OldDog/NewTricks
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Americans disconnected from how food is produced
This was forwarded to me by a Congressional staffer. Thought it was something you might find useful.
Article published Apr 9, 2008
GUEST COLUMNIST
Americans disconnected from how food is produced
By KEN BLIGHT
Lori Holcomb's March 23 article about becoming a vegetarian ("What's on your plate? Thoughts to chew on") is an example of how disconnected most Americans are from agriculture and from how their food is produced. Even more troubling in this case is the fact that Ms. Holcomb, who grew up on a farm in Texas, seems as vulnerable to misinformation about agriculture as someone who spent their whole life in a city.
There is an insidious credibility problem today, fueled in part by the Internet and its vast store of information. It has become increasingly difficult to tell fact from fiction. Something false, if repeated often enough, begins to be accepted as the truth.
A thing believed to be real is real in its consequences. Misinformation does have an effect on us, especially in our choices of food, which tend to be very personal. As a beef producer and someone who has worked in agriculture all my life, I would like to set the record straight regarding some of the frequently heard claims about beef and beef production Ms. Holcomb repeated in her article.
Let's begin with the claim that vegetarians are much healthier. Three of the largest long-term studies ever conducted - the Health Food Shopper's Study, the Oxford Vegetarian Study and the EPIC-Oxford Study - found little difference between vegetarians and non-vegetarians in terms of overall health and mortality.
The American Council on Science and Health said, after an analysis of vegetarian diets: "Well-planned vegetarian diets can be healthful but we cannot attribute any unique benefits to a meatless diet. Lifestyle choices and dietary factors other than avoidance of meat are more relevant to good health."
The bottom line is that vegetarian diets are not automatically healthy and meat-containing diets are not automatically unhealthy. Numerous studies show you can achieve optimum health if you eat a balanced diet including lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats, engage in physical activity and avoid smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.
Next, let's examine beef production and the environment. The popular claim is that raising cattle is worse than driving automobiles in terms of greenhouse gas emission. However, the Environmental Protection Agency's data on greenhouse gases show that, in the United States, all livestock production accounts for less than 2.5 percent of total annual greenhouse gas emissions. By comparison, fossil fuel combustion accounts for about 80 percent of total annual emissions.
One of the strangest claims out there is that we could feed more than a billion starving people in the world if we didn't feed soybeans and grain to U.S. cattle. First of all, cattle don't eat soybeans. Once the beans are crushed to extract the oil (which is what humans can consume) what's left are husks. Husks (otherwise a waste product) can be ground into a meal and used as a feed supplement for cattle. This provides additional value for the soybean farmer and also benefits cattlemen.
As for corn, many farmers raise what is called feed corn. This corn is grown specifically to be used as livestock feed (it's a lower grade than corn for human consumption, and you wouldn't want to eat it). If the market for feed corn did not exist, farmers simply wouldn't grow it. And, if that income were lost, many might go out of business. The U.S. does produce corn surpluses so if someone wants to buy corn, process it and pay for shipping it overseas, that opportunity exists. But the Green Revolution taught us it is much better to encourage local production than to provide food as a hand-out.
Finally, there always are claims of inhumane treatment of animals. I can tell you as a beef producer, one reason I am in this business is because I like animals. And because it is a business, I know that healthy, well cared for animals are the foundation of profitability. There may be a few bad actors as we saw in recent news coverage of a video taken at a processing plant in California. But cattlemen were as disturbed by that video as anyone. In some ways we were more upset because we abide by a code of cattle care that says abuse of animals will not be tolerated.
The best advice for good health is to eat plenty of nutrient dense foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats, and be aware of lifestyle choices that can affect your health such as insufficient physical activity.
If you want to help the environment, there are lots of things you can do on an individual basis. Cutting out meat won't help, but finding ways to reduce energy use can make a difference. To name a few, drive your car less, take the bus to work, turn your thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer, wash your clothes in cold water and use energy-saving light bulbs.
Beef producers know most Americans don't understand what happens on the farm. We do, however, want you to see how we raise cattle and produce beef. And we want to tell you our story personally. You can find out the facts and hear some of our stories on a special Web site at www.BeefFromPastureToPlate.org <http://www.BeefFromPastureToPlate.org> .
Ken Blight is a beef producer in Albion.
