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Take Food Bullying By The Horns

Once again the agriculture sector is being encouraged to speak out against misinformation.
 
Michele Payn, a dairy producer from Indiana spoke about food bullying during the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference this week.
 
She compared the actions the agriculture industry is seeing to a playground in a school yard where the bullies run rampant and where there is constant poking, and prodding and people trying to evoke fear.
 
She says that's happening around food today, misinformation is continuing to grow, activists are continuing to grow, and people are ashamed around their food.
 
"When you think about what food bullying is, it basically operates from a point of privilege. People who may have too much time, too much money, want to build their followers. It preys on peoples fear, it preys on the misinformation, it preys on the confusion, it preys on the disconnect from what we do on a daily basis."
 
She says it's important for the agriculture industry to understand that food bullying removes choice not only at the plate, but also in farming, and it's important to engage and talk about what you do and why you do it.
 
Payn says sharing your story matters more today than it ever has, it matters because people need low-priced food and agriculture deserves to have the practices and products they need to do the best job possible.
 
"Navigating Uncertainty" was the theme for this year's Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference.
 
Next year's event is set for January 18-20 at the Delta Inn in Regina.
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The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.