Editor's note: This item is a Reader Response to the Hoard's Dairyman Intel item "Farming hits the silver screen" in the April 21, 2014, edition.
It's darn well about time that something like this happened. Too many people in our country have lost the connection between nature and themselves. How many kids nowadays go playing in creeks? How many kids make forts in a wood lot? How many kids have even seen a wild animal (birds, rats and cockroaches don't count) in its normal habitat?
The stories about kids who think that food comes from the supermarket and who have no idea of what is behind it getting to the supermarket are all too true. The movie needs to be expanded upon so that it isn't just in the movies that kids experience nature, but in other ways, as well. The Fresh Air Fund that supports youth visits to the countryside is a good way to get changes in attitudes.
Then there are the people who have no idea about how farming is done, but have no problem vocalizing loudly on the subject, the Dunning-Kruger Effect in action. Exposing them to a world of facts and experiences about how things are done in agriculture and what all of it means might go a long way to making sure that the public in general is more sympathetic to farmers and agriculture in general.
- Daniel Miller, Texas
