well as “downstream” innovations that interface directly with consumers (such as eGrocery, restaurant marketplaces, and home cooking technology).​ Public discussion about the ideal role of these technologies, however, is often highly intractable. This research project draws upon insights from science communication, interpersonal psychology, stakeholder engagement, and media and journalism studies to promote healthier conversations about the role of agrifood technology in efforts to promote a more just and sustainable food system.

Classes

Persuasion and Social Influence; Communication Theory; Environmental Communication; Communication and the Food System (Seminar)

Research Intersts

Social Movements; Food Systems; Animal Rights; Science Communication; Health Promotion

Recent Publications

Broad, GM (In press). "Processed Foods." In the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Food Studies.

Carter, A., Broad, GM., & Reeves, V. (2024). “Recapturing communicative erasure: Black women farmers’ political voice and cultural knowledge as critical health communication praxis. Health Communication.

Dutkiewicz, J. and Broad, GM. (2024). The political economy of cellular agriculture. In Fraser, D.G., Kaplan, DL., Newman, L., & Yada, RY. (Eds). Cellular Agriculture: Technology, Society, Sustainability and Science. London, UK: Academic Press.

Broad, GM. (2023). Understanding the (fake) meat debates: The alternative protein ideological Circle. Nutrition Today, 58(4), 181-188.

Broad, GM. (2023). Improving the agri-food biotechnology conversation: bridging science communication with science and technology studies. Agriculture and Human Values.

Broad, GM., & Chiles, RM. (2022). Thick and thin food justice approaches in the evaluation of cellular agriculture. Nature Food, 3(10), 795-797.

Broad, G.M., Zollman Thomas, O., Dillard, C., Bowman, D., and Le Roy, B. (In Press). Framing the Futures of Animal-Free Dairy: Using Focus Groups to Explore Early-Adopter Perceptions of the Precision Fermentation Process. ​Frontiers in Nutrition.

Broad, G.M. and Biltekoff, C. (In Press). Food System Innovations, Science Communication, and Deficit Model 2.0: Implications for Cellular Agriculture. Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture.

Broad, G.M., Marschall, W., Ezzeddine, M. (2021). Perceptions of High-Tech Controlled Environment Agriculture Among Local Food Consumers: Using Interviews to Explore Sense-Making and Connections to Good Food. Agriculture and Human Values, 39 (417–433).

Broad, GM. (2020). Know Your Indoor Farmer: Square Roots, Techno-Local Food, and Transparency as Publicity. American Behavioral Scientist, 64(11), 1588– 1606.

Broad, GM. (2020). Making Meat, Better: The Metaphors of Plant-Based and Cell-Based Meat Innovation. Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture, 14(7), 919-932.​

Grants

• Role: Co-PI Funder: National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) Project Title: Unearthing the Urban Agriculture-Environment Connection: Implications for Practice and Policies. Project Lead: Mahbubur R Meenar (Rowan)
• Role: Co-PI Funder: South Jersey Institute of Population Health (SJIPH) Project Title: Supporting Effective, Community-Informed Food Security Screening Protocols in NJ Healthcenters Project Lead: New Jersey Food Democracy Collaborative (NJFDC)