#GiveACrop Campaign Helps Consumers Understand Importance of Crop Protection

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Farm News Director

California Ag Today recently spoke with Genevieve O’Sullivan, the Director of Communication and Marketing for CropLife America based in Washington, D.C. They’re advocates for crop protection companies.

“So every day, my job is to talk about why pesticides are necessary tools for farmers, and one of the ways we’ve done that is with a campaign called giveacrop.org, where we have 12 humorous videos on why farmers use pesticides. … Our most recent ones are focused specifically on the importance of pesticides as an important tool,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s all about The Talk—having a conversation about the importance of crop protection materials.”

“We help the average consumer understand the importance of crop protection tools,” she explained.

With the videos, CropLife America has chosen a of couple different occupations—like a chef, a hairdresser and carpenter—to feature.

“What we do is take away the main tool they need and then show how much harder it is to do your job or possibly [they’re] not even be able to do the job without the tools, and they are quite humorous,” O’Sullivan said.

“They feature our mascot, The Pest, and he is that guy that nobody can stand. But thank goodness farmers have pesticides to deal with the pests on their property,” she said.

The campaign also promotes #GiveACrop.

“It’s more than a hashtag. It’s the satisfying crunch of spreading the word about crop protection,” O’Sullivan explained. “Whether you’re a proud grower or a satisfied shopper, when you #GiveACrop, you’re saying that you’re not afraid to have the talk about the produce you love and the pests you don’t.”

“So go ahead, take a harvest selfie. Show us your bumper crop. And tag it like you mean it,” she said.

To see the videos, go to giveacrop.org, where you will also find facts versus myths.