Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. – John F. Kennedy

U.S. Capitol, where complexity reaches a fever pitch.

I’m not sure if it’s because we Americans are in the throes of an election year or because I’ve spent the last few months immersed in agriculture after a time away from the industry, but it seems lately people I encounter are quick to offer their clear and simplistic opinion of subjects that tend to be, well, pretty complex.

Or maybe it’s because we have Facebook and Twitter now, so I know the opinions of more people on more subjects than I ever would have imagined possible a few years ago.

Either way, it seems that some of the most heated debates in politics and agriculture have one thing in common: too many people think there exists a simple “right or wrong” answer.  Rarely are issues of consequence easy to decide. Rarely is an opinion completely black or white.  Can informed, well-meaning people have differing opinions? And not constantly be at one anothers’ throats?

It’s My Way or the Highway

There are certain topics that really seem to galvanize public opinion. In politics in 2011, credit ratings for US treasury bonds were downgraded for the first time in history. The debt ceiling crisis put a microscope on the inability of the two political parties to work together for the good of the nation. Turns out, nothing is more important than party loyalty. Politicians, pundits and regular Joes/Janes all seem to reduce the complex issues into black and white: my way, or no way.

If trying to get a handle on crazy, out-of-control debt and not falling, as a country, into sovereign default isn’t something our elected officials can reach an agreement on, is there anything they’ll put aside special interest-loyalties to accomplish? Can a complex, but correct solution be reached? Nothing about reaching that solution is simple.

The Way I Farm Is Better Than The Way You Farm

In agriculture, some of the galvanizing topics that tend to get tunnel vision treatment are the perceived superiority of organically produced food, and concerns over livestock production. But nothing takes off the blinders more quickly than going right to the source, and learning what’s really involved.

View of Climax, MN from my family’s farm.

During a recent blogger tour for KnowACaliforniaFarmer.com, the group visited a Naturipe strawberry field, where the farm manager visited with bloggers about how organic strawberries are grown and compared that to how conventional strawberries are grown; he grows both. Turns out, both require pesticides (bugs eat strawberries) and both require fertilization. Whether pesticides are made from synthetic or naturally-occurring ingredients, and whether fertilizer is urea or fish meal-based, the takeaway wasn’t a decisive organic or conventional is better than the other.It’s not that simple. Farming is complicated.

Our group of bloggers noted that every question they raised about how conventional produce is grown and every question they raised about how organic produce is grown had intricate answers.  At the end of the tour, I believe that one important takeaway was that farmers need to produce enough food to feed the people who need to eat and no element of how they do that is simple.

The Long and Short

Just like most issues in an election can’t be easily categorized, most aspects of farming are also complex. And that’s OK. Rarely are issues of consequence easy to decide.

It’s easy to become self-protective when you’re deeply involved in an issue. It’s harder to back up and help others understand as many of the elements of a complex issue as are needed to begin creating an informed opinion.

How do you form opinions on complex subjects that are important to you and your family? Do your opinions evolve?  Is it possible, through debate to change your position on an issue?

Sarah is AdFarm’s Director of Public Relations in the U.S. and, her co-workers can attest, talks politics way too much. She tweets about ag, politics and parenting @skprkc.