Corner Post editorial —
Stereotype is difficult to overcome, but we know CAFNR is all about the sciences of life
by Kaity Kerwin, posted May 14, 2008
What is the first thing you think of when you hear the words “College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources?
“I just always think of farmers, for some reason,” said freshman Jenny Sanders, majoring in radiological sciences.
“I think of cows,” said freshman early childhood education major, Elizabeth Lorenz.
CeCe Leslie, CAFNR director of recruitment admitted that if she had been asked this question before she began working in CAFNR, she would have had a similar response.
“But this position has offered the opportunity to understand the breadth of study opportunities of the College,” Leslie said.
What is CAFNR actually about?
Sure, CAFNR does include farmers, and the livestock industry is an important part of the agriculture world, but CAFNR is much more than “cows and plows.” We are a diverse College with areas of study that extend into all of the sciences of life.
Our College has more majors than any other college or school on the University of Missouri campus. The list of fifteen majors and nineteen minors shows diversity all by itself. The list includes the obvious, such as agricultural business and general agriculture, but then there are majors that are a little more outside the box, such as hotel and restaurant management, biochemistry, and parks, recreation and tourism.
“We study the things that impact your life on a daily basis,” Leslie said.
For instance:
- We have students studying soil, environmental and atmospheric sciences. These students will become meteorologists, water quality specialists, environmental researchers, and more.
- We have agricultural business and economics majors, who will enter into the largest business in the country: agriculture.
- Our agricultural education students will enter a classroom setting to teach new generations about all aspects of agriculture or they will become leaders by communicating about agriculture as they work for commodity associations, marketing firms and other businesses.
- We have plant and animal science students who will conduct research or enter into the veterinary medicine program.
- Hotel and restaurant management is our second largest major, only behind animal science. These students will be managing, working in, or preparing food for the hotels and restaurants that people stay in and eat in every day.
In addition to these majors, we have others full of students ready and willing to make a difference in the lives of every person in the country.
Does CAFNR consist mainly of kids with rural backgrounds?
Actually, no! Our students are as diverse as our majors.
Approximately one third of our students are from the St. Louis area, and another large chunk comes from the Kansas City area. Rural students make up the next largest group. Finally, there are out-of-state and international students, who make up the smallest percentage of students in the College.
In fact, our animal science program contains a large number of urban females working to become small-animal veterinarians and also many rural males studying to become large-animal veterinarians. This shows the diversity just within one major.
With all this diversity, why is CAFNR stereotyped so much?
I think our College faces these stereotypes because people do not think about or understand how agriculture affects their daily lives. They just assume farmers farm, and what farmers do has no impact on their lives.
Ever heard the saying, “No farmers, no food”? Growing up on a farm, I have heard it my whole life. But many people have not, and they don’t understand that without farmers, they wouldn’t have any products made from soybeans, corn or wheat. They wouldn’t have beef, pork, chicken, eggs, or any other things that come from crops or farm animals.
People take for granted what they use every day. They just know it’s in the store when they need to go buy it. They don’t think about the production, the preparation, or the care that goes into making sure it’s sitting on that store shelf for them to pick up at their convenience.
They also don’t think about the education needed to become a part of the sciences of life. The faculty and staff of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources realize how important every aspect of agriculture is, and they give their students the best possible training to be able to enter the diverse world of agriculture.
Be part of the solution
If students on campus and people in general could open their eyes to see the diversity in our College and how it affects their everyday lives, the stereotype might disappear. As students in this College, we have a responsibility to help others understand who we are, and what we do. So, the next time you hear a stereotypical remark about CAFNR or agriculture, use it as an opportunity to open that person’s mind to a new understanding.
