Dec 22, 2019
“Food is such an integral part of our social fabric. It becomes a part of the storytelling process," but our farming memory is being lost across generations, says Dr. Cami Ryan, a Canadian social scientist on the latest Food Bullying podcast. This loss of farming memory has created gaps and barriers between rural and urban. Opportunists fill in the gaps with new information, which isn’t always accurate.
Cami explains how food can be taken on as identity, leaving a person susceptible to bullying. She offers insight on information literacy as a way to keep the trash out your brain and social feeds. “Be careful what you feed your brain and share with other people.” She cautions against littering Facebook or Twitter with bad information.
Key Points
- What is a social scientist?
- How do people see food production and where do all the players connect together?
- How do farmers interact with non-farmers and deal with social constructs?
- The importance of translating the science of agriculture
- Cognitive responses to fear and disgust and what it means to food
- Understanding how food can be taken on as identity and leave you susceptible to bullying
- Do people trust science today?
- Focus on information literacy to keep trash out of your brain
- How to read vet new studies and read information
- Call people out who litter on Facebook, the same as you would if they put trash on the road
- Identifying good and bad information; avoid Twitter litter and Facebook trash
- Biases and how we all have them
- Quick tips to overcome food bullying: don’t take it personally, leverage your network to ask for help, give yourself permission to walk away from a non-productive conversation.
Fabulous Quotes 
“The onus is on farmers and scientists to engage and provide accurate information”
“Disgust is really interesting. Humans respond viscerally.”
“The more you are exposed to something, the less you fear it.”
“Food is such an integral part of our social fabric. It becomes a part of the storytelling process.”
“When you take something on as your identity, such as food or social media, it becomes very personal.”
“We, as individuals, have to take responsibility for our brains.”
“Be careful what you feed your brain and share with other people.”
“We have a responsibility to clean up our Facebook feeds and Twitter litter.”
It’s not about whether we have biases or not, it’s our willingness to push back against our biases.”
Links
- @CamiDRyan on Twitter
- www.camiryan.com
- Cami Ryan, PhD FB page
- Food Bullying: How to Avoid Buying BS by Michele Payn
- Embrace your Heart with Eliz Greene