I want to talk about food shaming on social media. You know what I mean, right? We’ve all seen social media influencers do it. They tell you things like, “If you don’t feed your kids organic food, you’re a bad mom.” Or “If you want to lose weight, you have to give up dairy, gluten, sugar, and carbs.” They use fear and carefully crafted videos or photos to get you to follow them and buy their products or ideas. It can be incredibly effective, but it’s not true. Ultimately, all it does is make people who don’t follow their “rules” feel like they’re wrong. This brings me to my point: Are we (farmers) food shaming consumers? Let me explain.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen a few different posts on social media of consumers asking about their food. For example, in one group, someone asked, “Where can I find decent chicken that’s not pumped full of hormones?’ As a farmer and food producer, my first reaction is to shake my head and lament over how little the public understands about our food supply. Then I go to the comments. Firstly, this is to gauge how the conversation is going, and secondly, it’s to see if anyone has actually answered the question.
The first farmer comment I found was accusatory, condescending, and typed in ALL CAPS. Guys, I know it’s frustrating that people still think their food has antibiotics and hormones in it, but it’s not their fault. It’s ours. We should’ve been doing a better job promoting our product. We should’ve done a better job assuring the public that we know what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. So, responding to questions with anger and superiority doesn’t make us any better than the influencing food shamers of the world.
I understand the initial response. When a question is asked like this — “pumped full of hormones” — our warning bells immediately start going off. It feels like an attack. But the beauty of social media is that they can’t see your initial reaction. When I kindly informed the person who posted that I was a farmer and that chicken bought from the store isn’t pumped full of anything, we had a lovely conversation about food and how it’s produced. She used that language because that’s the language she hears. She wasn’t accusing or pointing fingers; she was genuinely asking a question.
Whatever food someone wants to feed themselves or their family is okay. Organic, traditional, vegan, or meat . . . it’s all good for you, and their choice is their choice. All we can do is correct the misconceptions when we see them and promote what we do. Let’s try to do it with a little understanding and a lot of kindness. You know what they say, honey and vinegar and all that.
The author dairies in partnership with her parents and brother at Spruce Row Farm in Pennsylvania. Jessica is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, and since 2015, she has been active in promoting dairy in her local community. You can find her and her 250 Jersey cows on Facebook at Spruce Row Dairy or on Instagram at @seejessfarm.
