Why is Big Ag Bad?

As the great-grandchild of European immigrants, I am extremely proud of my ancestors’ ambitions to start a new life in America, the land of opportunity. My grandpa and grandma started their small family restaurant in Kansas City in the 1960s and with hard work eventually expanded to a larger venue. Before long they had two restaurants, the original in Kansas City and a new shop in Lake Ozark, Mo., and Ken Baker’s Restaurant became a hotspot for families and some of Kansas City’s best fried chicken.

It seems as if bigger is better, right? My grandparents, along with many other business owners, are heralded for managing their stores successfully, growing and changing with the times, and expanding their enterprise. However, it appears that farm and ranch families are not held to the same standards as many other industries and embracing technology, sustaining a livelihood and improving efficiency are only selectively celebrated. "Big Ag", the term anti-efficiency activists like to use, is bad.

For example, does society condemn Coca-Cola for being big? Or is Whole Foods publicly denigrated for commandeering the organic market? Michelin, Goodyear and Firestone, for their huge tire empires, are never reprimanded for their firm grasp on the tire industry. Why is it ok to be profitable, self-sufficient and efficient in nearly every other industry in the world but not food?

Bo Stone, one of the U.S.F.R.A. Faces of Farming of Ranching, recently shared his thoughts on this paradox on CNN’s Eatocracy blog and on World Food Day, October 24, the Food Dialogues panel focused on answering that very question. Panelists included the executive director of the Center for Science in Public Interest, a Bloomberg news reporter, food pundits and farmers.

In agriculture, the viewpoints are varied and information is commonly misconstrued but the efforts of MBA grads are often not unnoticed. I encourage all of those involved in agriculture to read Bo’s piece, watch the Food Dialogues video and critically evaluate how you can convey that "Big Ag" isn’t bad.

 

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~

 

Disclaimer: I wrote this for the Masters of Beef Advocacy newsletter that went out earlier this week but I liked it so much I had to share it here too. It's applicable to more than just MBA grads!

Tell Your Tale

The main idea of the Master's of Beef Advocacy Commencement that was conducted last Thursday was Tell Your Tale/Share Your Story etc.  Daren Williams, Exec VP of Communications at NCBA, was on hand to lead over 25 new MBA grads in a training session that encompassed food safety, the healthy aspects of beef, how to address consumers about eating beef and how to advocate for agriculture and beef through social media.

I won't share everything Daren taught us - you'll need to take the MBA courses and go through a commencement yourself for all of it! But, I will list some main bullet points that we can all apply in our daily agvocacy practices.

- Be cordial not confrontational -- nonmeat eaters will not listen to what you have to say if you come across as accusatory or uppity. Be open to conversation and make an effort to be on the same level
- Stand up for your industry -- comment on news articles and press releases if they have a high readership and you can soundly refute their opinion.  Open a facebook, twitter or blog.  Again, be polite and DON'T respond to a name caller.
- Tell the truth - i.e. the Hallmark incident.  Admit that it was wrong and that it's horrible for animals to be treated that way and express your disagreement with that behavior.  Then inform the person how 99% of the animal population is treated - humanely, safely and with a healthy food product as the end goal
- Speak towards the undecided majority - obviously, we're not going to convert Wayne Pacelle and the likes to meat eating or change their opinion of our industry. What we can do is speak to the people who are undecided; the people who want to eat meat but need somebody to answer their questions.  Be there to answer those questions with succinct, sound information.
- Get actively engaged - it's very easy to take 10 minutes a day and advocate for the agriculture industry.

SHARE YOUR STORY - share how you get up every morning at 5 am to check cattle, even on Christmas.  Explain how cattle are great for the environment because they graze on unusable land and help conserve the topsoil.  Whatever your agriculture experiences are, share them.



The 8 hour session was jam packed full of laughs, tips, information and insight into MBA'ers personal experiences.  Those personal experiences are what allow the consumer to connect to the producer and agvocacy crowd - in short, make a connection.  Again, if you have any questions about the MBA program, feel free to ask me or send an email to mba@beef.org.

Until next time,
~Buzzard~

Because I said so....

Remember when you asked your parents why you had to go to bed so early? Or why you had to eat your vegetables? Or why you couldn't have a drumset?  Didn't you hate that answer 'because I said so'?  That answer happened a lot at my house around animals too - why do I have to fasten the front cinch first? Why do the dogs have to stay outside at night?  Why can't I ride my pig around the barn with my pony saddle?  To these questions (and countless more) my father's reply was always "Because I said so."

Today, farmers are still being questioned - why should I eat meat and eggs?  Why are sows housed in gestation crates?  Why are cattle fed grain instead of raised on grass full time?  The correct answer to these questions is not "Because I, the producer, say so."  With consumer awareness on the rise, producers now must have qualitative answers for these difficult questions. It's not enough to say "meat is good for you", you must tell the consumer WHY it is good to eat beef, pork, chicken etc.  Producers need to know how to effectively communicate to consumers the advantages of a protein rich diet and also why certain production practices are in place.  That's where the Master's of Beef Advocacy comes in.

The Master's of Beef Advocacy (MBA) program was set up by the Beef Checkoff to educate producers and advocates on how to spread what I like to call the "good word of beef" to consumers.  With the large gap between consumers and producers, it's vital that producers be able to stand up for their yields and their way of life.  The MBA is two parts: first, participants complete 6 online modules at their own pace (each one takes about 30 minutes). There is a short quiz at the end of each module and also a homework assignment.  The second part, a commencement, takes place in the form of an all day advocacy training event.  Participants who have completed the online portion of the MBA gather with Daren Williams, NCBA Executive Director of Communications and MBA Dean of Students, who leads them through workshops, interactive activities and social media training.  The skills learned in the commencement workshop are great for not only beef advocacy but agriculture advocacy in general. I plan to participate in the next MBA commencement which is taking place TOMORROW April 8th right here in Manhattan on KSU campus.  The next class of MBA'ers is sure to make the beef industry proud.  Look for my post later on how the commencement went.

If you'd like more information on the MBA, feel free to contact me or mba@beef.org. 

Until next time,
~Buzzard~