Remember Dodge’s “So God Made a Farmer” Super Bowl ad a few years ago? Basically, it left half of America in tears. It’s safe to say that any commercial that screams ‘merica (bald eagles, fireworks, New York City, amber waves of grain) will be favorable to most Americans.
Now, let’s look at fast food advertisements. Lately chain restaurants have fallen into the bandwagon of farm-to-table advertising, AKA. farm-vertising. Examples include Wendy’s outlining the journey of its lettuce from the farm to your tummy. Another one is the McDonald’s commercial closing in on a potato farmer that we believe tends the potatoes that are then made into the addicting fries that we all love.
GIF courtesy of giphy.com
It is evident that people today like to know where their food comes from. This is quite the change from the past — in the 60s and 70s, companies bragged via advertisements about new processing findings, such as preservatives and canning methods. Now, corporations are sure to focus on the provenance of food, meaning not only where it came from, but who it came from.
GIF courtesy of giphy.com
The question is, how much truth is there to farm-vertising? Sure, we see a commercial of a happy-go-lucky local farmer smiling in a field of corn praising Burger King. But what isn’t shown is fossil fuels being used in factory farms, chemicals sprayed on beef patties to preserve freshness, along with the average of 1,500 miles the produce travels to get to your plate.
One popular chain that does hold true to its organic claims is Chipotle. They pride themselves on partnering with local farmers, ranchers, and suppliers. The only catch is that “local” might not mean your backyard. Chipotle ingredients travel 250 miles on average to get to their final destination.
You know what they say, WWLBD? (What Would Luke Bryan Do?)