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080409/OPINION02/804090302
This was forwarded to me by a Congressional staffer. Thought it was something you might find useful.
Article published Apr 9, 2008
GUEST COLUMNIST
Americans disconnected from how food is produced
By KEN BLIGHT
Lori Holcomb's March 23 article about becoming a vegetarian ("What's on your plate? Thoughts to chew on") is an example of how disconnected most Americans are from agriculture and from how their food is produced. Even more troubling in this case is the fact that Ms. Holcomb, who grew up on a farm in Texas, seems as vulnerable to misinformation about agriculture as someone who spent their whole life in a city.
There is an insidious credibility problem today, fueled in part by the Internet and its vast store of information. It has become increasingly difficult to tell fact from fiction. Something false, if repeated often enough, begins to be accepted as the truth.
A thing believed to be real is real in its consequences. Misinformation does have an effect on us, especially in our choices of food, which tend to be very personal. As a beef producer and someone who has worked in agriculture all my life, I would like to set the record straight regarding some of the frequently heard claims about beef and beef production Ms. Holcomb repeated in her article.
Let's begin with the claim that vegetarians are much healthier. Three of the largest long-term studies ever conducted - the Health Food Shopper's Study, the Oxford Vegetarian Study and the EPIC-Oxford Study - found little difference between vegetarians and non-vegetarians in terms of overall health and mortality.
The American Council on Science and Health said, after an analysis of vegetarian diets: "Well-planned vegetarian diets can be healthful but we cannot attribute any unique benefits to a meatless diet. Lifestyle choices and dietary factors other than avoidance of meat are more relevant to good health."
The bottom line is that vegetarian diets are not automatically healthy and meat-containing diets are not automatically unhealthy. Numerous studies show you can achieve optimum health if you eat a balanced diet including lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats, engage in physical activity and avoid smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.
Next, let's examine beef production and the environment. The popular claim is that raising cattle is worse than driving automobiles in terms of greenhouse gas emission. However, the Environmental Protection Agency's data on greenhouse gases show that, in the United States, all livestock production accounts for less than 2.5 percent of total annual greenhouse gas emissions. By comparison, fossil fuel combustion accounts for about 80 percent of total annual emissions.
One of the strangest claims out there is that we could feed more than a billion starving people in the world if we didn't feed soybeans and grain to U.S. cattle. First of all, cattle don't eat soybeans. Once the beans are crushed to extract the oil (which is what humans can consume) what's left are husks. Husks (otherwise a waste product) can be ground into a meal and used as a feed supplement for cattle. This provides additional value for the soybean farmer and also benefits cattlemen.
As for corn, many farmers raise what is called feed corn. This corn is grown specifically to be used as livestock feed (it's a lower grade than corn for human consumption, and you wouldn't want to eat it). If the market for feed corn did not exist, farmers simply wouldn't grow it. And, if that income were lost, many might go out of business. The U.S. does produce corn surpluses so if someone wants to buy corn, process it and pay for shipping it overseas, that opportunity exists. But the Green Revolution taught us it is much better to encourage local production than to provide food as a hand-out.
Finally, there always are claims of inhumane treatment of animals. I can tell you as a beef producer, one reason I am in this business is because I like animals. And because it is a business, I know that healthy, well cared for animals are the foundation of profitability. There may be a few bad actors as we saw in recent news coverage of a video taken at a processing plant in California. But cattlemen were as disturbed by that video as anyone. In some ways we were more upset because we abide by a code of cattle care that says abuse of animals will not be tolerated.
The best advice for good health is to eat plenty of nutrient dense foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats, and be aware of lifestyle choices that can affect your health such as insufficient physical activity.
If you want to help the environment, there are lots of things you can do on an individual basis. Cutting out meat won't help, but finding ways to reduce energy use can make a difference. To name a few, drive your car less, take the bus to work, turn your thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer, wash your clothes in cold water and use energy-saving light bulbs.
Beef producers know most Americans don't understand what happens on the farm. We do, however, want you to see how we raise cattle and produce beef. And we want to tell you our story personally. You can find out the facts and hear some of our stories on a special Web site at www.BeefFromPastureToPlate.org <http://www.BeefFromPastureToPlate.org> .
Ken Blight is a beef producer in Albion.
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080409/OPINION02/804090302
