Beef Runner Podcast – Food, Farming and Agriculture Advocacy

This episode of the Beef Runner podcast is an audio version of the article, "Addressing Vegan Myths with Advocacy" published on November 01, 2021. Visit the original article for links to citations and more information.

If you enjoy this audio article episode of the Beef Runner Podcast, let me know in the comments on the original article. Check out all my episodes and subscribe at anchor.fm/BeefRunner. Follow me on social media as @BeefRunner.

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On episode 042, Ryan and Carrie sit down for another Over A Beer episode. This week's guest is Cami Ryan, PhD from Bayer (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter). Cami recently published a paper (Monetizing disinformation in the attention economy: The case of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)) focusing on disinformation campaigns and their impact on agriculture and science conversations. We discuss the impact these disinformation campaigns have on agriculture advocacy conversations. Cami also shares how agriculture advocates can be stronger communicators, not by sharing the facts, but by focusing on the relationship when it comes to these tough scientific topics.

You can find those episode show notes here.

If you’d like to buy us a beer or support future episodes, hit me up on Venmo.

Be sure to hop on over to Carrie’s Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect with her.

I hope you enjoy this episode of the Beef Runner podcast. Check out all my episodes and subscribe at anchor.fm/BeefRunner.

Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

This week on the podcast, Carrie Mess (a.k.a. Dairy Carrie) and I jump on Zoom for a virtual Over A Beer episode with guest, Janeal Yancey, the mom at the meat counter from Arkansas. If you haven’t already, you should subscribe to my podcast (RSS link) to listen to all previous episodes. You can find those episode show notes here.

If you’d like to buy us a beer or support future episodes, hit me up on Venmo.

In episode 041 of the Beef Runner podcast, Carrie Mess and I are joined by Janeal Yancey for another Over A Beer conversation. Janeal is a meat scientist at the University of Arkansas, a mom to two adventurous girls who show sheep, cattle, and (Carrie’s favorite!) goats. And Janeal has been a guest author on the blog before! Read her post here.

Recent conversations have been filled with stories of foods like potatoes or milk being dumped and hogs or poultry being euthanized. Prior to this pandemic, there haven’t been large conversations to spur people to think about getting food to our plates safely, on a huge scale. Maybe that will change in the future.

We hope you take a chance to follow and connect with Janeal online. We are so glad to have her team, advocating for agriculture and as a resource for any of our meat questions! You can find her blogging at MomAtTheMeatCounter.blogspot.com or on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Be sure to hop on over to Carrie’s Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect with her.

I hope you enjoy this episode of the Beef Runner podcast. Check out all my episodes and subscribe at anchor.fm/BeefRunner.

Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

In the current time of social distancing, there is a lot more than Zoom calls that can bring us all together - and that is food. Carrie and Ryan bring a guest to the Over A Beer podcast series to discuss these food connections. During the course of our conversation, we see how much rural and urban America can have in common when it comes to the food on our tables. This week on the podcast, Carrie Mess (a.k.a. Dairy Carrie) and I jump on Zoom for a virtual Over A Beer episode with guest, Nicole Rodriguez, Registered Dietitian from New York. If you haven’t already, you should subscribe to my podcast (RSS link) to listen to all previous episodes. You can find those episode show notes here. If you’d like to buy us a beer or support future episodes, hit me up on Venmo. For episode 40 of the Beef Runner podcast, Carrie and I sit down with our first guest in the Over A Beer series. Nicole Rodriguez is a mom, wife and Registered Dietitian from just outside New York City. We've all connected on social media as Nicole is very active as an advocate for beef and dairy online. It is a bit unusual for someone from NYC to be such a strong advocate for agriculture, so we wanted to ask Nicole how she found this journey to connect with agriculture. Turns out people in rural and urban America have quite a bit in common when it comes to enjoying meals with our family and friends. Or even the journey to seek out the truth about where our food comes from and how it fuels us. Tune in and listen to this episode of the podcast for some great discussions on: Life in New York during coronavirus and COVID-19 What is a Registered Dietitian? How does someone from New York find agriculture advocacy? How do you define plant-based eating? #Science What role does food play in mental health and well-being for ourselves and our families with young kids? How do you raise kids in the age of food marketing and food shaming? What does grocery shopping look like in New York City? The role of moving and exercise for mental health during social distancing We hope you take a chance to follow and connect with Nicole online. We are so glad to have her team, advocating for agriculture! You can find her blogging at EnjoyFoodEnjoyLife.com or on Instagram and Twitter. Be sure to hop on over to Carrie’s Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect with her. Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

