Bringing food influencers and producers together has benefits

Poonam Dattani, a Markham-area registered dietician, now feels better equipped to provide her clients with dairy and beef production facts.

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She was part of Farm and Food Care Ontario’s September tour of the University of Guelph Elora Dairy and Beef Research facilities and Soil Health Interpretive Centre, which provided registered dieticians, chefs and food influencers with insight into agri-food production and the food value chain.

Why it matters: The opportunity to see and speak with agricultural producers and farm facilities can help dispel myths and address gaps in public-facing farm messaging.

“We want to get that language, the vocabulary and first-hand experience to share that with our clients so they can make informed decisions for themselves,” said Dattani.

When a client approaches her now, saying they’ve eliminated this or that food item for health reasons, Dattani said she feels more confident in providing facts.

For example, the dairy tour provided information so she could confidently answer concerns about antibiotic use and regulations that ensure milk from antibiotic-treated cows never reaches the consumer.

“It’s easier to find the root cause of that problem versus the misinformation that’s clouding the search for the root cause,” she said.

“What’s happening with you? I see there is acne. Let’s find the root cause, and let’s have a clear path versus, ‘I’m sure it’s hormones.’”

Mark Hamel, Dairy Farmers of Ontario vice-chair, was surprised at participants’ overall lack of understanding about the dairy industry and said DFO must do better at communicating with the public.

“I was amazed that they did not know the testing, the quality (control) we’d go through. Every tank full of milk is tested. You could see in their eyes the sense of security,” Hamel said.

“Milk doesn’t touch the air. It goes from the cow to the milk tank to the processing plant, and it’s tested all along.”

The beef research tour and a veal information presentation dispelled myths Dattani held regarding veal production, dairy and beef sustainability, cattle welfare, and how it all intersects.

Her culture holds cows sacred, so red meat isn’t part of her diet, but she found the tour an invaluable resource.

“I don’t impose my opinions as a person on my clients. It has to be very client-centred and based on their nutrient needs,” she said.

The tour also changed Dattani’s notions about livestock psychology and provided a more profound understanding of how research methods and handling systems benefit and increase cow welfare and production.

“Seeing videos about cows being transported in narrow chutes, you think, oh, these cows are cramped, there’s not enough space, and how can that be safe and good for their health?” she said.

“But now I recognize maybe that is, as we were told, decreasing anxiety like weighted blankets [do for humans].”

Kelly Daynard, FFCO executive director, shared Temple Grandin’s story and impact on the livestock industry in providing handling systems that increase cow comfort and reduce stress, including the calming effect of squeeze chutes.

Jaclyn Hornberg, Beef Farmers of Ontario spokesperson, said giving the public an opportunity to ask questions about food sources is always beneficial. She was particularly impressed by the detailed questions posed during the tour, especially regarding industry investments in science and technology.

“There’s always evolution, and we are constantly trying to make changes to be more efficient, to be more aware of sustainability and those kinds of things,” said Hornberg.

“I hope it’s eye-opening to see how much value is put on research and trying to improve and continuously make progress.”

Jennifer Haley, Veal Farmers of Ontario executive director, said veal industry myth-busting hinges
on public interaction and transparency.

Canada’s veal production is concentrated in Ontario and Quebec and provides a consumer market for male dairy calves as a grain-fed lean protein.

Contrary to a long-held veal myth, the meat doesn’t come from small calves but from eight-month-old steers weighing approximately 750 pounds.

Additionally, animals destined for veal are housed in group pens, not a hutch. However, most dairy calves (male and female) spend some time in a hutch to develop a healthy immune system before entering a group pen.

“It’s one conversation at a time that we can convert people from thinking what they thought (veal) was to what (it is) actually,” she said. “Because it’s not as scary as some folks make it out to be.”