The Beef U Eat

Celebrity Spotlight - Temple Grandin

2010-07-21T11:42:00.001-05:00

My favorite college course was Animal Issues and Welfare. There were a number of memorable experiences in the class, and meeting Dr. Temple Grandin was certainly one of them.

I can remember sitting on the edge of my seat listening to every word. We listened as she described her challenges with autism, highlighted her philosophies on animal behavior and handling, and encouraged us as we analyzed some of the agricultural industry's biggest challenges.

Grandin is focus of my Celebrity Spotlight feature, but she certainly wasn't a celebrity in 2003. In the last year, her international status has skyrocketed after being the focus of an HBO biopic"Temple Grandin," which has been nominated for 15 Emmys and goes on sale August 17. She was also named one of The 2010 Times 100 by Time's Magazine.

She has revolutionized the way livestock are cared for and managed. Grandin has developed livestock handling equipment and offered countless lectures on how human's can positively influence animal behavior. I could write about her achievements for pages, but I'll simply encourage you to visit her website to learn about her amazing story or visit a few of the quick links below.

BBC - The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow
ABC News PrimeTime - Can Autism Help Explain Animal Behavior?
NPR - The Best Life For Animals

Coming from a farm and ranch family, it's a huge victory for us to have one of our biggest supporters on some the nation's biggest stages. Read up on her life, watch the HBO biopic and share her story with others. It's worth your time. Grandin's life encompasses the progressive nature of today's livestock industry. Also, if you enjoy reading books, a number of my friends have recommended reading Animals in Translation.

Reusable Grocery Bags Contaminated With E. Coli, Other Bacteria

2010-07-19T09:59:00.003-05:00

EDITORS NOTE: Being green isn't just something that happens on the farm, my wife and I also champion the same green efforts of our more urban friends. We recycle all of our paper, cardboard, tin and alumninum cans, glass, and plastic bags. A few years ago, we also started using reusable grocery bags. The University of Arizona report below opened my eyes, and I thought I needed to share this with my food-focused friends. I'll be washing our reusable grocery bags this week.

Reusable grocery bags can be a breeding ground for dangerous food-borne bacteria and pose a serious risk to public health, according to a joint food-safety research report issued today by the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University in California.

The study Assessment of the Potential for Cross Contamination of Food Products by Reusable Shopping Bags (PDF) randomly tested reusable grocery bags carried by shoppers in Tucson, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The study also found consumers were almost completely unaware of the need to regularly wash their bags.

"Our findings suggest a serious threat to public health, especially from coliform bacteria including E. coli, which were detected in half of the bags sampled," said Charles Gerba, a UA professor of soil, water and environmental science and co-author of the study. "Furthermore, consumers are alarmingly unaware of these risks and the critical need to sanitize their bags on a weekly basis."

Bacteria levels found in reusable bags were significant enough to cause a wide range of serious health problems and even death. They are a particular danger for young children, who are especially vulnerable to food-borne illnesses, Gerba said.

The study also found that awareness of potential risks was very low. A full 97 percent of those interviewed never washed or bleached their reusable bags, said Gerba, adding that thorough washing kills nearly all bacteria that accumulate in reusable bags.

The report comes at a time when some members of the California Legislature, through Assembly Bill 1998, are seeking to promote increased consumer use of reusable bags by banning plastic bags from California stores.

"If this is the direction California wants to go, our policymakers should be prepared to address the ramifications for public health," said co-author Ryan Sinclair, a professor at Loma Linda University's School of Public Health.
The report noted that "a sudden or significant increase in use of reusable bags without a major public education campaign on how to reduce cross contamination would create the risk of significant adverse public health impact."

Geographic factors also play a role, said Sinclair, who noted that contamination rates appeared to be higher in Los Angeles than in the two other locations – a phenomenon likely due to that region's weather being more conducive to growth of bacteria in reusable bags.

"As scientists, our focus was not on the relative merits of paper, plastic or reusable grocery bags," Gerba said. "Our intent was purely to provide relevant data to better inform consumers and lawmakers about the public health dimensions that could arise from increased use of reusable bags. With this knowledge, people will be in a better position to protect their health and that of their children."

Adapted from a University of Arizona News Release

Photo source: flickr.com member Luca Penati

National Academy of Sciences Releases Sustainable Agriculture Report

2010-07-14T09:20:00.000-05:00

On June 29, the National Academy of Sciences released the report Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century. It highlights the extreme challenges American farmers face feeding the world. The report does a great job summarizing the enormous task facing farmers today.
Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century is available in different formats depending you your preference. You can purchase the report as a hardcopy of PDF, download a brief of the report, download an executive summary or scroll down the page a bit. You will find an option to read the report page by page.

