There's no doubt that American consumers are highly uneducated. They take advice about what they should eat from a Food Babe that doesn't even have a Food Science degree and a wizardly Doctor Oz who is only famous because Oprah said so. With one hand, they see the Humane Society of the US saving puppies and kittens on TV, and never realize that with the other hand, HSUS is causing a lot of disruption and damage to the livestock industry. Why do they listen to these people then?! Aren't we, farmers and ranchers, the real experts on this food subject? I mean don't we see it, work with it, live for it every single day? Absolutely. There's no doubt that we know our stuff. So why don't people listen to us? It's simple: they don't understand us.
The average American is 3 generations removed from the farm. Heck, not only do these people not live on farms, they never see them. All they know is what they see on TV, on the Internet, or from what they're told. Because of this, they are extremely gullible. How would they know what's the right info or not? They don't see it happening everyday or really even ever. Unfortunately, there are people out there who take advantage of this. They play off emotions and niaveness for their own personal/political agendas. How are the liars, not the experts, winning these people over? Because they know how to talk to them.
In recent years, the Ag industry has made HUGE efforts at becoming better communicators with consumers. We open up our barn doors, we share our stories, we try to do everything we can to educate the public. Unfortunately, we aren't always "dumbing it down" enough. We have to watch our language (I'm not saying cursing wise, even though on farms their tends to be a lot of that going on). I'm referring to our lingo. As surprising/sad as it may be, many people don't know what the difference between a cow and a steer is. They don't know that most of their beef doesn't come from Holsteins. Heck, they don't even know what a Holstein is. You have to literally break down that a black and white bovine is called a Holstein and is used primarily to produce milk, and no the boy Holsteins can't be milked. There are other breeds of CATTLE that are used for beef production, and they come in many different colors. As a farm kid I think it's absurd to have to "dumb it down" so much for these people. I know the difference between an Angus steer and a Holstein cow. But then I take an animal science 101 class and on the first day someone asks what a heifer is, and then I realize how big of a gap we got going on in America.
These people aren't dumb. They just aren't farm smart. It'd be like me going to the mechanic. I don't know a thing about cars. My mechanic could tell me a whole bunch of lies about what's wrong with my car and I would probably believe him. If he started using mechanic jargon, I'd get lost and not know what to do. When I go to the auto shop I am a naive buyer. When millions of people go to the grocery store they are niave consumers. When we use farm lingo they get confused and lost too. They then listen to those who can relate to their level, which doesn't always lead to the truth. They trust them because they can understand them. It may not always be logical, but it's a language they can process.
Is the average American consumer a lost cause? Absolutely not. The Ag industry can still win them over and teach them. We just have to really REALLY simplify our language. It can be annoying and hard at times, but it's the only way some of these people are going to understand what we are trying to say. We also need to show our human side more. We are not "corporate factory farms". We are people. People who focus on providing for our families and our livelihoods. People who go to great lengths to provide safe and wholesome food to put on our tables. Responsibility, care, and ethical are the principles we all live by.!Consumers need to see and realize this. When they can relate to us and understand us, then they will trust us.
The average American is 3 generations removed from the farm. Heck, not only do these people not live on farms, they never see them. All they know is what they see on TV, on the Internet, or from what they're told. Because of this, they are extremely gullible. How would they know what's the right info or not? They don't see it happening everyday or really even ever. Unfortunately, there are people out there who take advantage of this. They play off emotions and niaveness for their own personal/political agendas. How are the liars, not the experts, winning these people over? Because they know how to talk to them.
In recent years, the Ag industry has made HUGE efforts at becoming better communicators with consumers. We open up our barn doors, we share our stories, we try to do everything we can to educate the public. Unfortunately, we aren't always "dumbing it down" enough. We have to watch our language (I'm not saying cursing wise, even though on farms their tends to be a lot of that going on). I'm referring to our lingo. As surprising/sad as it may be, many people don't know what the difference between a cow and a steer is. They don't know that most of their beef doesn't come from Holsteins. Heck, they don't even know what a Holstein is. You have to literally break down that a black and white bovine is called a Holstein and is used primarily to produce milk, and no the boy Holsteins can't be milked. There are other breeds of CATTLE that are used for beef production, and they come in many different colors. As a farm kid I think it's absurd to have to "dumb it down" so much for these people. I know the difference between an Angus steer and a Holstein cow. But then I take an animal science 101 class and on the first day someone asks what a heifer is, and then I realize how big of a gap we got going on in America.
These people aren't dumb. They just aren't farm smart. It'd be like me going to the mechanic. I don't know a thing about cars. My mechanic could tell me a whole bunch of lies about what's wrong with my car and I would probably believe him. If he started using mechanic jargon, I'd get lost and not know what to do. When I go to the auto shop I am a naive buyer. When millions of people go to the grocery store they are niave consumers. When we use farm lingo they get confused and lost too. They then listen to those who can relate to their level, which doesn't always lead to the truth. They trust them because they can understand them. It may not always be logical, but it's a language they can process.
Is the average American consumer a lost cause? Absolutely not. The Ag industry can still win them over and teach them. We just have to really REALLY simplify our language. It can be annoying and hard at times, but it's the only way some of these people are going to understand what we are trying to say. We also need to show our human side more. We are not "corporate factory farms". We are people. People who focus on providing for our families and our livelihoods. People who go to great lengths to provide safe and wholesome food to put on our tables. Responsibility, care, and ethical are the principles we all live by.!Consumers need to see and realize this. When they can relate to us and understand us, then they will trust us.