Every day is Food Day to America's farmers and ranchers, says Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan. The high-profile agriculture advocate is joining the Animal Agriculture Alliance to announce the launch of www.realfarmersrealfood.com with a call to action for Americans to celebrate the hard work of our nation’s farmers and ranchers.
“Not everybody farms, but everybody has to eat,” Scanlan says in the one-minute video, available at www.youtube.com/animalagalliance. “Most Americans don’t realize how essential and crucial agriculture is to our lives and to our economy.”
Scanlan explains that most Americans do not understand the connection between the thousands of family farms across the country and their own dinner. Real Farmers Real Food is a positive reminder for each of us to take time to appreciate the many people who make our safe, abundant, and affordable food supply a reality.
“It’s refreshing to see the positive story of American agriculture told on a national stage,” says Alliance Executive Vice President Kay Johnson Smith, “Teresa has stayed true to her agricultural roots during her time as Miss America by speaking out for farmers and ranchers who often receive too little credit for the hard work that they do – feeding us every day.”
The launch of the website came on the eve of the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s first Food Day, a campaign that downplays the importance of modern agriculture and unfairly criticizes the way of life of many food producers. In contrast, Real Farmers Real Food showcases the importance of American farmers and ranchers, large and small, to our nation’s security and vitality.
Visitors to the website can:
• Sign a pledge in support of agriculture’s diversity and consumer choice.
• Read and share an op-ed showcasing American agriculture by the Alliance’s current chairperson, Chris Ashworth, a veterinarian and rancher.
• Learn about common myths and facts about farming.
• View a collection of farm tours on video. PD
—From Animal Agriculture Alliance news release