I chose to read the news release and scanned the summary, brief and full report. Below are a few paragraphs from the new release.

"Although farming productivity has increased, nowadays farmers are being asked to do more than produce more food for a growing world population," said Julia Kornegay, chair of the committee that wrote the report, and professor and head of the department of horticultural science at North Carolina State University, Raleigh. "Many modern agricultural practices have unintended negative consequences, such as decreased water and air quality, and farmers have to consider these consequences while trying to increase production. If farmers are going to meet future demands, the U.S. agriculture system has to evolve to become sustainable and think broadly -- past the bottom line of producing the most possible."

Farmers in the United States have become more efficient producers. For instance, in 2008 farm output was 158 percent higher than it was in 1948, and farmers today are producing more food with less energy per unit output than 50 years ago. However, U.S. agriculture has external costs that are mostly unaccounted for in productivity measurements, the report says. For example, water tables have declined markedly in some agricultural areas, and pollution from nitrogen and phosphorus in fertilizers and pesticides have infiltrated surface water and rivers, creating oxygen-starved zones in waterways. The agricultural sector also is the largest contributor of two greenhouse gases, nitrous oxide and methane, in the United States.

Additionally, the committee found that farmers face other challenges, such as consumer concerns about the treatment of farm animals and food safety. Farmers' income is also not keeping up with rising production costs, primarily due to the higher prices of external inputs such as seeds, fuel, and synthetic fertilizer. More than half of U.S. farm operators work off the farm to supplement their income and to obtain health care and retirement benefit plans.

To help achieve a sustainable agriculture system that looks beyond the end goal of providing more goods, the committee identified four goals that should be considered simultaneously:

satisfy human food, fiber, and feed requirements, and contribute to biofuels needs
enhance environmental quality and the resource base
maintain the economic viability of agriculture
improve the quality of life for farmers, farm workers, and society as a whole

The committee emphasized that achieving a balance of the four goals, and creating systems that can adapt to fluctuating conditions, are hallmarks of greater sustainability. Achieving the goals will require long-term research, education, outreach, and experimentation by the public and private sectors in partnership with farmers.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and W.K. Kellogg Foundation funded the report. I need to spend some more time reading the report, but I hope you can appreciate the depth and and width of the committee's work.

Photo Source: flickr.com member Paul Cocker

I Couldn't Have Said It Better

2010-07-05T16:04:00.000-05:00

Sometimes people outside of farming are much better about telling agriculture's story than people that live there everyday. A trip I took the last week in June couldn't have illustrated that point any better.

I traveled to Lubbock, Texas, organizing a one-day conference on sustainable agriculture production. It featured some great speakers, and I hope to share their presentations with you soon. The people I met traveling between Manhattan, Kansas, and Lubbock couldn't have been more different.

On my way to Lubbock, I met Ed. He was a beef-loving Texan who raved about the great beef at United Supermarkets, complimented the juicy steaks at Saltgrass Steak House and explained how he converted his wife from well-done to medium-rare steak. He was a walking-and-talking beef ambassador.

On the way home, I met Cindy, a chef from Arkansas. She was reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. We talked about what she liked about the book, and I offered some first-hand experience about some of the book's misconceptions.

Honestly, I wish I could have taken her right out to my family's farm and pointed to the great things we do in agriculture every day. When I got home on Thursday night, I discovered someone got that experience I wished I could have provided Cindy. My friend's blogs were buzzing about the latest post from nutritionist Ryan Andrews.

Andrews received a bachelor's degree in exercise science and master's degrees in exercise physiology and nutrition. The guy is a health expert and vegetarian, and his latest blog post is about his visit to an eastern Colorado feedlot. Andrews covered all the misconceptions most folks have about modern agriculture, and he couldn't have painted reality any better.

Take a few minutes to read about his experience, and take notes. It's worth remembering his experience the next time you talk with consumers about modern agricultural production.

Celebrity Spotlight - Russ Parsons "The Californian Cook"

2010-06-20T15:20:00.000-05:00

It's not everyday that you will find a West Coast chef that is willing to go to bat for modern agriculture. Russ Parsons, the Los Angeles Times food editor known as "The Californian Cook," is one of the best friends agriculture could have in a farm-removed market.

