When I was little, I was so afraid of the dark. Don’t laugh. I realized that my fear was completely irrational, but at the time it was very real to me. In high school, I finally began to understand why. My fear came from my parents who, as a way of trying to protect me, always told me awful stories of what happens after dark. I missed a lot of experiences and felt so much stress because I was afraid. It may sound goofy to some, but it was real to me.

Fast forward a few years to high school, I faced my fears, realized they were totally irrational, and started relying on common sense. This is when I realized that fear-based education is not the solution. My parents, and others I assume, had it all wrong.

In my years as a food safety educator, I have studied fear-based learning and research shows it does not change behavior long term and it can actually backfire. For this reason, I frown on any fear-based consumer “education."

Recent documentaries and books have played the fear card and have convinced consumers that our food supply is NOT safe. These documentaries and books have instilled fear and created consumer distrust with processors, USDA, FDA, farmers, and allied industries. Basically, anyone involved in the food system is not trusted. Just like my fear, this fear is real to many people, and they do not believe our food supply is safe.

Maybe it’s because of my past, but this really irks me. I do not believe fear-based education is the solution to improving food safety. We are not doing the consumers any justice by making false claims or one-sided claims about the safety of our food supply.

Having been in this industry for 20-plus years, I have seen the failures. We are not perfect, and I do not believe we will ever be perfect. We can strive to do better, and we are. How do I know this? I have seen the many successes, which far outweigh the failures. Promoting fear in our food supply is doing nothing but placing distrust on the hands that feed us. This fear is dangerous for the consumers and the processors. Consumers feel unsafe and vulnerable, which prevents a healthy learning environment.

Why can’t we promote successes and discuss the failures and lessons learned? Educational research shows over and over again that fear-based education is not the long term solution. It creates unnecessary stress and long-term health implications to those feeling vulnerable. Learning doesn’t happen when we feel fear.

Understanding the processes in place and understanding the roles of the food supply chain, including consumers, is the critical component to more successes and more trust. There is no need to feel unsafe and vulnerable.

We have way more successes than failures in food safety in our food supply, and now is not the time to fear the hands that feed us. Educate, share the successes and the failures, and stop the fear-mongering.

No time to fear

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