Speaking Up for Ag

Animal Agriculture: Are We At The Tipping Point?

Animal agriculture may be at the tipping point that could send it from social license to social control, Charlie Arnot, president of CMA Consulting, LLC, a Kansas City, Mo.-based consulting firm that manages the Center for Food Integrity, told attendees of the 41st Annual Conference of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners last week.

Producing food for the vast majority not involved in food production is a noble pursuit, he says. But if we do not retain and broaden consumer trust in what we do, we will lose that social license and will be faced with increasing regulation and scrutiny, he cautions. Read More

It may seem like you hear over and over again from me how important it is to talk to consumers and educate them about what we do in agriculture. But I only keep repeating myself because it is essential that everyone do it. Our ag organizations can only do so much, the media is going to do very little if anything to promote us, and the anti-ag groups are obviously not on our side. So, that leaves us as producers to take the bull by the horns and get out there.