Only Organic Enlists Kids To Perform ‘New MacDonald Had A Farm’ For Organic Food Awareness Effort

In an effort to bring attention to the increase in genetically modified foods grown on farms and the pesticides used to keep them growing, cause group Only Organic, which represents organic food makers and retailers as well as ordinary citizens, launched an awareness campaign based on a mashup of the classic “Old MacDonald Had A Farm” song. Tennessee-based agency Humanaut worked with the group on the effort.

The campaign kicked off with a video in which a group of kids begin performing the song only to then change it up and sing about “a hormone here, a hormone there.” Cue shots of faux, freaked-out parents in the audience. The song goes on to encompass crop spraying, tightly caged chickens and other forms of “bad” farming.

The scene then goes dark, and a lone girl begins singing “New MacDonald Had A Farm.” She’s then joined by other kids who sing about freely roaming animals in open space pastures, chemical-free crops, uncaged chickens and no GMOs. Again, cue shots of faux, delighted parents in the audience.

The video directs viewers to a website on which people can share the video,  join the New MacDonald Movement. learn more about Only Organic’s efforts and view an infographic comparing old farming practices with new.

Gary Hirshberg, Chairman of Stonyfield Farm, an Only Organic supporter, said:[blockquote]“In a playful way, our new video turns the spotlight on the true costs of conventional farming and the harm it does to environmental health. We hope people find ‘New MacDonald’ as engaging and shareable as our previous content and that it furthers the conversation around why going organic is beneficial to our environment. A world with more organic food and farming is the future we should choose for ourselves and our children.”[/blockquote]

Here’s a behind the scenes look at the video’s creation:

Only Organic is promoting the effort on its Twitter and Facebook pages:

See why organic will be the future of farming in this #video. http://t.co/fyjlImgluk #NewMacDonald #OnlyOrganic RT!

— Only Organic (@onlyorganic) February 24, 2015

All of the social media activity surrounding the account has been tagged with the #NewMacDonald hashtag.

Previously, Only Organic released a video which poked fun at food manufacturers that use the term “natural” in their marketing. That has video amassed 1.1 million views since its launch early last year.