WOODBURY — Agriculture is what keeps society afloat, yet the majority of the population has no clue where their food comes from or how it’s made. This lack of knowledge leads to a lack of appreciation for the work farmers put in every day. Many students at Nonnewaug are part of agriculture education and have a greater understanding than most adults of where food comes from.
“Everyone should understand how agriculture impacts their daily lives and the importance of being responsible consumers,” said Kathleen Gorman, agriculture production teacher. “This includes knowing where their food comes from, how it is produced, and the ethical and environmental implications of their choices.”
Many people don’t understand where their food comes from or how agriculture truly impacts their life. I’m not saying everyone needs to go into an agriculture-related field, but understanding what work goes into everyday consumption should be common knowledge.
According to the American Farm Bureau, “This reality was reinforced by our own recent survey at American Farm Bureau, which found that 88% of Americans trust farmers.” This survey may be encouraging but is trusting blindly really a good thing? Do most people who trust farmers understand what is happening on farms?
Another common misconception is the difference between organic and natural people who believe that they are exchangeable. Natural can be thrown on anything it isn’t a USDA certification like organic is. The public should understand what they are purchasing when buying food instead of falling for schemes that make food seem better than it is.
Plus, there’s another issue.
“The United States predicts the [world] population will increase to 10.4 billion by 2100,” according to Crop Care.
If the population is increasing, an education in agriculture is absolutely necessary. This doesn’t mean that everyone needs to be farming but understanding how to sustain themselves. Even as a current example, people who have chickens and are able to produce their own eggs and in turn save money due to the avian flu crisis. The likelihood of more diseases impacting production animals is very high so being able to be independent in supplying food could become essential.
Every student should be given the chance to have a basic understanding about where their food is coming from.
This is the opinion of Emma Bigman, a senior reporter for the Chief Advocate and an ag student at Nonnewaug.
