Food, animal welfare focus of Food Dialogues: Austin

Food. It’s a topic of growing concern among consumers. Americans are hungry for information about how their food is grown and one in four has questions about the food they purchase, according to the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance® (USFRA®) consumer messaging research.

To continue the conversation on some of today’s most pressing food issues, Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) is partnering with USFRA to hold The Food Dialogues: Austin Sept. 18, 2014 at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center.

“The Food Dialogues: Austin will create a place where farmers, ranchers and experts from all sides of the food chain can share their knowledge and personal experiences about animal welfare and food production with consumers,” TFB President Kenneth Dierschke said. “We all have a vested interest in knowing more about our food, how it’s grown and raised and how it impacts our lifestyles. It’s a dialogue we need to have more often.”

The event will feature two distinct panel discussions focused on animal welfare and conventional and organic growing practices. Additional details, including the event moderator and other panelists, will be announced soon.

“We are partnering with USFRA to help farmers and ranchers connect with our consumers and to answer their questions, including the tough ones,” Dierschke said.

With consumers several generations removed from the farm, this event looks to create dialogues to help bridge that gap.

“Everyone deserves to get honest answers to the questions they have about where our food comes from,” said Bob Stallman, chairman of USFRA and president of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). “We are excited to be partnering with Texas Farm Bureau to further our outreach to consumers and influencers.”

USFRA is a farmer and rancher-led organization working to build trust in today’s food production system. The organization is committed to continuous improvement and supporting U.S. farmers’ and ranchers’ efforts to increase confidence and trust in today’s agriculture. USFRA was created in 2011 to lead the dialogue and answer questions consumers have about food production through events, social media, access to farmers and ranchers and content on its website, www.fooddialogues.com.

To learn more about this event, visit www.fooddialogues.com/events/fd-austin. Follow the conversations on Twitter using hashtag #FoodD.