The Alliance for Food and Farming hosted its sixth Safe Fruits and Veggies Farm Tour for registered dietitians and health and nutrition writers and influencers, Aug. 21-23, on California’s Monterey Peninsula, according to a news release. Tour participants visited leafy greens, vegetable and berry farms as well as cooling and processing facilities in this area often referred to as the “Salad Bowl of the World.”
"We strive to provide an experience that shares the care and commitment of farmers and farmworkers to bring safe and healthy foods to consumers,” Kate Tynan, AFF board chair and senior vice president of the Northwest Horticultural Council, said in the release. “We also explore and discuss the challenges we face to grow these crops and how farmers adjust, adapt, problem-solve and continue to move forward.”
Media and social media guests included contributors to the "Today" show, "Good Morning America," New York Times, Washington Post, ABC News, Shape, Parents, Martha Stewart, Eating Well, Food Network, Self, Prevention, People and CNN, among others. In addition to their reach in mainstream media, they have millions of combined followers on social media, the release said.
“The tours expand on AFF's continuous efforts to provide science-based information to media and consumers about farming and produce safety,” Teresa Thorne, AFF executive director, said in the release. “These influencer tours also re-invigorate us as we see farming through the eyes of our guests who always come away impassioned and impressed.”
On the first day, AFF guests toured farms in the Salinas Valley as well as the Taylor Farms processing facility. In addition to seeing spinach harvested, the guests learned about the importance of beneficial insects in organic and conventional production from the Taylor Farms/Earthbound Farms agronomy teams. This was followed by a demonstration of how these beneficial insects are distributed throughout a broccoli field using a Parabug drone.
Further highlighting how technology is advancing improved and more efficient farming practices, another live demonstration featured an autonomous weeder operating in a leafy greens field.
The day concluded with a tour and dinner at the Earthbound Farm Stand in Carmel Valley.
On the second day, the tour moved to the Watsonville area to see strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and blackberry farms. At Rocha Brothers Farms, AFF guests observed and participated in harvesting strawberries into clamshell containers to experience firsthand the skills of farmworkers.
After lunch at the fourth-generation farm, Gizdich Ranch, guests toured a California Giant Berry Farms cooler.
The 2023 sponsors who made the AFF tour possible included California Giant Berry Farms, the California Strawberry Commission, Earthbound Farms, the Grower Shipper Association of Central California, the International Fresh Produce Association, Taylor Farms and Western Growers Association, the release said.
To help advance the AFF’s mission of providing credible, science-based information, Trevor Suslow, extension research specialist emeritus at the University of California, Davis, and Carl Winter, extension food toxicologist emeritus at UC Davis, also joined the tour so guests had access to their food safety, regulatory and toxicology knowledge throughout the experience, the release said.
“We have seen the benefits of engagement and sharing of AFF’s fact-based information by these influencers over the last few years,” Tynan said. “Their efforts in mainstream and social media have helped the AFF’s Safe Fruits and Veggies campaign to consistently reach more consumers with accurate information about produce safety so they can make the right shopping choices for themselves and their families when buying fruits and vegetables.”
In addition to the real-time social media posts during the tour, the influencers said they plan to release more in-depth content about their experiences and what they learned in the coming weeks.
To see many of the real-time social media posts by guests during the tour, visit @safeproduce.
Since the first tour in 2017, the AFF has provided 50 influencers with an on-farm experience with the aim to enhance the organization's efforts to communicate fact-based information to consumers as well as counter misinformation about the safety of produce.
“Our sincere thanks to all of our guests, sponsors, Drs. Suslow and Winter, the farmers and facility managers for making this tour such a special event,” Thorne said. “These tours are always so educational and insightful for everyone involved. There is no better way to show the passion and commitment of farmers and farming companies than by visiting their farms and operations and meeting them in person.”
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