I was talking to a friend awhile back about educating consumers on where their food comes from. Based on what we see online, it seems that consumers have an interest in learning about it. They are vocal about non-GMO, organic, antibiotic-free, free-range, fresh, and local produce. They get up-in-arms any time there is a recall or outbreak. They like farmer’s markets where they can see and meet the farmer. They like U-Pick stands where they can set foot on the farms themselves. It seems there is opportunity to bridge the gap between producers and consumers.
But then my friend asked, “But do they really care?”
This question has been swirling around in my brain for almost a year. I can’t shake it, because I think his implication is right. I think people want to want to learn about where their food comes from, but they don’t want to put in the work to do it. They seek out easy online resources, listen to non-credible people, and jump to their own misinformed conclusions. They find sources that align with their preconceived bias, closing them in an echo chamber of inaccuracy.
I experience this from my own friends and social network who ask me questions about what I do. Let’s take the ever popular organic argument as an example:
I tell them organic uses pesticides and chemicals that are of naturally-derived materials. Their food is fertilized with chicken shit and ground up fish turned into liquid. They look at me in disgust, then continue to swear that organic is healthier, even though there is no scientific evidence to prove organic produce holds more nutritional value than conventional produce. They continue to believe the carefully curated marketing campaigns of companies who are making loads of money off their naivety. They believe all of this over the knowledge and experience of someone they know and trust who manages crop inputs and oversees the safe production of their food.
Theoretically, people want to know where their food comes from, but they don’t want to know the nitty-gritty.
They don’t want to know that sometimes you have to spray organic twice as much, because the natural chemicals don’t work as well at controlling pests and diseases. They don’t want to know about the multitude of competing regulations that we are navigating between. They don’t want to understand nitrogen uptake and pH levels. They don’t want to learn about crop rotations and organic matter. They don’t want to hear that markets can drive decisions, because they simply see themselves as the end-user.
A.G. Kawamura is a third generation farmer and former secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. He wrote an op-ed for Agri-Pulse around this time last year. In it, he says what has become one of my favorite quotes on agriculture in recent times:
Most assuredly we will remember why agriculture is important the day we return to a world of scarcity.
We are so fortunate to live in a country of abundance! We can be picky, because we have so. many. choices. Those who are hungry and are given a meal never question if the produce is organic. They are happy to have food in their stomachs.
For every ten people that say they have an interest in learning about where their food comes from, I bet there’s probably only two who legitimately care. So to my friend, here’s what I say: Those two are two more than we had before.
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