Take some time and check out his work at the Los Angles Times. One of the first articles I read from Parsons was The facts about food and farming. This article alone was enough to make me consider this guy as the next TheBeefUEat.com Celebrity Spotlight, but it gets better.

Parsons wasn't afraid to stand directly in the line of fire and take on the organic versus natural debate with his story 'Organic' debate goes on, naturally. Then, he stepped back into the fire with 'Organic' label doesn't guarantee quality or taste.

He came back for an encore when the recession started cutting into consumer steak budgets with Smart steak cuts for lean times.

It doesn't take long to realize that Parsons knows food and farming, and he wants consumers to understand both of those worlds as well as he does.

When I pursued an agricultural communications degree, I spent more than my fair share of time working in the university's journalism school. The push from professors was to always get the next big story, and that generally was translated as stiring up controversy and intrigue.

Balance was generally thrown out the window as young journalists were more willing to make a big bang than sustain a beautiful tune. I hope more journalists pay attention to the success and dedicated following of Russ Parsons.

How to Talk to a Consumer

2010-06-16T21:33:00.000-05:00

How many of you know how to pick the perfect cut of beef for your meals but never offer your expertise to consumers at the meat case?

I pride myself on being handy, thrifty, and in general, a pretty good consumer, especially when it comes to beef. However, I'm not as good at sharing my tricks with others, and it's a shame. In a society that's consumer driven, we need smarter consumers.

The main reason for starting this blog was to help everyone be better beef consumers and advocates, and that starts with changing my attitude.

Last Thursday, I helped beef consumers at Ray's Apple Market in Manhattan, Kan. The meat case was buzzing with activity.

I was at the store for two hours and talked with a dozen consumers. Two knew what they were looking for at the meat case, and the majority of consumers welcomed my advice.

The experience taught me that consumers want to know what they are doing. We want to be empowered to make our own purchasing decisions, but sometimes we are afraid to ask for help. If you know a thing or two about beef, offer to help.

After talking to two or three consumers, I realized each experience had the same key elements. I have a few guidelines to help you out:

Casually scan the meat department and find a consumer that is struggling with their purchase decision. This may sound funny, but these consumers aren't hard to spot. Only a handful of people looked like they were in command of their purchasing decision when I was at the store.
Introduce yourself, share your qualifications (beef lover, cattle rancher, chef, foodie, etc.), and ask them if they need some help. Don't be offended if they say no. Sometimes people simply like independence, but I was surprised at how many people accepted my invitation for advice.
Ask them three questions: Why are you at the meat case? What is important to you in finding the right beef cut? What meals are you hoping to prepare? These questions are essential. Some people might be making a one-meal stop. Other consumers are looking to stock up for the week. One person values flavor while another consumer desires simplicity. I realized most of the consumers I talked to knew what meal they were preparing but couldn't find the right cut to go with it. That might be the biggest pointer you can have in being their beef expert.
Share a few simple facts on beef's role in a healthy diet. Beef is a valuable source of zinc, iron, protein and B vitamins (ZIP).
Talk about the differences in good fat and bad fat. In my opinion, marbling is a consumers best friend. It offers consumers a health benefit, and more importantly it improves beef's juiciness, flavor and tenderness. It can be a huge benefit if consumers have a habit of overcooking beef.
Make your advice personal. Share stories about specific meals you like, the beef cuts involved and your experiences with beef.

No one experience went the same as the next, but each of them offered opportunities to share some of these points.

Scan the meat case the next time you are at the grocery store. You might be surprised at the audience you will find.

Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/ member jarred_

You Aren't a Farmer Without a Farm

2010-06-02T09:28:00.002-05:00

I am old enough to know that sometimes you need to step back from life's chaos and simply focus on your priorities. Last month was one of those moments, and unfortunately, that meant letting the blog go idle for a few weeks.

My biggest priority was family with the passing of my grandfather on April 24. It's been more than a month since his funeral, and I still struggle to describe him to friends that never met the man. The funny thing is I can't talk about him without talking about his farm. The two topics are inseparable.

He wore a "farmer's cap" and a pliers on his belt everyday of his life. Grandpa always looked the most comfortable in a pearl snap shirt, broke in Lee jeans and well-worn cowboy boots.

Like most farmers, he was independent but loyal. Grandpa never said much, but when he talked, people listened. He went to the coffee shop nearly every day to share stories and laughs with the local farmers. And like most farmers, he did things his way, and people respected him for it.

