5 Reasons Why Farmers Should Support Wendy's

Image courtesy: iSpot.Tv

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.”

Wendy’s Values Beef Producers and What They Do – “We truly believe we have one of the best supply chains in the country that produces 100% fresh beef for Wendy’s.” How often do you hear a restaurant lauding its suppliers?  Dennis Hecker, senior VP of quality assurance added, “Quality starts with the people we have partnered with to help us.” I think we can all agree that it’s great to be appreciated!

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 1: this Twitter “beef” between Wendy’s and Burger King.

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 ~