by : lacylit10 Life Lessons

Mistakes.

The beauty of being human is that we have the ability to learn from our mistakes.  In fact, I think learning from our mistakes helps build our character.  We have a right to our opinions, and we have a right to change our minds.

Humans. are. imperfect.  We all make mistakes.

Why is that we are so judgmental and misunderstanding when someone makes a mistake?  We become critical and accusatory of others, completely ignoring the fact that we, ourselves, also make mistakes.

In today’s media, (social and mainstream), we only see/hear/read snippets of stories.  I can’t tell you all about food safety in a 30-minute video, let alone a 30 second video that may hold your attention. For you to come to a conclusion about the safety of your food, even in a series of multiple 30 second videos is unreasonable.  Yet, this is exactly how we perceive something as true and accurate, when majority of necessary context has gone unwritten or unspoken.  

With the editing tools and hacks that are so widely available, really, we can never be 100% sure that what we see/hear/read in media is factual.  Not only is this why media literacy has become so important, but it also validates our need to be more empathetic as a society.  Just because we can use media as mindless entertainment doesn’t mean we should always consume it as. mindless. media.

The same concept applies to situations IRL.  There are few things we should take at face value, especially in times of crisis.  

If we think about this in terms of COVID.  The CDC first recommended not using a mask, then later came back with the recommendation, and the state of California made masks mandatory in public spaces.  I wouldn’t actually call this a mistake by the CDC, so much as they changed their mind as more scientific information became available. 

I critically judged the CDC for this.  As the most reliable source for information on public health, I felt they should get it right before publicizing.  But at the same time, I defend our use of pesticides until new science becomes available, and we learn that certain pesticides may no longer be safe.  I cannot make the exception for my belief, because it is my belief.  

Most of us act with genuinely good intentions, and our comments or actions get taken out of context or misunderstood without seeing the big picture. Whether in media or real-life, there is always more to a story. 

by : lacylit10 Farming, Leadership

The Middle.

During my United Fresh Produce Industry Leadership Program (#class24 💕), we had an incredibly smart, talented, and beautiful lady guiding us.  Her name was Julie, and she was fabulous.  (Still is!)  She had a very polite and kind way of telling you some honest truths.  She was blunt and funny.  She said a lot of memorable things during our time, but the one that keeps coming to my mind in the midst of this coronavirus pandemic is this: “Get the hell out of middle management as fast as you can.” (Her words exactly.)

Middle managers experience compression by those they lead and those who lead them.  It’s a tough place to be.  As we try to operate as an essential business providing food for millions of Americans who are sheltered in their homes, the amount of pressure and responsibility being placed on our societal function and our team has increased tenfold.

When the CDC first released guidance on preventative measures, it wasn’t anything we weren’t already doing.  Food contact surfaces are routinely cleaned and sanitized, employees frequently wash and sanitize their hands; they are supposed to cough into their elbow, and they are not permitted to come to work sick (among many other good health and hygiene best practices).  But the existing measures we had in place were not enough to protect the health of our employees and the safety of our products, additional measures had/have to be taken.

While our senior leadership is in direct communication with other business executives, regulatory agencies, and trade associations, the role of our middle managers has become even more critical in our day-to-day operations.  The information and guidance we receive changes by the hour.  We are scrambling to keep up, inform our middle managers, train our employees, and enforce many new policies – on top of an already full workload, and entering our busiest season 🥬.

“Middle managers have a complicated relationship with power because power is activated and experienced in the context of interpersonal relationships. When interacting with our superiors, we naturally adopt a more deferential low-power behavioral style. When interacting with subordinates, on the other hand, we adopt a more assertive high-power behavioral style. Failure to conform to these role-based expectations can lead to social conflicts and confusion, so people are very good at learning how to play the part that is expected of them.”

Erin M. Ancich and Jacob B. Hirsh (HBR)

Research shows that there are cognitive, emotional, and behavioral effects to power.  As middle managers navigate between high power (leading) and low power (being led), it becomes psychologically challenging to engage and disengage from one power level to another, often many times throughout a typical workday.  These conflicting roles cause feelings of stress, anxiety, and tension leading to physical risk factors such as heart disease and hypertension. In a study from Columbia University and University of Toronto, they found that mid-level employees have higher rates of anxiety and depression, adding to the long list of why middle managers are so unhappy.

Humans are inefficient when it comes to switching tasks, and it creates a negative mood spillover as we move from one task to another or one power level to another.  Middle managers are victims and carriers of change as they receive strategy instructions from the top and have to implement those strategies with those who work beneath them.  We’ve had to institute at least 10 new policies over the past 2 weeks in response to this pandemic – a taxing feat for anyone, let alone already worn down middle managers.