He always drove a Ford pickup and John Deere tractor. Lunch was a cooked Oscar Meyer ham sandwich, Cheetos and Soft 'N' Chewy chocolate chip cookies for a snack. He drove home at the end of each day to eat dinner with grandma, and he generally made each of them a drink consisting of Squirt and Old Carter.

He said every farmer always deserved to have at least one good cowdog in his life. His was Frosty, a blue healer that lived to be more than 15 years old. Yet, even after Frosty passed he surrounded himself with a cowdog. They might not have been as good as Frosty, but he liked the company.

Family and faith were important to him, even if he never talked about either very much. Grandpa spent nearly every morning for 33 years sharing a pot of coffee with my dad discussing the farm and any other topics that came up. He sat next to my grandma in the same church pew for as many years, and when he couldn't make it to church with her, you'd see him at the 6:30 a.m., Sunday, service. He loved playing cards, and he was generally good for a few rounds of 13-point pitch with the family on Christmas and New Year's Day.

Farmers are defined by their work. In many ways, the two are inseparable. Grandpa served in the Army, worked as a stone mason and traveled the country as a wheat harvester, but he was known by everyone as a farmer.

Celebrate Earth Day!

2010-04-22T13:54:00.000-05:00

Today, we are celebrating Earth Day for the 40th consecutive year. My family will join more than 800,000 farmers and ranchers in celebrating this day like we do every other, by raising food responsibly to feed the world.

Farmers and ranchers represent America’s first environmentalists. They are charged with the responsibility of using the earth’s limited resources wisely. For many farm families, they have been doing exactly this for generations that go back to the founding of our country.

I encourage you to take a short drive out to the country--maybe take a walk on a dirt road--during Earth Day to appreciate what area food producers are doing to preserve the earth.

In the last 10 years, my family has spent thousands of dollars installing waterways, terraces and buffer strips to reduce soil erosion. We have helped countless Kansas producers adopt no-till planting practices for corn, grain sorghum and wheat. At harvest time, we’ll leave some grazing strips for wildlife. Lastly, we have improved our fencing and pasture techniques with our cattle to improve the water quality of our streams and ponds.

Most people probably wouldn’t notice these subtleties, but they were a cost our family was happy to absorb because it’s the right thing to do.

The great thing is that we weren’t the only ones making these improvements. They are happening across the country. Even on campus at Kansas State University, there are thousands of students preparing for careers in agriculture, purely focused on producing food in safe and responsible manner.

So, when you sit down and enjoy a meal tonight, take a moment to think about the food you are eating and how America’s farmers and ranchers are producing higher quality food using earth-friendly production practices.

It's Hot Dog Season

2010-04-10T15:41:00.002-05:00

Last night, I attended a K-State baseball game to mark my first of what is sure to be many innings of baseball watched and hot dogs consumed over the next 6 months. I love baseball and ballpark food. Supposedly, I'm not alone. Americans love hot dogs.

The fun folks at the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council dug up some great facts on America's obsession with hot dogs and baseball. Here are some neat hot dog facts for you to chew on.

Ballparks around the country will serve 21,378,064 hot dogs this season, enough to round the bases 29,691 times.
Fenway Park is estimated to serve more hot dogs than any other Major League Baseball stadium. They are predicted to sell more than 1.67 million hot dogs during the 2010 season.
The Philadelphia Phillies are asking fans this year to select a new signature hot dog for the park.
The sausage follows as a distant second to the hot dog at all but one MLB stadium. The Milwaukee Brewers, home of the world-famous Klement’s Sausage Race in the sixth inning of each game, is projecting that 910,000 sausages will be served this year at Miller Park. Miller Park is the only stadium in Major League Baseball where sausages outsell hot dogs. In fact, the stadium sells more sausages than 22 teams sell hot dogs.

Kauffman Stadium is near and dear to my heart. During Buck Nights, I'll consume more than my fair share of hot dogs. However, I've also been to Miller Park, and I'll admit their sausages might just be the best food available at any ballpark.

I tip my hat to the folks at the NHDSC for the fun hot dog facts. I encourage you to read the article. It's filled with more fun than a hot dog topped with your favorite toppings. For instance, did you know you might be breaking the law in Chicago if you put ketchup on a hot dog over the age of 18?

I guess I better start asking for a Chicago-style hot dog this season.

Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/ member dinnercraft

It's Time to Defend the Poultry Industry

2010-04-07T13:23:00.004-05:00

You're probably reading the title of this post and asking yourself, "Why is a beef-loving farm boy talking about chickens?" Some of you are probably convinced I fell of my rocker, but follow me for a second. I have a reason for my madness, but let me start off with a few quick apologies.

