Conspiracy Theories Debunked

If you work or have ever worked in agriculture, you know that conspiracy theories and misleading information about how our food gets to the dinner table abound. Really, if you work in any industry about which the public isn’t well-educated, you know that in the absence of facts, people will try to find patterns or fill in the blanks themselves when they have knowledge gaps. Rarely does this end in any kind of positivity. In fact, leave even the tiniest of gaps (and sometimes no gap at all) of information, and people are going to take that opportunity to lose their collective minds and create worst case scenarios and theories about what “the truth” really is. There are plenty of people who, in the absence of information, immediately become distrustful and suspicious. 

I’ve made it my goal to educate people whenever I get the chance. I try to make my blogs and emails sources of valid, trustworthy information so when these kind of conspiracy theories pop up, you can find information quickly, and then follow up with your own research. This week, I’ve rounded up the most recent conspiracies and misinformation campaigns, and I’ve done the digging to bring you the summary of how untrue these outlandish stories are.

As always, I encourage you to do your own research on trustworthy sites with details based on facts and science.

Here we go:

Conspiracy Theory: Bill Gates owns all the farmland. 

If you’re on my email list (hint: if you’re not, you can sign up so you’re ahead of the curve), you’ll know we’ve already discussed this to an extent, but here’s a summary. It is true that Bill Gates owns farmland. It’s also true that Bill Gates owns A LOT of farmland. His nearly 300,000 acres of land is absolutely nothing to which one would consider small. However, we have to think about that 300,000 acres within the context of the amount of farmland as a whole. 

The US has nearly 900 million total farm acres. Yes, 900 MILLION with a capital M. That means Bill would have to own 3,000 of his 300,000 acre farms in order to own all of America’s farmland. So, while he’s certainly got more than most, he’s by no means the maniacal controller of all things agriculture that some think he might be.

Conspiracy Theory: Cattle in Kansas are dying via a conspiracy to starve people

If you’re following along with this recent and horrific story, you know that thousands of cattle have died in Kansas as a result of the intense heat wave that settled over the state. This is of particular note in agriculture, as beef cattle dominate the agriculture industry in Kansas These losses are incredibly difficult for farmers and ranchers to deal with, especially as they continue to face drought and other hardships. However, the theory that somehow a nefarious person or group could come together and raise the temperatures in such a drastic way is “out there” even for people who understand just exactly what nefarious people are capable of doing. 

The sad fact is these animals live in an area where temperature swings, such as the one Kansas experienced, are incredibly difficult to deal with, based on topography, available facilities, and an animal’s ability to deal with heat stress. There doesn’t need to be another explanation. It’s a terrible loss, and we we wouldn’t tell you that your home didn’t flood because of an obviously broken pipeline, but rather instead because a secretive cabal of people were out to get you. It invalidates the experience these farmers and ranchers are facing, and it flies in the face of any and all reason and logic.

Conspiracy Theory: Food processing plants are under attack

Since April there has been a social media hyper-focus on explosions and fires at US food processing facilities. The conspiracy theory is that these fires are no mere coincidence, but rather a deliberate attack on the American food supply chain. While no one is happy about the number of fires that occurred in food processing facilities over the past year, it’s important we take some context into account. If you do a short amount of research, you’ll find that fires at these kinds of facilities are not a “new trend,” but rather a hazard of the production process. With any kind of production, there are risks, and fires are an unfortunate risk in food production. The National Fire Protection Association experts are not seeing the evidence. If they aren’t the experts, I don’t know who are. It was truly so outlandish that even Glenn Beck couldn’t find the conspiracy.

There doesn’t have to be a secret agenda to destroy farming. Family farms are being destroyed openly with legislation and regulations. Oh, and for those who are inevitably going to say I’m in on the conspiracy, let’s don’t forget I wrote about the world economic forum, too.