The audience at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference this past week, was challenged to help the public cut through the noise of misinformation when it comes to making decisions about food and health.

Keynote speaker and University of Alberta Professor of Health Law and Science Policy, Timothy Caulfield, spoke at the Conference, Wednesday, August 14.

Most people may know Caulfield as the host and co-producer of the hit documentary TV show, “A User's Guide to Cheating Death.”

Popularly known for his debunking of common myths endorsed by pop culture, Caulfield explained to members of the beef sector, fear and anxiety are crushing Individual’s rationality.

“I really do think this is the era of misinformation and it’s also the era of fear. So many headlines are scary, particularly around food and health,” he said.

During his presentation, he cited headlines such as, “Global life expectancy Up 5.5 Years since 2000: WHO” and “U.S. Cancer Death Rate has Dropped 27% in 25 years.”

“Telling people what the reality is around health, you know this is the best time from a health perspective to be alive, getting that message across can also help," Caulfield said.

He says teaching critical thinking skills will be a way the industry can help consumers understand food production.

“It’s not always going to be a message that the industry wants to hear, but I think long-term, teaching critical thinking skills is going to be beneficial.”

 

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