First, I'm sorry it has been a while since my last post. Graduate school has been a bit chaotic lately, and the blog had to take a back seat to bigger priorities and values for a few days. The good news is the spring semester is almost over, and personal time will be more plentiful soon. Hopefully I can keep the delays to a minimum until May 15.

Also, before I dig into this topic, I need to get something off of my chest. I'm a closet poultry expert. Yep, it's true. In 2003, I was the FFA's third best poultry evaluator in the nation. I traveled throughout the state of Kansas touring hatcheries, egg laying operations and broiler houses.

I've actually cut up a whole chicken into all the little pieces you buy at the grocery store. I can tell about all the things that go into egg grading and share how differences in lighting, moisture and litter can affect the welfare of chickens. Plain and simple, I know a little bit about the poultry industry.

This insight comes with benefits and burdens. The benefits follow the old saying "know thy enemy." Poultry and beef are competitors in the meat case, and beef producers can always learn a thing or two from those proteins that compete for the same consumer's dollars. It's nice to have a little bit of inside knowledge on what happens in a competing industry.

The burden comes from knowing what is right and hearing self-proclaimed experts, who never set foot on a farm, get it all wrong. I get a little riled up when people start talking about free-range and cage-free chicken production as the utopia for chicken welfare and food safety. They couldn't be more wrong, and I applaud the Des Moines Register for getting it right.

Here's what you need to know about chickens:

Chickens are a bird of prey. For hundreds of years, the beloved chicken has been hunted by chicken hawks, the neighbor's dog, skunks, coyotes, eagles, humans, wolves, etc. If an animal eats meat, the chicken is on its menu. Chickens always feel like they are being hunted because let's face it, they usually are.
Chickens are a social animal. They feel safe in large numbers. If you get a chicken separated away from its flock, it is going to claw, peck and fight its way back to the group by whatever means necessary.
A chicken's brain is about the size of a small marble. Nothing against the chickens out there, but they aren't smart. They are clumsy. They will crush their chicken friends if you let them. They will poop all over the place. They will stop and occasionally lay an egg in the middle of nowhere. These things aren't intentional. They just happen. Chickens don't know any better.

These three reasons are why free-range and cage-free systems go against every element of responsible chicken welfare. I encourage you to read the Des Moines Register story if you haven't already. It does a great job of showing why these systems do more harm than good.

When you adopt a cage-free poultry system, chickens clump together. When they get scared, they clump together even more and someone usually gets smothered. We aren't talking about one or two chickens who are unhappy about their personal bubble being invaded. We are talking dozens of chickens dying and getting injured.

Then, there's the whole sanitation issue. Chickens will poop everywhere if you let them, and to a certain degree, they will also lay eggs wherever you let them. That means you can get some poopy eggs on occasion. Throw a few scared and careless chickens into the same pen, and you can get broken eggs too.

The idea of free-range chickens is filled with contradictions. Chickens don't like walking around in wide open space. It's probably the reason we never heard of the great chicken drives of the 1800s. Chickens want cover over their heads to keep predatory birds from carrying them off. So, free-range poultry is just a fallacy.

You can open the door to the chicken coop, put a fence around the outside of the coop and give chickens the choice to be free-range, but most chickens will simply poke their head outside, maybe walk ten steps out the door and walk right back into the coop where it is safe.

The modern poultry system might be different than the system grandpa and grandma used to raise chickens, but that doesn't make it wrong. It's a safe, sterile environment that actually provides for the animal welfare needs of chickens.

It's OK for beef producers to fight with poultry producers in a competitive nature, but the battle to keep people informed about livestock production is shared by both fronts. The truth about chicken welfare is worth passing onto others.

Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/ member Avia Venefica

Blown Away By the Climate Change Debate

2010-03-27T12:26:00.000-05:00

Is global climate change real? I don't know for certain, but I am definitely a skeptic. In my opinion, a group of neglected climatologists started looking for juicy gossip to breathe new life in the profession. They threw out a bunch of ideas, and climate change seemed intriguing.

Climate change has been a trendy topic in the early 2000s, but I can't see the argument adding up to much.

For starters, the debate is championed by the same goofball that said he invented the Internet. Second, I have spent a good portion of my life outdoors, and weather seems to be a zero-sum game. Some years are warmer and some are cooler, but in all, I'm not trading in my coveralls for t-shirts. Then, climategate only deepened my suspicions.

