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What’s your Perspective? Communicating with the public about animal welfare

Maria Bendixen

Summary

An evolving risk in the production of food is the consumers’ willingness to buy the product and their perception of how food is produced. Women in agriculture are often involved in conversations about the welfare of food production animals. Everyone has their own idea of what good welfare looks like and it is really hard to think logically about these issues. It is an emotionally charged issue that can and often is handled poorly by many who are involved with agriculture. This session is highlights a program that can be used to help women get their message across more effectively. It works first to help us to better understand our own beliefs about animal agriculture so that we can better understand the beliefs of others.
This understanding leads to more productive conversations and marketing of products. The evaluation of the program indicated that 100% of participants increased their knowledge in several areas of animal welfare, animal handling, public speaking and cultural awareness based on the post-then-pre formatted evaluation that was conducted. One participant said, “I’m now aware that the public might think we mistreat animals and you really need to think before you say things, the fastest response isn’t always the smartest.”

Details

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