It's safe to say that things have drastically changed over the past few weeks, but one topic that has definitely risen to the top is access to food. Whether it be families with more time on their hands or searching shelves at the grocery store that have been picked over, we've found ourselves cooking more meals at home. And many people are realizing they may not know how to cook! This week on the podcast, Carrie Mess (a.k.a. Dairy Carrie) and I sit down for another Over A Beer episode to discuss. If you haven’t already, you should subscribe to my podcast (RSS link) to listen to all previous episodes. You can find those episode show notes here. If you’d like to buy us a beer or support future episodes, hit me up on Venmo. One of the positive impacts coming out of this time of a coronavirus pandemic is that families are able to spend more time together – even if they’re being forced to do so through social distancing. This also means they have more time to plan meals around the table. Food is something that has always brought people together – even if we’re having to be more strategic about buying that food via restaurant take out or timing our trips to the grocery store when the shelves are restocked overnight. This also coincides with the 2020 National Ag Day theme of food bringing people around the table. For this week’s Over A Beer episode, Carrie and I discuss this from the perspective of people not being able to cook today. You can see this through all of the meal prep and delivery options available, but also through the questions people have about recipes and cooking methods. But we bring this full circle to discuss some amazing opportunities those of us in the agriculture community could take to connect with people in our communities and bring them to gather around the table for a good meal, of course, after our time of social distancing has passed. It’s important to note that Carrie and I did record this podcast episode before coronavirus has had such an impact on our society, but we felt the need to still publish this episode to talk about the topic that all of us can work through to connect with other people. Let us know your thoughts on the current pandemic and people cooking at home by dropping a comment below or chiming in on Twitter. If you’d like to buy us a beer or support future episodes, hit me up on Venmo. Be sure to hop on over to Carrie’s Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect with her. I hope you enjoy this episode of the Beef Runner podcast. Check out all my episodes and subscribe at anchor.fm/BeefRunner. Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

This week is proving the start of something different for those of us in North America. The coronavirus has spread from Asia and Europe and now most of us in the US find ourselves working from home. Kids are out of school – many of them for the remainder of the Spring semester. Restaurants and bars are either closed or doing only carry out, drive up or delivery service. And of course, every grocery store is out of toilet paper. Even in our small town of 1,400 outside of Denver, I walked into our Safeway grocery store to find produce, meat and dairy shelves completely empty. I had to time my visit for the next day after they had restocked their shelves to get milk and eggs. And for the foreseeable future, I find myself working from a home office with all travel canceled for the next month. Which I guess means I have more time for my scheduled training runs. These are uncertain times for many of us. And that also means we have extra time on our hands to spend on social media. You can’t open Facebook or Twitter without seeing posts about the Coronavirus, ideas about its spread and people wondering where we go from here. Having worked in communications and on issues management teams, there are a few tips I’d like to share with you on today’s podcast that might help you avoid making contributions to the spread of misinformation and hysteria. While we can’t control what others post, share or say, we can control our contributions. So here are three tips that will help you identify whether or not your contributions are positive as you continue joining conversations surrounding food and agriculture during this coronavirus pandemic or any time of crisis in the future. Verify the accuracy of information before sharing Don’t make yourself the focus of attention Be aware of your audience and their concerns Listen to the podcast episode 038 to hear more of an explanation, examples for each and some advice on how we can positively contribute to these conversations. How can we better engage in these discussions during stressful times? Let us know what you think by dropping a comment below or chiming in on Twitter. I hope you enjoy this episode of the Beef Runner podcast. Check out all my episodes and subscribe at anchor.fm/BeefRunner. Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

In 2017, farm accidents resulted in the deaths of 416 farmers and farmworkers. Every day, about 100 agricultural workers suffer a lost-work-time injury. In 2014, an estimated 12,000 youth were injured on farms; 4,000 of these injuries were due to farm work. These statistics from the CDC are sobering. But these events are preventable. On the podcast this week, Carrie and I share some personal stories. Both of our families have been deeply affected by farm accidents. Our hope is that by sharing our stories, others can take a second to stop, think and look around to prevent these casualties from happening to other families. This week on the podcast, Carrie Mess (a.k.a. Dairy Carrie) and I sit down for another Over A Beer episode. If you haven’t already, you should subscribe to my podcast (RSS link) to listen to all previous episodes. You can find those episode show notes here. Thanks to our sponsor (Yes! We finally have sponsors) David Hayden from Kentucky for buying us a beer (and bourbon). If you’d like to buy us a beer or get me to Wisconsin for future episodes, hit me up on Venmo. As I've tried to write out some notes for this blog, I just can't seem to hit the mark. When Carrie and I sat down to record this episode, it was uncomfortable, but we know sharing these stories is important. Both of our families have been affected by farm accidents and I think that is one of those things you'd never wish on others. In 2006, I lost my mom to an accident while sorting cattle on our ranch in Arkansas. This was long before I met Carrie and her husband Patrick. In 2015, Carrie's mother in law lost a leg in an accident with their feed truck. I remember Carrie's call that day when she told me about the events unfolding. Every time I hear of others impacted by these events, my mind goes back to my own personal story. Farm safety is an important topic for us both. We hope that you'll take the time to listen to our stories and reflect on how you might prevent future farm accidents for those around you. Let us know if your family or someone you know has been affected by farm accidents by dropping a comment below or chiming in on Twitter. Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