I don't believe the ocean caps are turning to mush, polar bears are going extinct and the the world is melting. Could it happen? Absolutely. Does my disbelief make me an evil, earth-destroying heathen? I don't think so. I simply think the debate is irrational.

Farmers and ranchers are some of the world's best conservationists. Caring for the land and animals they raise is essential to productivity, but good stewardship is more just a profit motive. It's woven in the fabric of rural America. Producers don't take their responsibility lightly.

It's easy to see why farmers were suspicious of the 2006 U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's Report Livestock's Long Shadow. The report attributed 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions to livestock production, nearly 3 times as much as the EPA estimates had indicated.

The problem came when producers tried to counter the report. They had little information to debunk the suspected bad science. Since the 2006 report, the agriculture industry has been investing time and resources into researching the sustainability of agriculture and contributions across the industry to GHG emissions. The great news is they haven't been alone in the search for answers.

My opinion of climatologists was salvaged a bit while attending Cattlemen's Day 2010 at Kansas State University. I encourage you to watch the presentation from Dr. Patrick Michaels, George Mason University. He didn't hide any punches as he spoke about climate change and its influence on agriculture.

The videos long, but Dr. Michaels knows how to capture the attention of a room full of cattlemen. I think you'll enjoy his imitations of Al Gore and reason for driving a Prius.

Also, CNN, Fox News and The U.K. Telegraph featured stories this week on comments made by Frank Mitloehner, air quality specialist at the University of California Davis, at an American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco. He said the U.N. estimates confused people with a "classic apples-to-oranges analogy."

"We certainly can reduce our greenhouse gas production, but not by consuming less meat and milk," he said.

We can't let climate change to stifle our creativity in meeting the goals of feeding a growing world. It's time to consider every option on the table. That means thinking about the environment, technology, profitability and world hunger as a balancing act where the best production methods prevail.

Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/ member Kyle May

Who Made Celebrities Food Experts?

2010-03-23T23:51:00.005-05:00

A weekend of great March Madness action was interrupted on Sunday with a television commercial about the latest entertainment endeavor by actress Kirstie Alley. The new A&E show Kirstie Alley's Big Life will focus on the actress's struggles with losing weight and keeping it off.

I was disturbed as the commercial made wisecracks at the expense of a serious problem in Alley's life, and the lives of many others -- the struggle to make healthy food and lifestyle choices.

The discomfort hit a new level when I read about Alley's recent comments on The Late Show with David Letterman on Monday morning:

“Everybody would like to lose weight ... I blame the American food producers because…we get addicted to the food and the grease and we love it. Cake frosting, forget it, that's all I eat.”

“That's what I'm working on now, is getting all the chemicals out of my life, out of all the foods, the pesticides, the insecticides, the herbicides, fungicides, all the antibiotics, all the hormones that are in food. It really is what's making us fat because I've always eaten a lot and I wasn't fat.”

I worry the American struggle to make healthy choices is going to become comedy-level entertainment. The possibility of people laughing about their poor choices instead of doing something about them scares me as an American food producer and citizen.

It concerns me that consumers might actually believe Alley is a food expert. She might have good intentions, but they are misguided and misinformed. The food we eat is completely free of the "chemicals." For starters the U.S. government has little tolerance for foreign substances in food. Even if there was a rule to bend, farmers wouldn't step across that line. They eat the same food they produce. Alley's comment is false, and I'm not going to give it credit by spending more time discussing it. I want to talk about the bigger issue here.

Food elitists and celebrities with big wallets are ignoring the source of the problem when they only point fingers at the food system. Food isn't evil. Food cannot be ethical. As much as I'd like my cattle to make moral decisions, they won't. So, my family makes sure our cattle stay at safe from threats with a good fence, and we shelter newborn calves during harsh winters when their moms get distracted.

The good news in this debate is we can all make ethical food choices, and it goes beyond simply looking at the way food is produced. It starts with taking a serious look at ourselves. I think everyone would agree the Whopper-And-Coke-A-Day diet plan probably isn't the best idea for an average American. Yet, Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps consumers around 12,000 calories a day and has washboard abs.

Folks, ethical food decisions start with living a disciplined life, and frankly, as a nation, we've gotten a bit sloppy. We can't afford to maintain a diet filled with empty calories and skip exercise. It's not rocket science. It's common sense. It's discipline.

This show represents a disturbing trend toward complacency in America, where finger pointing instead of belt tightening appears is the default for creating action. Discipline is painful, but it's also a great learning tool.

