For too long, farmers and ranchers have been missing from the conversation about food and how it is grown and raised. The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) was founded in part to raise the profile of farmers and ranchers, and inspire them to lead the discussion by answering consumers’ toughest questions about agricultural practices.
As an organization, USFRA has conducted a variety of research since 2011 to better understand the consumer mindset when it comes to food and agriculture. The earliest USFRA messaging research demonstrated that consumers love farmers and ranchers, but not farming and ranching. This research also found that the go-to messages outlining how we raise our food to be “safe, affordable and abundant,” fell flat. Farmers and ranchers should address consumers’ new concerns – the impact the food they eat may have on their long-term health and concerns about environmental sustainability.
Yet, while more farmers and ranchers are engaging in real dialogues about food and agriculture, more must, and can, be done. Consumers are demanding more transparency, and are often given this information – not by the people who grow and raise their food – but by special interest groups and organizations that are using fear-mongering that plays to emotional heartstrings and concerns of the average consumer. This perpetuation of myths and misinformation includes attempts at pitting one type of agriculture practice against another, thus impacting the reputation of our industry and ultimately, making consumers’ ability to make informed food choices more difficult than ever before.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Beef Issues Quarterly