Take a look at the labels on food packages near you or in your kitchen. What do you see? These food labels can confusing, leading to misinformation and often guilty feelings that we're not doing the right thing for ourselves and our family. How do we filter through the marketing to understand what labels have true meaning? How can and should the agriculture community join in to clear the air on these topics? Or did we help contribute to the confusion of food labels? This week on the podcast, Carrie Mess (a.k.a. Dairy Carrie) and I sit down for another Over A Beer episode to discuss.. You can find those episode show notes here. Thanks to our sponsors (Yes! We finally have sponsors) Chad Anglin from Kentucky and Markie Hageman from California for buying us a beer. If you’d like to buy us a beer or get me to Wisconsin for future episodes, hit me up on Venmo. When Carrie and I sat down for this episode of the podcast, there were two label terms that were top of mind for us. Antibiotics and Hormones. Both things that spark emotion in us with the concern of these contaminants being in our food supply. Is it safe to eat? Is there reason for those labels to be there at all when we know there are regulations and inspection procedures in place to ensure food safety? We've both written about these topics before as restaurant chains have capitalized on labeling trends. But we also recognize the fact that this is marketing. And in some ways, agriculture advocates may have contributed to the hysteria and concern surrounding food labels, including Non-GMO Project, or any number of free-from labeling trends. We really shouldn't blame consumers for asking questions and being confused. There are so many options in the market today. As Carrie describes, her local grocery store is putting in a new section of coolers to be stocked solely with dairy options. Be sure to stay tuned as we describe some terms we've used that we now realize could be misinterpreted (cows on drug withdrawls?!?) and offer a few key tactics advocates can use to better engage in these discussions with others. This includes word choice and  listening. Let us know what you think about food labels and confusion in the marketplace by dropping a comment below or chiming in on Twitter. Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

This year's Hollywood award season is proving desperate for ratings as was shown when the Golden Globes kicked things off by going vegan in January. So we’re tackling it this week on the podcast. Several celebrities spoke up, including Joaquin Phoenix, in post-show interviews. Joaquin didn't cool it off for the Oscars in February. In fact, he heated things up with comments bashing farmers in his acceptance speech.... and agriculture responded fiercely. Carrie took the opportunity to respond in a timely manner by writing her own letter in response to Joaquin's comments. That letter and a following interview made a splash across the country. So we sat down over a beer to discuss what happened and offer our perspectives on what can be learned for future moments in time when public figures disagree with agriculture in another Over A Beer episode to discuss. You can find episode show notes here. Thanks to our sponsors (Yes! We finally have sponsors) Kiah Twisselman and Melissa Laurent for buying us a beer. If you'd like to buy us a beer or get me to Wisconsin for future episodes, hit me up on Venmo. Carrie's letter (Dear Joaquin) had nearly 300,000 views in the first few days following the event. Her interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Stung by Oscar speech, dairy farmers suggest actor Joaquin Phoenix doesn't know what he's talking about) was picked up by the USA Today news wire and spread across the country, reaching audiences far outside of agriculture with a message from a dairy farmer. Joaquin Phoenix isn't the only public figure to speak out against animal agriculture and to receive backlash from farmers and ranchers. Miss Montana USA did it with vegan posts on Instagram. Even presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg did it with comments about the simplicity of farming. Agriculture's response to these situations is often swift, harsh and condescending with an invitation to "come visit my farm/ranch to learn what real agriculture looks like!!!" But that rarely, if ever is a good idea when these public figures are known to be completely against our way of life. How do we respond more productively? How can we better leverage these situations to reach the people we want to hear our stories? Listen in on this episode as Carrie and I discuss. Let us know what you think about my pursuit of trail and ultrarunning by dropping a comment below or chiming in on Twitter.  Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live more than an hour's drive from town? What is life like in Wyoming where the growing season is only a few short months long, but you have amazing views at high elevation in the mountains? This week, Wyoming rancher, Kacy Atkins joins me to share this a bit of her journey through agriculture advocacy. You can find all podcast episode show notes here. For episode 034 of the Beef Runner podcast, I sit down with Kacy Atkinson during a visit in Denver. We met several years back as our paths cross in the ranching business and have had the opportunity to work together on several advocacy projects during the past few years. Kacy grew up on her family's Wyoming ranch, 85 miles from town, where they only receive mail a few times each week. She then went to school and worked in education and extension before returning to the family's operation. Since really diving into her advocacy from the ranch, Kacy shares her stories from life "10 Miles Past No Where." I think you'll enjoy hearing her perspectives on ranching and how farmers and ranchers might better work to reach urban consumers with our advocacy efforts. You can find Kacy online and on social media as 10 Miles Past No Where on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. How can we better reach consumers with our stories? Let us know what you think about ranching in Wyoming and advocacy by dropping a comment below or chiming in on Twitter. I hope you enjoy this episode of the Beef Runner podcast. Check out all my episodes and subscribe at anchor.fm/BeefRunner. Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.