In case you missed it, the Beef Checkoff recently released a
handy pocket guide to having the beef conversation with non-beef producing and
or non/agricultural producing consumers. You can download a copy here or the .pdf version directly.
If you don’t have access to a computer contact the Beef
Board at 303-220-9890.
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| Kimball, Nebraska residents line up for the annual Farmers’ Day hamburger feed last September. The hamburgers came from locally sourced beef. Celebrations such as Farmers’ Day provide producers an opportunity to share a “beef conversation” with consumers. Click the picture for a larger image. |
The guide is a tool to help beef producers have a positive
and informational food animal conversation with consumers. Producers should
first study the guide and become familiar with the suggestions for having a
positive conversation. These are skills that few farmers and ranchers practice
routinely. The guide can be printed in a pocket-sized format, allowing
producers to keep one close at hand in most situations, should they choose to
do so. You never know when the beef conversation opportunity might pop up.
I had the opportunity the other day when I picked up my
niece and her fiancé at the Denver airport. The couple are from California and
just beginning their post-college careers in teaching and law.
They’re both bright kids. Within 10 minutes of the
two-and-a-half hour car ride home, each was probing my knowledge of food in
general and beef in particular. They began the conversation, which wasn’t
covered in the guide, but which might be rather less than unusual these days
when so much food information is so easily available.
It was a good conversation and I was able to address a few
of their slightly skewed misconceptions
about beef in general and food animal production specifically. As I explained
taurine and other nutritionally essential free amino acids (see last week’s
column), I realized that my niece was checking my facts via her smart phone.
That’s something to keep in mind. Technology-savvy consumers can fact check you
nearly instantly these days! The flow of the conversation didn’t allow me to
use the checkoff guide as a checklist, but having studied the guide helped me
keep up my end of an effective conversation. Like any tool, the guide only
works if you use it and use it correctly. The guide makes excellent points and
covers topics that are important to consumers.
The first point the guide makes is to simply have a
conversation. Don’t give a lecture. Few of us enjoy being lectured to, whether
we’re producers or consumers. Listen to the questions, acknowledging that you
understand the consumer’s question or concern. Repeating the question back is
often a good way to demonstrate your understanding.
Some of the questions asked and concerns raised may be based
on a faulty understanding of what we do an how we do it. To your mind, those
questions may sound accusatory. Occasionally they will be bluntly accusatory.
Don’t let this put you on the defensive. Once you shift from having a
conversation to defending a position, you have entered the ugly and
unprofitable realm of argument. You both lose, and you’ve let down the side.
The guide advises producers to use the mnemonic E.A.S.E. Engage.
Acknowledge. Share. Earn Trust.
ENGAGE consumers in everyday situations. At the market, at a
town barbeque, at a farmers’ market, and on the internet through social media
and the comments section of ag-related on-line news stories and opinion pieces.
ACKNOWLEDGE consumer questions and concerns. Remember that
for many – perhaps even most – consumers, beef production is a great unknown.
Their lack of knowledge usually comes from lack of experience. You are quite
probably as ignorant of the details and
nuances of their job as they are of yours.
Consumers questions and comments are just that – questions
and comments. Most are not meant to criticize you personally. But behind every
question and critique lie real concerns about food quality, safety, and humane
treatment of livestock. Such concerns are completely appropriate. We all have
to eat to survive, and we all eat the same food. Consumers have seen and read
some awful things about food and food production. Unfortunately, some of the
bad things have been true. Be willing to forthrightly admit that some of those
bad things have happened. Be prepared to explain how the industry is addressing
those things and constantly striving to improve.
Not all of the information consumers have seen and read is
true, however. Be prepared to point out the misconceptions and to explain why
they are wrong. Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB or more popularly “pink slime”)
is a good example. If you understand what LFTB is and how it’s processed, you
can speak with confidence on the subject. But be careful. If you don’t know, or
are only “pretty sure” you know, the real story on LFTB your best answer might
be, “I don’t know. Can I check up on that and get back to you?” Don’t forget
that today’s consumer can quickly check your facts.
“I don’t know, but I’ll find out and get back to you” is
probably the best answer to use when you don’t completely understand any
question. When it comes to processing beef, most of us are nearly as much in
the dark as the consumer. How many of us have visited slaughterhouses and
watched the process?
The guide says to remember the three C’s: We CARE about the
same issues you do (we all eat the same food); We’re CAPABLE of humanely
raising food animals while caring for the environment; we’re CONTINUOUSLY
improving our operations to produce better beef and meet consumer expectations
and demands.
Once you’ve answered questions and concerns, ask the
consumer if you can SHARE your point of view. Here’s where, without being pushy
and without lecturing, you can share your experience regarding the questions
and concerns you’ve discussed. This is simply telling your story. Don’t be too
long-winded, and try to leave out as much jargon as possible. Be ready to
answer politely and in appropriate detail questions about topics that seem
self-evident to you. Those things may not be common knowledge to the consumer.
“What’s a heifer, I thought only steers became beef.” Why do you give sick
animals antibiotics, everybody knows that’s dangerous for consumers.” etc. Don’t
take a condescending tone with the consumer, and don’t assume the person you’re
talking with has a completely flawed understanding of production agriculture.
EARN TRUST. If you can’t earn the consumer’s trust, you’ve
wasted the time of both parties, and you’ve probably damaged the food animal
cause. You may have caused an open mind to permanently snap shut against food
animal production.
So turn your defense mechanism off. Don’t take questions or
concerns personally. If you can’t do this, leave the job for someone who can.
But remember, there are very few beef producers and more than 312 million U.S.
consumers. It’s in your best interest to train yourself to be non-defensive,
affable, friendly, and approachable. The food animal industry as a whole is vital,
and more important than any single producer.
Respect the consumer. This should go without saying. Every
human being deserves to be treated with basic respect. Remember that the
consumer you are talking to is considering whether to buy your product.
Americans are at liberty to choose the foods they eat and
the lifestyles they live. Even a strict vegan or an anti-meat activist, each of
whom have likely made up their minds on the subject and aren’t about to change,
will remember that you were polite and respectful. And that attitude might be
just enough to open some closed minds.
When sharing your story, if you’re so inclined, consider
offering the consumer a tour of your operation. There’s a lot involved in such
a venture, so think it through before you make the offer.
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