Let's hold each other accountable in this debate. It starts with us, and maybe that means making some better choices at home first.

Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/ member Alan Light

Forbes Magazine Offers Agricultural Insight

2010-03-20T11:08:00.002-05:00

When mainstream American media offer consumers enlightening articles about farming and food choices, it's a boost to family farms and agriculturalists everywhere. Let's face it. Non-farm voices offer more credibility to the farm and food debate, and Forbes deserves a hat tip from us farm folks.

FARMER TALK NOTE: A hat tip is a Western gesture of tipping the brim of your cowboy hat in respect of another person. It's often interpreted as a general hello, acknowledgement of respect or thank you for a job well done.

In the last two months, the magazine has published two great articles. One summarizes the food debate's effect on American agriculture. The other highlights healthy foods that don't have to break the bank. As a farm boy that is going back to college, you can understand why these articles caught my eye.

Joel Kotkin's article America's Agricultural Angst digs into the details of why agriculture's goal to feed the world could be hurt by the local foods movement.

"Like manufacturers and homebuilders before them, farmers have found themselves in the crosshairs of urban aesthetes and green activists who hope to impose their own Utopian vision of agriculture. This vision includes shutting down large-scale scientifically run farms and replacing them with small organic homesteads and urban gardens."

Kotkin really did his homework on this article, and offered up the concerns many of us in production agriculture have been saying for years.

"Despite the perceptions of a corporatized farm sector, this entrepreneurial spirit remains. Families own almost 96% of the nation's 2.2 million farms, including the vast majority of the largest spreads. And small-scale agriculture, after decreasing for years, is on the upswing; between 2002 and 2009 the number of farms increased by 4%."

Kotkin's colleague Rebecca Rotkins followed up this month with an article titled Cheap Foods That Are Good For You. I hear it from my friends all the time. They represent everyday Americans in their 20s and 30s who are paying for student loans, home loans and even car loans and credit card debt. They are trying to put some money in the bank while feeding their young families.

We get discouraged by the high price of healthy and fresh foods. We want to eat healthy. We really do, but healthy foods seem to come at a cost.

Well, thanks to Rotkins we have some great resources to find those items that are healthy and fresh.

"You can get all the nutrition you need for much less money if you shop carefully. A cup of cooked navy beans has a similar amount of protein as 3 ounces of salmon, and is loaded with more magnesium, phosphorous and potassium. One large orange has almost seven times the amount of vitamin C and more fiber than a cup of raw blueberries, at a small fraction the berries' price this time of year. A $3 bunch of dark green, leafy kale is a big nutritional improvement on watery iceberg lettuce--but broccoli has just as many nutrients at half the price."

The article highlights the research of Adam Drewnowski, the director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of Washington, and also includes a list of Ten Cheap Foods That Are Good For You. The article mentions a nutrient index. I'm e-mailing Dr. Drewnowski to point you to that.

The only disappointment is Rotkins takes on a hint of skepticism with the value of hamburger and eggs in a healthy diet. It's no shock to me that those two items are a great source of nutrients on the cheap. Later, she acknowledges the reason for burger and eggs favorable rank.

"To come up with his index, Drewnowski ranked foods based on their concentrations of nine essential nutrients (protein, fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, vitamins A, C, E). Foods also scored points for having low amounts of added sugar, sodium and saturated fat."

Forbes staff did great work on digging up some agricultural and food facts for their readers. I'll be checking out their Web site more often for credible stories.

UPDATE -- HSUS is in Agriculture's Crosshairs

2010-03-19T12:07:00.002-05:00

The Humane Society of the United States is finding out producers and consumers don't like being deceived. Farmers and ranchers have used social media to tell the anti-animal agriculture organization "we're mad as heck and not going to take it anymore!"

In a post earlier this week, I shared the progress being made in sharing the truth about the HSUS. Well, the efforts to expose this wolf in sheep's clothes continue to take on a life of their own.

Led by the efforts of HumaneWatch, corporations are beginning to understand how their HSUS donation is spent, and it's not used to save Fluffy. Yesterday, Hill Pet Nutrition announced by e-mail the company has stopped supporting the HSUS.

Find out if companies and brands you love support the HSUS, and tell them the truth about this organization. According to HumaneWatch, Oreck is the next corporation being targeted. Contact them via customer service or FaceBook.

Advocacy is important, but also be sure to support these companies for their decisions. Drink Yellow Tail wine, give Fluffy some Science Diet pet food and fill up your vehicles with Pilot Travel Center gasoline.

