So many of the problems facing farmers today come from a lack of understanding among the public about where their food comes from and what it takes to produce it.
Speaking with growers at December’s Washington State Tree Fruit Association’s annual meeting, Washington Post Columnist Megan McCardle said it’s not easy, but the public needs to know.
“It’s really, really complicated. Everything is complicated. And to know about it instead of the thing, you know, the Little House on the Prairie vision in your head, but to know what it takes now, the capital, the technological know-how that it takes, the scientific knowledge it takes now to grow fruit, or anything. It’s remarkable, and I wish more people were telling those stories.”
And with social media, McCardle says you’ve got a platform.
“The thing I said to the growers is like, show more of what you do. Show America what you’re doing. Show them what it looks like. Show what it takes to get the food that they put on their table, because they don’t know.”
So, McCardle says to share the good word.
“It’s not even their fault. Like, this country is so big and so amazing and full of so many amazing things. You can only see a teeny, tiny little piece of it, but social media can be a window for other people who want to understand. They want the best for you. You want the best for them. You want your customers to be eating delicious apples and thrilled, and they’re biting into a cherry, and they’re thinking about how good it is. Everyone wants that for each other, but that’s not what we put out there. What we put out there is our worst instead of our best.”