Are you growing a community?
Communities can be built around zip codes, common interests or a cause. Michele has found that engaging more people in conversations around food and farming creates a community with greater momentum than any individual can accomplish. This big picture view is why Cause Matters Corp. works to serve as a resource in both agriculture and nutrition communities.
- Farm & Ranch, Agvocate & Dietitan Blogs: Perspective from farmers, food professionals and agricultural advocates. Hundreds of blogs from around the world, sorted into three categories and then broken down by state.
- Ag, Food & Social Media: MPK’s favorite articles with tips to help you advance your social conversation around food and farming, agriculture and nutrition.
- Farms & Rural America, Food & Agriculture: A group Pinterest board that’s a tribute to farmers, rural lifestyle, those working in agriculture and people with an interest in choice in food and choice on the farm.
MPK believes in thought leadership for farmers, agribusinesses, registered dietitians, not-for-profits, ranchers, nutrition professionals, consumers, agriculturalists and scientists. Check out some of her resources to grow your ideas.
Cause Matters is active in a variety of communities – stop in for a visit on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Linkedin by clicking the links on the upper right. Or you can complete the contact form if you need additional information from us. Regardless of your action, consider this: If your voice isn’t in the conversation, who is talking for you?
First book for all sides of the food plate
A guide to growing a meaningful conversation about food and farm. The opportunity to reach across the plate and shake hands. More than 50 personal stories from across the U.S. and Canada. Expertise from around the food plate. This two-sided book offers 6 senses as guideposts to a more meaningful conversation for the food side and 6.5 steps for farmers to tell their story.
New speaking programs
Ignite excitement about food and nutrition through shared passion with your clients. Michele’s new keynote will help dietitians and nutrition professionals forge a stronger connections as you “light their fork on fire” with nutrition and healthcare behaviors for a lifetime.
Agriculture isn’t just your work, it’s who you are. Or is it? This new keynote will help farmers and ranchers go beyond the choir to connect on a human level through common values. It’s time to translate agriculture to the non-ag world; MPK provides the motivation and tools to make that happen.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Legacy is about leaving an impact that lives on beyond your years. As Mother's Day approaches, MPK reflects on watching her legacy come to life as her daughter buys her first calf. How are you contributing to your legacy and those who come after you?
Should it really take 40 years to celebrate a connected food plate? National Nutrition Month's slogan is "Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day". National Ag Day's is promoting "Generations Nourishing Generations". I firmly believe that if you're going to eat right, you need firsthand information about where your food comes from. Likewise, if agriculture is going to nourish generations, I believe it's an effort that involves a connected food plate - not just farmers or agriculture....
When my family sits down to a meal, the last thing we want to worry about is what kind of statement our food is making. Food is about nourishment, and the meal is about spending time together as a family. Join in sharing food love for Valentine's Day after you laugh about MPK's grocery store frustration.
Are you growing a community?
Communities can be built around zip codes, common interests or a cause. Michele has found that engaging more people in conversations around food and farming creates a community with greater momentum than any individual can accomplish. This big picture view is why Cause Matters Corp. works to serve as a resource in both agriculture and nutrition communities.
- Farm & Ranch, Agvocate & Dietitan Blogs: Perspective from farmers, food professionals and agricultural advocates. Hundreds of blogs from around the world, sorted into three categories and then broken down by state.
- Ag, Food & Social Media: MPK’s favorite articles with tips to help you advance your social conversation around food and farming, agriculture and nutrition.
- Farms & Rural America, Food & Agriculture: A group Pinterest board that’s a tribute to farmers, rural lifestyle, those working in agriculture and people with an interest in choice in food and choice on the farm.
MPK believes in thought leadership for farmers, agribusinesses, registered dietitians, not-for-profits, ranchers, nutrition professionals, consumers, agriculturalists and scientists. Check out some of her resources to grow your ideas.
Cause Matters is active in a variety of communities – stop in for a visit on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Linkedin by clicking the links on the upper right. Or you can complete the contact form if you need additional information from us. Regardless of your action, consider this: If your voice isn’t in the conversation, who is talking for you?
#AgChat & #FoodChat Resources
#AgChat is a weekly moderated conversation on Twitter for people in the business of raising food, feed, fuel, fiber. It’s similar to conversations at the local grain elevator or coffee shop, only AgChat is virtual. More than 15,000 people on Twitter have shared viewpoints and ideas about the issues impacting agriculture, such as mainstream media coverage, sustainability, antibiotics, agvocacy best practices, agronomy, animal welfare, farm family relationships, bioenergy and perceptions of farming. It’s fast-paced, thought-provoking and incredibly rewarding to see agriculturists discuss tough issues.
You are invited to join in every Tuesday, 8-10 p.m. Eastern Time. #FoodChat happens the third Tuesday of each month to connect those with an interest in food with the people who raise it. Farmers, foodies, dietitians, ranchers, chefs, moms, consumers, agricultural advocates and nutritionists all enjoy this lively conversation. Follow @agchat or @foodchat on Twitter and see the links below if you need more help getting started. Poke around the archives to see the conversation in action and then join the community.
The AgChat Foundation, Inc. is a volunteer driven not-for-profit to empower farmers and ranchers to connect communities through social media platforms. Founded in April 2010, the Foundation focuses on growing a connected community of agvocates – those who are having conversations about food and farming through social media tools. MPK is proud to be a member of the founding Board of Directors.
Social Conversations Around Farmers & Food
MPK challenges farmers, dietitians, agribusinesses and food organizations to create conversation using social media.
Why should you care about social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube? It’s really quite simple. Mass influence. Facebook reached 150 million users nearly three times faster than a cell phone. Social media is a culture changer, not a fad. If you’re not at the table, you can’t be a part of constructing the conversation – nor can you counter the misinformation campaigns around farm, food and nutrition.
Activist groups are becoming increasingly active on social networks and understand the power of messaging, according to Cause Matters Corp. research. The Humane Society of the United States has had more than 100x increase in their Twitter following since January 2009. Videos on animal rights and environmentalism increase 30% monthly. Science-based information is often overlooked in lieu of celebrity recommendations proliferated through our social world.
Food is an extremely hot issue – and it’s time for people with firsthand experience to leverage that through social media leadership to influence public opinion, rather than react to rhetoric. It will take experts from all sides of the food plate. Only 98.5% of the population aren’t in food production. How can we expect them to understand the origins of food, today’s practices or what’s really happening if we’re not using new media to communicate?
Cause Matters Corp. will help you grow the voice for your cause. Michele and her team have built communities around food and agricultural issues, such as #AgChat and FoodChat on Twitter. Trainings range from one-hour webinars to a full-day workshop, or Michele will work with you to build social media strategy for your organization. In a nutshell, you get a recipe designed for your audience’s social media needs.
Don’t be intimidated by today’s social world; Michele teaches a common sense approach to social media, combined with real life experiences of how farmers, ranchers, registered dietitians and advocates for agriculture have influenced significant change with these tools.
