The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance is beginning its communications outreach campaign. Research has been underway to evaluate the best way to have this dialogue with consumers. National Pork Board CEO Chris Novak says the way we talk to consumers must change:
“As an example, one of the things that I love to talk about, one of the things that I’ve grown up with, as someone who’s worked in agriculture all my life, is that today’s modern farming practices helps us produce safe, affordable food, and what that means to a family of five, like mine, walking into the grocery and what we pay each week in grocery bills, and to the extent that our efficiency in producing food here in this country has helped keep grocery bills low. And I know that consumers may not necessarily think about on a regular basis, but it certainly is something that the farmers who are a part of my organization have given to American consumers. As we’ve done research with consumers, though, safe, abundant and affordable aren’t as important as we think they are or that we think that they should be from an agricultural perspective.”
The Pork Checkoff, which is a part of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, reports families are concerned about healthy food:
“They assume a level of safety, they have concerns and questions about quality and to the extent that healthy food for all is a piece of the message that the Farmer and Rancher Alliance is developing. That’s a change, it’s a shift from the idea that we’re going to provide safe, abundant and affordable food, towards a recognition that consumers want to know more about the healthfulness and the quality of the food that we’re producing today.”
Novak says the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance communications campaign will reach industry stakeholders as a way to reach consumers:
"There are a lot of influencers, whether that would be the management and leadership of a nation-wide grocery chain or nation-wide restaurant chain. Whether those are people who are significant and influential in their communities, and who are speaking out on food issues. We know that we need to begin the conversation with those people, to the extent that there are a lot of myths about American agriculture. We’ve made tremendous strides with respect to environmental quality and food safety, and yet, you still can go on the Internet today, listen to news reports today that will mischaracterize the gains that we’ve made. And our food is safer, it’s produced with less energy, it’s produced in a more environmentally friendly manner, and yet that is not well understood by a number of these people who are influential with the American public. And so, we will be talking to these influencers, but at the same time there is a part of this movement that is designed to engage consumers directly.”
Read Part I: USFRA Invites Farmers and Ranchers to Lead the Conversation
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