From teacher to food influencer: Dorothy Long joins Ag Hall of Fame

Dorothy Long never thought she’d become a food influencer.

“I was always going to be a home ec teacher,” she reflected.

Long went to the University of Saskatchewan with that goal in mind, earning degrees in both education and home economics. But Long said there weren’t a lot of home ec teacher jobs available when she graduated, so she went into the field of agriculture communications instead, and never looked back.

She said she’s spent her career helping consumers understand more about agriculture, how food is grown, and celebrating great local agricultural products.

Long was honoured Tuesday at the Western Canadian Crop Production Show as an inductee into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame.

With only about three per cent of the Canadian population having a direct connection to a farm or agriculture, Long said there is significant room for misinformation when it comes to food and farming.

“Spending time telling the story of agriculture and explaining how food is grown — and even sharing a recipe — is important to get people understanding where their food comes from and to answer the questions that they have,” Long said.

She remembered being alarmed once when she visited the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. Long said a girl about seven years old pointed to a cow and asked her if the animal was, in fact, a cow.

“We have a lot of work to do to tell people about agriculture,” Long said.

With people living further away from where their food is produced, Long explained there is a significant gap in understanding how food is grown, how animals are cared for and even simple pieces of information — like how white eggs generally come from white hens, and brown eggs from brown hens.

“I feel very passionate about telling the story of agriculture,” Long said.

Agriculture is now a bit of a family tradition, she added, as her parents were farmers.

“I feel like I’m representing them,” Long said.