The Manager Public Relations and Consumer Marketing Programs with Manitoba Pork says the agricultural displays at the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair provide a unique opportunity to connect consumers with the food they eat.
Manitoba Pork is represented at the 2016 Royal Manitoba Winter Fair as part of Thru the Farmgate with its revitalized and expanded Pigtails Display, which provides information on the province’s pork industry and features live pigs.
Susan Riese, the Manager Public Relations and Consumer Marketing Programs with Manitoba Pork, says Thru the Farmgate gives the public an opportunity to see animals they may have never seen before.
It’s a great opportunity for grandparents who maybe had a farm in the past to bring their grandkids and show them what life was like on farm and mostly the care of the animals and what they’re fed.
With the disconnect these days, especially among urbanites to agriculture, it’s just a great opportunity to bring agriculture to the people really.
I think when we talk to the public about agriculture it’s not so much the details of what goes into producing a particular food, it’s how that connects back to the food on their plates.
Speaking to them about how certain things that are done on the farm relate back to producing a safe high quality food product, I think that’s where the connection is and that’s what people are interested in.
Anything that we’re doing to ensure the food safety, to ensure that we have a high quality product, to ensure that it’s raised in ethical and sustainable manners, I think that’s the key to gaining the public’s interest in agriculture. ~ Susan Riese – Manitoba Pork
Riese says Manitoba Pork’s participation provides an opportunity to dispel myths and highlight the care producers take in terms of protecting the environment, caring for their animals and the importance of the industry to the economy.
