The Public Needs to be Educated About Agriculture Stephanie Stade "In the last 15 years, it occurred to me that the public no longer knows what farming and ranching is all about. The wonderful image we (producers) used to have in this field of just being the best that America has to offer has been lost. One hundred years ago, 25 percent of us were in agriculture. Today, only 2.5 percent of us are," said Lehr.

Consumers  70% know little or nothing  2.5% in agriculture  About 27% are educated  Decision based on how food is grown or raised  Rely on media  Anti GMO’s  Want organic

Food Prices in U.S.  10% of budget  50% of budget in developing countries  U.S. complains most  Picky  Least educated

PETA People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Largest animal rights group More than 3 million members Factory farms Clothing trade Laboratories Entertainment industry Domesticated animals Hunting “Cruel Killing of pests Medication Hormones Steroids

PETA Does not understand…  Hormones -Fewer cows, more milk -Easier to keep an eye on  2/3rds of America concerned -Well tested and safe –FDA  Public goes along with media

Increase in organic demand

Yahoo  2012 article “Agriculture #1 most useless degree” -Necessary above anything else -No Farms, No Food -Example of Uneducated Public

Chipotle  Grammys commercial anti agriculture  “Back to the Start.” “Back to the Start.”  “Mistreated” on factory farms  Should be raised like they used to be  Run free  No antibiotics or hormones  Advertised from well raised animals

Little do they know…  Indoor housing and medications - Less disease - Less fighting - Easier to keep an eye on - Out of sun -Easier to keep cool  Cannot use the same ways we used to -7 billion people

Chipotle Advertising a fantasy Not reality Falsely Advertise their food Labeling farmers as bad people

Educating the public  If we don’t educate the public: -End of Agriculture how we know it today -Number of farmers will decline more than they already have

More Education Is Needed  Classroom - More Ag classes in high school -FFA offered at more locations -More push towards joining 4H  Agritourism -More farms that the public can access -Allows public to see it in real life

 Agritourism operation  Farm Markets  Fall Festival  Educational  Thousands of people  Many different attractions

Our Survey  Out of 100 people  Over half never seen a calf bottle fed in real life  About Half had no idea what a combine is  About 15% thought chocolate milk came from brown cows

Help keep everyone’s bellies full, educated the public!!

Works Cited  “Public uneducated about ag production, fertilizer use” Country World Archives March archives/SCTX/2002/sc1031fertilizer.php archives/SCTX/2002/sc1031fertilizer.php  “U.S. Organic Food Sales In Billions” Side Tracks- June March tracks-june-2012/ tracks-june-2012/  “Our Mission Statement” PETA. 1 March