On the heels of celebrating National Agriculture Day (and week) we saw social media erupting with viewpoints, celebratory posters and advice of all kinds about National Ag Day – and it’s a beautiful tribute to our industry.

Obviously food is essential to life and regardless of National Agriculture Day, now more than ever people seem to be obsessing over it. It’s more than just something you eat; today, you have to make a production out of where you buy it, how you cook it and who you eat it with.

I’ve never seen such emphasis on something that is chewed, digested and used to sustain life. And not in a positive way – it seems to be more of a fight today.

Enjoying a celebratory meal like the upcoming Easter dinner with the traditional ham, cheesy potatoes and green bean casserole now centers on being humanely and responsibly produced. The ham is required to be from a hog that was not only born out on the range but was able to run around a grassy field all of its short life, and was humanely killed before the carcass was processed.

The cheese on the potatoes needs to be made from cow’s milk from a dairy farm where they did not dock tails, did not dehorn the calves without proper anesthetic and had ample room where the cows were able to run around a grassy field all of their lives. And don’t forget that the green beans better be organically raised among lots of interfering weeds and bugs, because we don’t want to hurt the insects or spray the weeds that coincidentally keep us from having a bountiful harvest.

None of these humane considerations add to the flavor or quality of the product, but it makes people feel good while they are chewing their tough meat and scrawny beans.

And, feeling good is really what it’s all about. We are told those who want humanely raised meat and veggies don’t want to hear about our scientific rebuttal explaining why we do what we do. They don’t care that a sow will kill her piglets, they just want to think about the sow enjoying the sunshine in the pasture, having her babies.

And a dairy farmer better have plenty of pasture for his cows – but those same people who want dairy cattle on pasture just paid $300,000 to build a new house on what used to be the cow’s pasture.

But what about the science argument? Science was used to develop their smart phone, their automobiles and the big-screen TV they stare at every night, but we can’t use science to defend the husbandry of livestock? People thrive using science and technology every single day, but we can’t use science to defend why cows thrive with higher production and lower somatic cell counts on sand-bedded free-stalls eating a total mixed ration instead of pasture grass?

Apparently food production has to feel good in order to appeal to those with the humane demands. But the warning is, feelings will fail and lead you astray. Feelings will take you down a road farther than you ever thought you’d go, keep you there longer than you ever thought you’d stay and make you pay a higher price than you ever thought you’d pay … just ask David (of David and Goliath).

When it comes to food, I think I’ll stick with science.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.