Tired of Playing Defense

Farming, the livelihood so many of us take great pride in, has been under attack for years. As a whole, agricultural people are passionate and quick to come to the defense of our industry and way of life. This I know because I have seen it demonstrated countless times over the last few years.

I, like many of you, have a passion for farming and take great pride in the work my family does and the food we produce. I have been “fighting the good fight” alongside many of you through all of the recent attacks on our industry… but you know what? I’m tired. I’m tired of trying to battle all of the articles and advertisements that use fear to accomplish their goals. People simply aren’t interested in hearing the boring facts about food that prove it’s safe; it’s far more interesting and easy to agree with the horrifying stories & exaggerated advertisements that demonstrate the impending doom of man-kind if we don’t all eat organic veggies and grind our own fresh coffee beans that were grown in the backyard.

With the launch of Chipotle’s most recent ad campaign featuring crooked farmers & exploding cows, I have no words. I am just hoping that people have enough common sense to see that ad campaign for what it really is: a completely unrealistic exaggeration with the goal of providing you with cheap entertainment & gaining brand recognition. At some point, we just have to trust that the urban consumers this company is targeting have enough brain power to see through their tactics.

I love that people have become so interested in understanding where their food comes from and how it is produced. What I am hoping, is that those people go straight to the source for their information. And as farmers, I hope we aren’t too jaded to welcome them onto our farms for a conversation.  

SPREAD THE WORD: Chipotle’s goal is not to provide you with the most unbiased, truthful information about food production. Their goal is to SELL YOU BURRITOS. It’s as simple as that. Don’t let them be the source of information from which you form your opinions.

Over & out.