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March 15, 2022
- • Featured • Industry News
If it’s on the Internet, it must be true, right?
We are living in a world that is consumed by technology and because of this, we have information at our fingertips. I’m guilty, as I’m sure all of you are, of reading something on the internet and immediately believing it’s true. Did America’s celebrity couple really break up? Did our favorite sports player truly get traded? Is our favorite TV show being canceled? We’re all guilty of it but it’s time that we stop believing everything we read. It’s time for some hard conversations with real people, not just the ones you read about on the internet and see in magazines. 
The next time you turn on the news or open your internet browser, think about the headlines and the image they are portraying. There is an incredible amount of negativity in the news today, so the challenge is determining what to believe and more importantly, whom to believe and why I should believe. Think about it this way: When you go to the doctor and get diagnosed with an illness, you are provided with a prescription for medicine. More than likely, you trust this doctor, the diagnosis and you continue with your day, filling your prescription and eventually becoming healthy once again. You believe your child’s teacher when it comes to educational techniques and your son’s football coach when it comes to developing plays for Friday night’s game. We trust the source. We believe the experts. So why not trust the expert and believe the source when it comes to your food and the products you consume?
- When you want to know more about milk and other dairy products, ask a dairy farmer.
- When you have questions about vegetables and how they are harvested, ask a vegetable farmer.
- When you wonder how grains are planted and grown, ask a crop farmer.
- When you have questions about the eggs you eat for breakfast or the chicken you have planned for dinner, ask a poultry farmer.
- Let’s connect you with a beef farmer or hog farmer if you’re wondering what happens on the farms that raise protein sources in your diet.
There are many hard-working farmers throughout New York State and beyond that are excited to share their stories, explain the realities of farming and help others understand what happens on their farm and why they do what they do every day. You can check out our website www.nyanimalag.org and find a local farm to follow or just ask us. While we can’t connect you with the latest trending reality star or football hero to ask them questions about life, we are fortunate to know farmers. We can connect you with a farmer and if you want, get you onto a local farm - just ask! 
The reality is that farmers live in the same community as you. They shop at the same grocery store and eat at the same restaurants as everyone else in town. So, before you share the photo or believe the article that shows information about food and how it was produced, ask yourself – What’s the source? Whom do I believe? And when you have questions about the food you eat and the milk you drink, go to the source! Ask a farmer.