This week a milestone was reached on my Facebook page – 6,000 ‘Likes’ and counting. For those of you not invested in social media, you may laugh at the celebration of such an event, but I consider it a worthy accomplishment. In fact, each new conversation brought about by each new connection should be considered an accomplishment when it comes to sharing more about my passion – a better understanding of food and agriculture.

To honor that progress, I will celebrate with a giveaway. As I move forward in my agvocacy efforts, begin looking at career opportunities, and set personal goals, one thing continually rises to the top cluster – I want to use my experience by helping others have better conversations about our food system. This includes everyone from the farmer to the consumer. And recently a friend and Indiana Dairy Farmer put together a book that illustrates this need well.

No More Food Fights!

food dialogues fights conversations
No More Food Fights! by Michele Payn-Knoper provides perspectives for the Food and Farm side of the plate.

Michele Payn-Knoper has put together a great guide for both food producers and food consumers when it comes to critically thinking more about the conversations we have that center around food and farming. No More Food Fights! is two books in one; each side discussing issues relevant to either the Farm or Food side of the plate. Along with MPK’s experience, the book includes perspectives from 35 individuals from both sides of the plate that add so much to the conversation.

In the Food side of the book, MPK illustrates the frustration we face with each trip to grocery in our food buying decisions and guilt. She encourages us to use our 6 senses to obtain a more meaningful food conversation: Touch, Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste, and Common Sense. She illustrates each point well with perspectives from her own experience along with others to discuss those questions and doubts we all face.

On the Farm side of things, MPK addresses those who question the need to take time out of the busy schedule, to advocate for agriculture and share their own experiences. It’s not a matter of if a conversation will happen, but will your voice be present at the table. To emphasize how to approach these conversations and guide us through  to better dialogues, Michele utilizes 6.5 points of discussion: Identify influencers, Find their hot buttons, Translate agriculture to their hot buttons, Invest 15 minutes daily, Strategize where you can reach your target audience, Follow an action plan to develop long-lasting relationships, and finally the half-point of the equation – Put your passion to work!

I promise this will not be a disappointing read if you’re interested in better discussions about food and farm topics. And if you’re feeling really ambitious, you just might read both sides of the book.

How do you enter the giveaway?

I really want to thank those of you who follow along with each and every one of my posts here on the blog, on Facebook, and Twitter. BUT I also want this to emphasize my intentions to build bridges for food and farm communication. To fix this, I have TWO books, one for an individual on each side of the plate – Food producers and Food consumers.

Fill out the entry form below. All entries will be entered into a drawing and a winner will be selected from the Food side of the plate and another from the Farm side of the plate. Each winner will receive a copy of No More Food Fights! by Michele Payn-Knoper.

I ask that you do 3 things…

  1. Like the I am Agriculture Proud page on Facebook. We’ll go by the honor system here. You can live with the guilt if you don’t.
  2. Share this link with your friends. Encourage them to learn more about and consider engaging in conversations about our food system in a civil manner.
  3. A) If you win, read No More Food Fights!, take notes, and then share it with someone on the other side of the plate.
    • B) If you are not the lucky winner, consider buying a copy of No More Food Fights! and/or sharing a copy with a friend on the other side of the plate.

Giveaway has closed.

Entries must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, Monday, April 29. Winners from each group will be selected via Random Number Generator and notified by email, based on completion of entry form, on Tuesday, April 30th and will have 24 hours to respond. Books are provided by Ryan Goodman and no immediate family members of Ryan Goodman or Michele Payn-Knoper are eligible for the giveaway. Participation in the contest guidelines and future sharing of the books by selected winners will be based on the honor system.

Published by Ryan Goodman

Ryan Goodman works in grassroots advocacy as a communications consultant with beef cattle farmers and ranchers across the United States. He is a proud alumnus of Oklahoma State University, with studies focusing on cattle reproduction and nutrition. Ryan's experience in the beef industry range from family farms and ranches in several states to large feedlots and non-profit policy organizations. Ryan is an avid trail and ultrarunner, proudly showing how beef can be an important part of a healthy diet and active lifestyle. Find Ryan on social media as @BeefRunner.