There was a fantastic survey featured in the Yorkshire Post today reporting that fewer than half of young adults know that butter comes from a dairy cow and less than a third understood that eggs come from hens.
Better still, more than a third don’t know that bacon comes from pigs and four in 10 failed to link milk with an image of a cow.
One sentence: What is the world coming to?
I want to know where these people think produce comes from – now that would be a survey. As I was born and raised on a farm in the Yorkshire Dales, I am particularly passionate about good, quality food and more so about teaching children where produce comes from.
These people need a shake. I think it’s embarrassing that we are reporting statistics like this and although on the surface they appear funny and quirky it just goes to show what is wrong with this country.
I bet many of the people questioned said that milk comes from ASDA and eggs from Tesco. What chance have we for the youth of today when their parents are getting it so wrong? I know that many people will be asking does it really matter and do we need to know – yes, and yes!
The future of farmers relies on people understanding what time, commitment and energy they put into their produce in order for them to sell it at a price beyond commodity. We need to stop spending so much time deliberating over the small stuff (wearing safety goggles to play conkers in the playground as an example) and get the basics right.
For those who aren’t aware; dairy cows make milk, eggs come from hens, pigs are pork and sheep are mutton (or lamb depending on age). For those who think that educating their children about where produce comes from is cruel or upsetting – seriously, get over it.
Let’s be honest, they’re going to look pretty daft when they start blubbering at Sunday Lunch after finally realising at 30 that Peppa Pig is the dish of the day!