Media sentiment in anaerobic digestion coverage: a quantitative content analysis

Background/Introduction Anaerobic digestion has been posited as a win-win solution for managing waste on livestock farms, promising reduced odors and greenhouse gas emissions, increased renewable energy production, and beneficial farm co-products. On-farm anaerobic digestion has its detractors, however, who argue that digesters primarily benefit energy companies and large, concentrated animal feeding operations. Methods To better understand public sentiment regarding on-farm anaerobic digestion, we conducted a quantitative content analysis of sentiments expressed in newspaper, television, and radio coverage. We searched the LexisNexis database for transcripts related to on-farm anaerobic digestion, identifying 475 transcripts meeting inclusion criteria over the period 1979–2023. Results We found that (1) media coverage has become more negative over time, (2) increased presence of digesters is negatively associated with media sentiment, and (3) media sentiment is weakly and positively associated with increased digester presence two years later. Discussion These findings suggest a potentially contentious relationship between digester adoption and public sentiment, with implications for how the industry and policymakers communicate about on-farm anaerobic digestion.