An Ah-Ha Moment?
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
I don’t recall the first time I heard a public speaker share a fundamental truth, that made a whole bunch of stuff make better sense…but I think the results of this news blurb did something very much like that…
As someone who grew up on a farm and has been connected to production agriculture all my life, I understand how deeply the cultural mindset of farmers and ranchers run. “Producing food and fiber for a hungry and needy World” are not just words, intended as fluff, to make farming and ranching seem like a higher calling…those are fundamental beliefs, held deeply by individuals who are as “real” as any group of people walking the planet.
Determining their role is a responsibility that farmers and ranchers need to figure out for themselves, but doing so with the knowledge that the Center for Food Integrity survey offers should play a big part in approaches made to build the agriculture of the future. It also should be a consideration that warrants double-checking and further research.
I don’t recall the first time I heard a public speaker share a fundamental truth, that made a whole bunch of stuff make better sense…but I think the results of this news blurb did something very much like that…
"A new study indicates that a large segment of consumers do not believe U.S. farmers should be responsible for addressing global hunger. In its latest analysis of consumer trust in the food system, the Center for Food Integrity found that 40 percent of those surveyed strongly disagreed with the statement, “The United States has a responsibility to provide food for the rest of the world.”This insight (if completely accurate and relevant) is a game changer that will require a much different evaluation of what American agriculture is and how farmers and ranchers plan/determine their future approaches for doing business.
The study also shows that more than half the survey participants strongly agreed with the statement, “It is more important for the U.S. to teach developing nations how to feed themselves than to export food to them.” "
As someone who grew up on a farm and has been connected to production agriculture all my life, I understand how deeply the cultural mindset of farmers and ranchers run. “Producing food and fiber for a hungry and needy World” are not just words, intended as fluff, to make farming and ranching seem like a higher calling…those are fundamental beliefs, held deeply by individuals who are as “real” as any group of people walking the planet.
Determining their role is a responsibility that farmers and ranchers need to figure out for themselves, but doing so with the knowledge that the Center for Food Integrity survey offers should play a big part in approaches made to build the agriculture of the future. It also should be a consideration that warrants double-checking and further research.
Posted by Doug Busselman at 9/15/2011 10:56 AM 
Categories: Agriculture
Tags: Center for Food Integrity Farming and Ranching Food Production
Categories: Agriculture
Tags: Center for Food Integrity Farming and Ranching Food Production
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