Write for the Biofortified Blog

Agriculture and food are important, and the public needs people with first-hand knowledge. One of our goals is to give people the opportunity to write about what they know, engage in moderated discussion, and be part of a community of writers and readers.

We are always looking for articles written by scientists, farmers, doctors, chefs… anyone who works with or eats food. This opportunity is open to anyone, no matter your views. Contact us to learn more.

We can provide professional editing, will promote your work on social media, and can help you build your personal brand as a writer while you write with us. Some of our writers have gone on to start their own successful projects and organizations!

What to write about

Unsure what to say? Whether you are a new contributor or a regular author, it is always helpful to consult with us on your chosen topic before you start writing. We can provide advice and make sure that your work is a great success! Here are some ideas to get you started:

  1. Plants, genetics, biotechnology. If you are a geneticist, breeder, or other scientist with expertise in this area, you could talk about the science, or one of the many issues that intersect the science.
  2. Agriculture. Cover crops, fertilizers, pesticides, organic, environmental impact, climate change, land use, farmer’s markets, and more! We want diverse voices and first person accounts.
  3. Food. Who doesn’t love talking about food? Nutrition, culture and traditions, modernization, world hunger, food distribution, even recipes are welcome!
  4. Ethics. What are the ethical implications of new innovations in crops, food, or production practices?
  5. Education and science communication. Are students learning enough about where their food comes from? What are innovative ways to reach more people?
  6. Law and regulations. Are you a lawyer, policy geek, or someone who thinks about the consequences of current or future policies and laws? Is there a better way to regulate new technologies?
  7. News and media. How is the media covering science, ag, and food? You could write a short summary of some interesting news, or comment on the media’s coverage of important issues.
  8. Interviews. Interviews with scientists and others are a great way to contribute. If you have an idea about someone to interview, check with us first. Read more about Interviews below.
  9. Art, music, video. We invite all communication methods. Feel like videotaping yourself with your plants and telling us something cool about them? We can feature it on the blog, and upload it to our YouTube channel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Many of these are questions that people have asked over the years. Contact us if your question is not covered below.

  1. Can I write about whatever I want? Yes and no. We let our contributors choose what to write about, but you should consider topics that we regularly discuss on the blog.
  2. Can I submit a post I wrote for my own blog? Maybe. Republishing content that was already published elsewhere can have a negative impact on SEO. But there are ways to share that won’t impact SEO. Contact us to discuss.
  3. Can I republish something that someone else has written? Maybe. Along with the SEO problem mentioned above, you need permission from the copyright owner. Contact us to discuss; you’ll need to send us a copy of the permission provided by the owner.
  4. Do I get paid to write articles? Only in rare cases. We are a non-profit organization with a very small budget. We may commission certain articles if we feel they are very important to the conversation.
  5. Can other people pay me to write articles? No. We do not accept paid posts. However, you can republish paid articles with permission, as described above.
  6. I work for a biotech company, can I write an article? Yes. Your post should be your own personal views and not the views of your company. Contributors should write with their real name and disclose any conflicts of interest. Please consult with the public relations office in your company to make sure you have permission and that you are using appropriate disclaimers.
  7. I represent a biotech company, can I write about our new product? No. The Biofortified Blog is not a place to advertise. However, if you are interested in answering questions about your product in an interview, contact us.
  8. I work for the government, can I write an article? Yes. We welcome posts by government employees and elected officials. Please consult with your supervisor and ethics office to make sure you have permission and that you are using appropriate disclaimers. If you want to discuss a specific regulation, policy, bill, amendment, etc., it would be best to contact us; an interview may be a more appropriate format.
  9. I do not like GMOs and I think they should be stopped. Can I write an article? Yes! Interesting, original opinion articles are welcome, but be sure to differentiate between established fact and your opinions.
  10. I love GMOs and I think they are going to solve all our problems. Can I write an article? Yes! Interesting, original opinion articles are welcome, but be sure to differentiate between established fact and your opinions.
  11. I read something on the Biofortified Blog that I disagree with. Can I write a rebuttal? Yes. We encourage you to begin by commenting on the post you disagree with. If you have a lot to say, an article may be the best way to continue the discussion. If there are errors in an article, we may ask the author to address them, post a correction, or pull the article entirely. Contact us to describe any errors, with sources for correct information.
  12. I just published a peer-reviewed paper! Can I write an article about it? Yes! This is a great way to communicate your research to a wider audience, and we would love to help you get a discussion going. Be careful about over-reaching with preliminary data; delineate between what your paper demonstrated and things that have yet to be demonstrated.
  13. I discovered that ____ is going to cause ____! Can I publish this on the blog? As a science-based organization, we encourage you to first seek publication in a reputable peer-reviewed journal, and to validate your results with a 3rd party. Then, write an article with us!
  14. Can I call someone a liar, fraud, shill, or lackey in my post? To accuse someone of intentionally being deceptive is a heavy charge, one that we do not take lightly. There may be legal consequences for yourself and our organization if these claims are false. Per our Comment Policy, please avoid making such accusations. If someone is being intentionally deceptive, you should have very specific, verifiable evidence, which is difficult to obtain. You post will be rejected if you go too far.
  15. Can I write a post in a language other than English? Yes. We are interested in reaching a wider audience. You could write in another language, translate to English, and we could publish both versions.
  16. I don’t understand how to submit an article. Help? For information on how to write and submit your post, contact us. We aim to make the process as easy as possible for our authors.

Interviews

Many topics covered by the Biofortified Blog lend themselves well to interviews. An interview allows us to tell a story about a person, a plant, a product, all of the above, and more. If you are interested in being interviewed, or if you want to interview someone else, read the information below, then contact us.

Interviews at Biofortified typically have two posts. After the person being interviewed has agreed to the interview, the author writes a post to introduce the subject and call for questions from our readers. This first post often has a bio and photo of the person being interviewed, and a picture of the food, science, or product being discussed.

After about a week, the author goes through the questions and puts them in an order that makes sense. The author emails the questions to the person being interviewed, who has about a week to email back with their response. The person being interviewed can include links to other sources, graphics, videos, etc along with a text response.

Next, the author serves as an editor, making sure that the answers to the questions flow well, paraphrasing where appropriate, etc. The author also makes sure the images and other media are properly formatted. Last but not least, the author encourages the person being interviewed to participate in the comments on their interview post.

Here are some examples of previous interviews:

If you’re interested in submitting an interview, please contact us before initiating the interview. We can also contact your interviewee for you, which might make it more likely that you will get the interview.