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Your last paragraph really stands out to me. I think we, as farmers, often feel that the larger population do not care about what we actually do. At best it see

Your last paragraph really stands out to me. I think we, as farmers, often feel that the larger population do not care about what we actually do. At best it seems like they only take in the easily digestible "Food, Inc." kind of information that carries an agenda and misses a lot of the realities of the business. There is a vast knowledge barrier to overcome. I've been farming for about eight years now and still feel like a newbie, and feel even more clueless outside of my specific niche of grains. I sometimes can feel disconnected, and I'm right there in the middle of it. I imagine trying to approach the topic of where your food comes from is like a non-technical person trying to be part of where their Google search results come from. Even to technically-minded people there can be a certain level of 'voodoo' going on there. So, I guess the question in my mind from this is: How can we make the topic of food more approachable? It is not for lack of trying. There are many organizations and individual farmers who have made it their mission to get the information out there. Thoughts from your side of the table?

brd 12y ago
I think there's been a general trend towards people giving a shit about their food. You see it in the diet trends, you see it in the tone of food shows, you see it in the farm to table movement, so I'd say its already well on its way. I think one of the trickier parts is that people, in general, don't consume much in the way of real information, everyone is overloaded with headlines and pop culture. I'm amazed at how few people I know who actually read and the list shrinks considerably when its narrowed to non-fiction. I think food shows like Mind of a Chef are probably the best current medium for informing people. I could see podcasts working well. Whatever the approach, it unfortunately has to be easily digestible and relatively light-hearted. My angst is more that I want to be an active participant rather than just an informed consumer. I see the trend happening but I also know how easily the trend can be perverted (i.e. the whole foods effect of ruining otherwise amazing farming practices in order to reach scale) which reinforces my want to really push the envelope. Please reach out to me (email in profile) if you'd like to discuss this more in depth. I love speaking to people involved in the Ag scene and if I ever do jump in I'll need people I can vet ideas with.

brd 12y ago

I think there's been a general trend towards people giving a shit about their food. You see it in the diet trends, you see it in the tone of food shows, you see it in the farm to table movement, so I'd say its already well on its way. I think one of the trickier parts is that people, in general, don't consume much in the way of real information, everyone is overloaded with headlines and pop culture. I'm amazed at how few people I know who actually read and the list shrinks considerably when its narrowed to non-fiction. I think food shows like Mind of a Chef are probably the best current medium for informing people. I could see podcasts working well. Whatever the approach, it unfortunately has to be easily digestible and relatively light-hearted. My angst is more that I want to be an active participant rather than just an informed consumer. I see the trend happening but I also know how easily the trend can be perverted (i.e. the whole foods effect of ruining otherwise amazing farming practices in order to reach scale) which reinforces my want to really push the envelope. Please reach out to me (email in profile) if you'd like to discuss this more in depth. I love speaking to people involved in the Ag scene and if I ever do jump in I'll need people I can vet ideas with.