Most people believe that their time in middle management will be short-lived, but reality is that these employees are classified as just “stuck in the middle of everything.” They have an undergraduate degree, but not a graduate degree. They are 5-10 years into their careers, and they’re just good performers (not excellent, but not terrible either). I would also venture to guess these are the people in the midst of raising a family as well. They are considered a “neglected but critical” group.

But the #1 reason middle managers are unhappy is that they are led ineffectively. Again, middle managers stuck in the middle: expected to be good leaders when they’re not being led well.

True colors come out in times of crisis.  As Brené Brown says, “We can be our worst selves or our very best, bravest selves.”  We have a lot at stake right now, not just in health and economics, but also in business and society.  Strong leadership is essential, always.  We need to choose to be our best, bravest selves. We need to lead as we wish to be led! So, let’s lean on each other, support each other, and lift each other up. ✨💖 

by : lacylit10 Farming

Semmelweis.

Have you ever heard of Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis? Neither have most people, so I included a link. No need to follow it though, cause I’m going to tell you about him anyway. 😊

Dr. Semmelweis was a doctor in the mid-1800s. The mortality rate in the maternity clinic where he practiced was 1 in 10.  At the time, conventional medicine called for separate treatment of each symptom.  So rather than treating a fever, a headache, and trouble breathing with one method, they would use three separate methods.  But still, nothing seemed to work.  The women who contracted the disease which came to be known as ‘childbed fever’ died within days.

Dr. Semmelweis became obsessed with discovering why the mortality rate in his clinic was so much higher than the other.  The only difference between the two clinics is that Dr. Semmelweis’ was attended by doctors, and the other was attended by midwives. So he standardized everything in the effort to minimize outstanding variables.

After Dr. Semmelweis took a 4-month leave to visit another hospital, upon his return, he discovered the death rate had dropped significantly in his absence.  At the time, Vienna General was a research hospital, so many of the doctors split their time between tending to patients and researching on cadavers.  Dr. Semmelweis himself spent far more time doing research on the cadavers than the other doctors, and he realized this was the only significant difference between himself and the doctors that worked for him in his absence.  From these observations, he developed a theory of childbed fever that became the precursor to germ theory.

Dr. Semmelweis concluded that ‘particles’ from the cadavers and other diseased patients were being transferred to healthy patients on the hands of the physicians.  He immediately instituted a policy of hand washing with a chlorine/lime solution before examining a patient.  The death rate fell to 1 in 100.

Upon his discovery, Dr. Semmelweis told the rest of the medical community about his science. But his hypothesis that cleanliness is what mattered most was considered extreme, and he was ridiculed by the medical community. He was so outraged by the indifference to his discovery that he sent angry letters to prominent European doctors calling them irresponsible murderers.

Here’s the thing though:

The doctors were doing the best of what they knew with the science they had at the time.  They weren’t acting with malicious intent. And Dr. Semmelweis’ science wasn’t proven to the extent that these doctors had been educated and trained.

So, why am I telling you this story?

Because, surprisingly, it has a lot to do with farming leafy greens. 🥬

Leafy greens farmers are highly regulated under both FSMA (the Food Safety Modernization Act) and the CA/AZ LGMAs (Leafy Greens Marketing Agreements). Additionally, most farms are GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) certified. All of these regulatory compliance agencies base their standards on the best science available, at this time.

Leafy greens farmers aren’t acting with malicious intent. They are not adulterating your food. Most are just following guidance laid out by science and academic experts. But there are some farmers who go above and beyond the regulation. They take regulation comprised by science and academia and cater it to their specific farms. They are the Dr. Semmelweis’ of farming.

And who is to say who is wrong? Dr. Semmelweis and the doctors of the medical community were all doing what they believed was best based on their education, their beliefs, their experience, and all sorts of other things. Just as farmers today are all doing what they believe is best based on their education, their beliefs, their experience, and all sorts of other things, including the best available science at this time.

Dr. Semmelweis made his discovery in 1847, but it wasn’t until the 1980s when (coincidentally) a string of foodborne outbreaks and healthcare-associated infections led the U.S. CDC to identify handwashing as an important step to stop the spread of infection.  

Leafy greens production in California (especially) is probably the most highly regulated crop in the world. We’ve been actively improving our regulation to make leafy greens safer since 2006. Additionally, the CDC didn’t start using whole genome sequencing for foodborne pathogen detection until 2013. So before you make assumptions that industry is not responding to these outbreaks fast enough, I urge you to consider that it took over 100 years for Dr. Semmelweis’ handwashing theory to make it into mainstream medicine.

Lack of science or insufficient regulation is not an excuse for these outbreaks. I’m just simply trying to point out that scientific discoveries take time and so does improving regulation.

But like Dr. Semmelweis trying to convince the medical community, know that there are many farmers out there doing all that they can to prevent contamination from happening. They are going above and beyond the regulation. They are catering the best available science to their specific farms. And they are trying to get the rest of the industry on board.