Agricultural Transparency

Agricultural Transparency

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Recently, stories abound with the whole issue of transparency in the agricultural industry. In many ways it is outrageous. Whether you are producing wheat or potatoes or dairy or beef, it seems that you are under scrutiny. There is finger-pointing regarding GMO’s, hormones, antibiotics, herbicides and the list goes on. In the meantime, Americans are certainly the best fed people in the world and arguably the most healthy. But you still have the “non-believers” doing undercover videos and the like. In a recent discussion with an Ag analyst and reporter I learned that millennial’s are very particular about where their food is coming from, who grows it and transparency.

 

A couple of months ago I ran a story about a fourth-generation dairy farmer whose operation appeared on a 2013 episode of the reality television show “Undercover Boss. Basically a dairy opened up its operation and let the media come in and video anything it wanted. ” Kay Johnson Smith is President and CEO of the Animal Agriculture Alliance: "it really has strengthened their relationship as a supplier whenever they have questions about food issues or questions about animal care, they go to the farm first because having that dialogue within the companies is good.” So at a recent Stakeholders Summit Kansas City, the collective message was strong from suppliers and consumers alike. “Transparency is a crucial tool to building consumer trust.” Or in the words of the aforementioned ag analyst, the truth in agriculture will prevail and ultimately consumers will get that message.

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