Speak loud and clear... our opponents do!

Every producer has a position. You might be opposed to BST use; you might buy BST in bulk. Perhaps you have an organic operation. Maybe you even have a cloned cow or calf on your farm. All of these issues are at the heart of today’s consumer. If you’re walking down the grocery aisle with no prior knowledge of dairy or production practices, would you buy the gallon of milk marked ‘BST-free,’ or would you buy the package without the claim? Consumers make decisions like this every day whether they’re informed or not.

Whose voice enters a consumer’s head when they look at a product?

Surely you’ve seen or heard about the commercials, movies, and other campaigns attacking the way the dairy industry and other agricultural industries operate. Consumers see and hear these negative campaigns, too, and it directly impacts the decisions they make in the store. We, as food producers, must be a voice to be reckoned with when it comes to broadcasting these issues.

Spiral science is a term for the uninformed public hearing and seeing only one side of an issue (usually very vocal and extreme), thinking that everyone else is on that side since it’s the only voice being heard, and changing their view to that of the extreme. The recently blogged-about movie, Food Inc., is an example. The movie will debut, and consumers will watch as claims are made and the agricultural industry and its system will be questioned, but who will talk back? Who will speak truth and reason on behalf of our industry? Make your voice heard— it makes a difference.

Ag advocates start to sound off on Food, Inc.

In just two days, the highly publicized, praised, and criticized movie Food, Inc., will premier in select cities across America. The movie’s website claims that you will never look at dinner the same way again. The website also claims the movie will “lift the veil on our nation's food industry.” But, for most farmers, they won’t need a movie to show them how food is produced. The dairy industry has become a part of the image of the movie, as a Holstein cow with a bar code digitally imposed on her side is the front image on the movie’s website and much of its promotional materials.

From reading the website, the filmmakers suggest adopting a food system in which food is produced and sold locally — using practices like organic. They also call for increased legislation on food safety. Unfortunately, the film’s site also lists an alliance with HSUS, a known opponent to animal agriculture. Several websites (like this one, and this blog) have started to separate the facts from the myths in the Food, Inc., film. Do you think it will have an impact on what consumers demand in the dairy case? Or will producing cheap food, highly efficiently, forever be a trademark of American agriculture?

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