I don’t like the stories going around about agriculture right now — especially the ones about farmers poisoning America. I suspect you don’t, either. But the reality is that political opportunists with antifarming agendas have turned up the jets on their rhetoric like never before.

More troubling than what’s being said is that a lot of people (i.e., voters) seem to believe the misinformation, half-truths and downright lies they’re reading, hearing and seeing about our agrifood system.

And the more the situation festers, the worse it will smell. Imagine the effect on our trading partners, hearing influential politicians call the modern agrifood system here poison and threatening an entire overhaul. The criticism jeopardizes trust at home and abroad.

Canadians are dealing with similar trust issues. Every year, the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity, a national nonprofit charity supported mainly by the food and farming sector, surveys Canadians about their feelings about their agrifood sector.

This year, the center reported some troubling findings.

To the north

First, it found fewer Canadians think the country’s food system is going in the right direction. That trend began in 2020, with positive opinions about the system dropping from nearly 50% then to a low of 31% now. That’s a nosedive.

Related:Count me in. I believe in science

The report also says pessimism about the future of the food system has hit a record high. Significantly more Canadians feel uncertain about it than ever before.

And at the farm gate specifically, trust in farmers as good stewards of the land has fallen, too. Just 19% of respondents strongly agree producers are at the top of their game, down from 23% last year.

Finally, the federal government took a beating in the center’s report, as well. Those who agree that the federal food inspection system ensures the safety of Canadian food has dropped by 5% to 14%.

So even though Canadian agrifood is still the most trusted sector among others such as education, health care and finance, faith in food production is on thin ice.

What’s a farm bill?

Grocery prices aren’t making anyone feel better about food. Even though prices have dropped, the public has been left with a bitter taste in its mouth, and the whole sector is being painted with the same brush. Mistrust over processers and manufacturers squeezing consumers enroute to sky-high profits has promoted doubt about the entire system.

Even though food makes agriculture an everyday part of everyone’s life, people are woefully unaware and susceptible to untruths. For example, research reported in this year’s Consumer Food Report, an annual report on the nation’s food sector, showed that about one-third of American adults have never heard of the farm bill — legislation that probably affects them daily more than any other bill.

A similar proportion have heard of the bill but don’t know what programs it supports.

How will they learn? Education, leadership and communication, that’s how. The agriculture sector absolutely can’t jeopardize the trust people have in it. Pushing back against the antifarming rhetoric will be tiring, but it’s vital.