More often than not, the only time we
hear from fast-food restaurants is when they are making some groundbreaking
announcement about their food safety procedures or their supply chain. In
general, neither are a welcome message for consumers or producers alike.
However Wendy’s, the pro-ginger burger
chain, is different than Subway, Panera and Chipotle – all of which have made
headline-generating statements about their food supply. Wendy’s actually
supports agriculture and wants to work together with farmers and ranchers to
market delicious, safe and healthy food.
5
reasons why farmers and ranchers should support Wendy’s:
Wendy’s wants to Work
WITH Beef Producers – not take away
important technologies like antibiotics. In a press conference at Cattle Industry
Convention, [reported on by BEEF Magazine], Wendy’s spokesperson Liliana
Esposito said the chain wants to collaborate with producers to refine, reduce
and replace antibiotics but they respect that when an animal is sick, it NEEDS
treatment. Esposito added, “The best beef comes from healthy well-cared for
animals. A sick animal needs to be treated and you won’t hear differently from
us.”
Their Marketing Doesn’t Suck (cough, Chipotle) – Liliana Esposito said during the press conference in San
Diego that Wendy’s will not make any headline-generating statements about
antibiotics. This comes as a relief because it seems these days that
restaurants are relying on ground-breaking announcements, rather than quality,
to sell food. Removing animals that have been treated for sickness from the
supply chain is not a food safety panacea; neither is removing GMOs from a
supply chain. Safe, healthy food comes from using quality, fresh ingredients
and state-of-the-art food safety procedures and technologies.
HAVE
YOU EVER HAD A BACONATOR?!
– It’s a straight-up, life-changing, heavenly creation of multiple protein
sources. I didn’t have one until about eight months ago and I was immediately
sorry for not eating one sooner. The sandwich represents dairy, beef and pork
producers - a triple-whammy! Did I mention it was freaking delicious? I think
it may be on the menu this weekend during my roadtrip.
Consumers
Can Still Get a Good Deal
– Unlike other restaurants which have altered their dollar menu to basically
only contain children’s food, Wendy’s "Right Price, Right
Size" menu boasts items such as a small fry, jr. cheeseburger,
chicken nuggets, crispy chicken sandwich and small drink – all for under $1. If
you’re looking for something quick and tasty on the go, for not much moolah,
you can definitely find a few things at Wendy’s! When I was a young college
kiddo, Wendy's was a cheap lunch I could eat on the go between nursery
hours (that's a plant nursery, not a kid nursery), rodeo practice and classes.
BONUS REASON – Wendy’s is on fire with their social media, which
is a fact I erroneously left out in the earlier draft of this post. Suffice it
to say, they’ve got some smart whips on their social management team.
Example 2: My friend Kelly Rivard, who blogs at Country Nights, City Lights, sent them a
letter about the Baconator and the need for a smaller Baconator and they
actually replied back with their own uniquely awesome response.
This, my friends, is how you do social. Wendy's FTW!
I know there are other chains out there that are very supportive of farmers and ranchers such as Domino's and Culver's. What others are there? As agriculture stakeholders and producers, we should be giving all of our attention to these establishments which are committed to working with, not against, producers.
Until
next time,~
Buzzard ~
Labels: antibiotics, beef, burgers, chipotle, family farmers, farmers, marketing, ranchers, Wendy's
