The Alliance for Food and Farming, in conjunction with Markon Cooperative, hosted its second “Facts Not Fear” Produce Safety Media tour last week in the Salinas Valley of California. Our goal is for RDs, health and nutrition writers and bloggers to see firsthand the care and commitment farmers have for producing safe and wholesome foods. We believe we met that goal. But, what we learn from our tour guests continues to be just as valuable.

In addition to farm and facility tours, the AFF and Markon facilitated a Roundtable meeting where our tour guests were joined by farmers and farming companies, scientists, regulators and chefs for a free-flowing discussion that encompassed food safety, farming practices, food waste, pesticide use, food safety regulations, new technologies, health and nutrition and consumer outreach. The RDs, bloggers and writers attending the tour reported they enjoyed the chance to tour the farms one day and then discuss what they saw with these experts. They also appreciated the opportunity to share their information needs and concerns directly during the Roundtable discussion.

And, what were some our key takeaways from our guests? Consumers want transparent and honest communication regarding food safety and food production practices. The RDs, bloggers and writers share our concerns about produce safety misinformation and appreciate and need access to scientists and experts that can assist them when addressing consumer questions and correcting misconceptions. And, they were very impressed with the technological advancements they saw in the harvesting and processing of produce.

While the importance of seeing the fields and harvest and touring processing facilities cannot be underscored enough, meeting and connecting with the people growing our food, directly sharing concerns with farmers and scientists in a group and one-on-one setting and the expansion of their produce industry network is of equal importance for our guests.

Our sincere thanks to everyone who allowed us to visit their farms, watch the harvest, view their processing facilities as well as joined us for the Roundtable discussion. And, our thanks and appreciation to our tour partner, Markon Cooperative, for making this tour possible as well as our tour sponsors Cal-Giant Berry Farms, the California Strawberry Commission and the Produce Marketing Association.

And to our 2017 and 2018 tour alumni, we will keep the conversation going and look forward to learning more from you as we all work toward our shared goal of increasing daily consumption of organic and conventional fruits and veggies.