FREE BACON

Through this blog readers get the opportunity to read our member’s different ag stories, but what a lot of people don’t know is that Food For Thought is more than just a blog. We are a group of undergrads, grads, and veterinary students all passionate about agriculture. Food For Thought does different types of outreach events to talk with people about food and farming each semester. Many of our members say that these events are really what achieve our  group’s mission and some of their favorite experiences.

FFT members: Bruce Figger, Lindy Bilberry, and Chance Hunley

            Our most recent outreach event was at Kansas University and we teamed up with the Kansas Pork Association and Common Ground. We had an awesome time at KU talking to students and faculty on campus! The Kansas Pork Association brought along a model sized modern pig barn and Common Ground started conversations with a marker board for questions and used the hashtag #farmersarelistening for the day.

You can see the model pig barn on the right side of the table.

           

You might wonder how we went about starting a conversation with college students whizzing by going class to class? Well we knew the answer: FREE BACON. This brought in a lot people with a lot of really awesome questions and conversations! Many of the students said they had never seen a pig barn before and they loved seeing the model barn and seeing all of the ways the barn is designed for the pig’s comfort.

           

 After they enjoyed their bacon, we asked them to write any questions they had about food, farming, or ranching. You can see the board below with the many questions. Some of the most asked questions were:

           

Here are some of the questions people were asking.

1. What are GMO’s?
2. Is organic really better for me?
3. What’s the difference between grass fed and conventional meat?

These are questions that people are asking about their food supply and they are curious. Food For Thought would love to answer these questions for you! If you have a question about food, farming, or ranching, just ask! We want to know what you, the reader, wants to know about!

To read more about our time at KU, read more from Common Ground at: Common Ground: Campus Conversations

Karly