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By Betty Wolanyk
Are brown eggs more nutritious than white eggs? Does chocolate milk come from brown cows?
These may seem like ridiculous questions, but they are among the many misconceptions that some people have about agriculture.
Those working in agriculture have known for some time that the non-agricultural public doesn't always understand the food and fiber system. New educational research shows that misconceptions about any subject matter must be discovered and addressed. If they are not, teachers and students both will add new information to their current misconceptions. Rather than developing a clear understanding of a topic, their understanding will become even more twisted and inaccurate.
Ag literacy efforts have, in the past, focused simply on presenting information rather than focusing on misconceptions. It's time to ensure that our educational materials also directly target and correct misinformation about agriculture.
Making that process engaging for students is the challenge. The Educating about Agriculture program of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture is developing a curriculum project with just such a goal.
Some of the misconceptions are simple. For example, the brown eggs question or, "Do organic growers use pesticides?" Others are more complex. "Can the world support more vegetarians than meat eaters?," for example. "Does it take 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef?" "Does hunger exist because there is a shortage of food?"
Some misconceptions, like the chocolate milk question, or "Why are farmers cruel to their animals?," would make most farmers scratch their heads.
Surprisingly, those trained and working in agriculture may also have misconceptions. "Did DDT cause raptor eggshells to thin?," for example, or, "Is the world's population spiraling upward, out of control?"
At two recent conferences for environmental educators, the AFB Foundation kicked off the conference not with a lecture, but with a fun activity. We created a series of statements with words missing. The participants had to complete each sentence by finding the appropriate word, read their completed statement and tell if they felt it was a true statement or a misconception that people had about agriculture.
Some of the misconceptions were silly to make the participants laugh, but most were serious misconceptions that educators are teaching their students. They were then told the factual information about the misconception. All of the statements, except one, were misconceptions.
More than a few eyebrows were raised and feathers ruffled when we challenged negative information that the educators had been teaching incorrectly about agriculture. Many of them challenged our information one-on-one. We gave them sources to research it for themselves and make up their own minds. While we may not have convinced everyone, we certainly gave them food for thought.
The AFB Foundation curriculum project is creating categories of misconceptions for educators to address. As we have begun working on this project, the number and diversity of misconceptions we have found has grown by leaps and bounds.
We have convinced Project Food, Land & People to use the misconceptions theme for its annual symposium to be held in conjunction with the Ag in the Classroom national conference in Indianapolis this June. Speakers will address misconceptions on a wide array of agricultural and environmental topics. The foundation will introduce its completed curriculum at the conference.
What can every agriculturist do to correct misconceptions? Each misconception must be considered a target for a teachable moment. At the county fair, instead of laughing when someone asks if the horned cow is a bull, explain the truth.
Don't expect everyone to understand agriculture, and approach the matter with a "there are no stupid questions" attitude so people don't feel bad for trying to learn. If speaking to a group, assure the audience that chances are other people would also like to know the same answer.
Let's consider addressing misconceptions a great new tool in our agricultural education toolbox!
Betty Wolanyk is director of agricultural education for the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture.
