The Executive Director of Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan says when consumers understand what goes into producing their food their level of confidence and trust in that food increases.Earlier this month approximately 36 farms and ranches across Saskatchewan opened their doors to the public as part of the third annual Saskatchewan Open Farm Days. Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan Executive Director Clinton Monchuk says we know that when consumers have conversations directly with the people who produce their food it builds trust in that food.
Quote-Clinton Monchuk-Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan:
When people understand how their food is being produced, it just generates a higher degree of confidence and pride in the food system.In a province like Saskatchewan, Manitoba or Alberta, I think there's already a lot of pride that goes into the food that we produce but this goes one step further to make sure there's some interaction with those individuals.
Really the goal for us at the end of the day is when they go, for example, to the grocery store and they see chicken or beef in the counter that says this was raised and grown here in Canada, there's a level of satisfaction to go with that when you're purchasing that, that people have pride to say, hey, I understand.
It might not be this exact cut of beef or this exact loaf of bread or whatever it might be in terms of a food product, but there's a higher degree of trust for the food system. So, creating an opportunity where farm gates are open to the general public, people can go out and talk to farmers, ranchers, people who work in the industry, this just creates more trust within the industry.And we know through time, when people are more confident in their food, they're less likely to share things on social media that are not factual with our industry.Again, all these things lead to a higher level of trust and allow us as farmers to continue to use new science, and technology to grow food for the rest of the world.
Source : Farmscape.ca