From 'Feed The 9 Billion' To 'Trade Not Aid', Farmers Will Likely Reinvent Themselves Again

After harsh and frequent criticism from animal rights activists and environmentalists, many farmers and people who work in agriculture launched an effort to tell their stories to the broader public. A decade on, this effort has worked through several themes. With a new president coming, ag messaging may change again.

But let’s begin back in 2013 when, fresh off Barack Obama’s re-election, agriculture groups were hitting their storytelling stride. The United Nations had given them a convenient factoid: by 2050, the Food and Agriculture Organization estimated the world’s population would be at least 9 billion.

“When we take a look at the planet going from 7 billion people to 9 billion people over the next 20 to 25 years, obviously the need to increase food production’s very, very important,” said Mike Vande Logt, a plant breeder who at the time was with the seed company WinField. His sentiment echoed the messages from other agribusinesses, commodity check-off groups and farm bureaus.

Farmers signed up for media training, started talking to reporters more and engaged on platforms like YouTube to spread the message.