Celebrity Spotlight - Shaun White Names Tricks After Steaks

2010-03-18T22:24:00.002-05:00

When it comes to snowboarding, no one doubts Shaun White's ability. It turns out the extreme sports athlete also has an extreme appetite for steak.

The record setting Olympic athlete has a knack for beef and has named some of his most daring tricks after his favorite steaks.

At the 2010 Winter Olympics, White already had the Half Pipe Final gold metal wrapped up with the score he recorded in the first run. With the second run serving as a victory lap, White landed the Double McTwist 1260, named the Tomahawk, with a record score of 48.4. The Tomahawk was inspired by an Aspen, Colorado, restaurant's signature steak.

White definitely lives on the edge. I can't imagine strapping a snowboard to my feet and launching myself into the air zooming back and forth on a 22 foot half pipe. Equally, I can't imagine ordering a 30 ounce steak at a restaurant and finishing it.

I've never been a winter sports fanatic, but White's fearless beef-loving antics might convert me.

The next time you hear about White breaking out a new trick on the snowboarding circuit pay careful attention to the name. It might point you to the next steak you need to conquer.

Congratulations to Mr. White on his gold metal victory at the 2010 Winter Olympics!

Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/ member SnowGirls.Ru

The Blog -- My New Farm Chore

2010-03-17T21:40:00.002-05:00

It's been over a week since my first post, and friends and family have asked why I started a blog, especially in the midst of a crazy graduate school schedule. The answer is simple, "Consumers want to know more about agriculture, and I am equipped to share its message."

Today, I was pointed to a great University of Illinois blog entry titled What If We Awaken and There Are No More Farmers to be Found. It highlights the challenge of replacing America's aging farmers and the motivations leading my generation back to the farm. It also touches on one of the reasons I started this blog.

I grew up on a pretty typical western Kansas farm where the seasons were defined by the farm work.

Spring brought fence fixing and breaking ground on the year's first field work. Summer didn't officially start until wheat harvest. Fall was marked with fall harvest and bringing calves back from pasture. And, winter arrived when you moved the cattle out to milo and corn stalks.

It's a life I love, and I know too much about the culture and business to not share the story. My generation of agriculturalists face challenges never faced before. We not only have to feed a growing world, but feed the curiosities of non-farm consumers that simply want to know what goes on beyond the pasture gate.

Will I go back to my family farm? Not right now, but it certainly doesn't keep me from being involved. I go back home every chance I get. The family farm is too much a part of my life to simply leave it behind, and I need to defend its honor.

I remember getting choked up reciting The FFA Creed as a high school freshman, and on National Ag Day, it seems appropriate to share the second paragraph:

I believe that to live and work on a good farm, or to be engaged in other agricultural pursuits, is pleasant as well as challenging; for I know the joys and discomforts of agricultural life and hold an inborn fondness for those associations which, even in hours of discouragement, I cannot deny.

The agricultural industry built the United States into a world power, but today's consumers haven't stepped foot on a farm. That isn't good or bad. It's a reality of the world we live in, and I am confident my generation is going to face more challenges than they can handle by themselves.

On the farm, you learn at an early age that everyone has a job to do. Your job might not be fancy, but that doesn't mean it isn't necessary. TheBeefUEat.com is my new chore.

The job isn't daring, like rescuing newborn calves from of snow drifts, or dirty, like cleaning grain bins in 100 degree heat, but I'm not going to stop until the job is finished. Consumers need to learn more about what my family and friends do to feed the world.

Food for Thought -- Neat Video from Monsanto's YouTube Page

2010-03-15T22:21:00.000-05:00

HSUS is in Agriculture's Crosshairs

2010-03-15T20:36:00.004-05:00

Farmers and ranchers served notice to the Humane Society of the United States in November 2009 when voters overwhelmingly supported Issue 2 in Ohio. It was the first election victory for farmers and ranchers since the HSUS put animal agriculture in its crosshairs through state ballot initiatives.

Keep in mind, HSUS is not a national organization representing your local humane society. That organization would be the American Humane Association. The HSUS operates on a number of fronts, but its largest effort is spent carrying out an anti-agriculture agenda, similar to that of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

The Ohio election victory proved consumers would listen to grassroot producer efforts if they were in tune with consumer interests. In 2010, producers took the pursuit to the next level, and it appears the rest of America is receptive. For those of you out of the loop, here's a quick summary:

January 14, 2010 - Casella Wine, makers of Yellow Tail wine, is recognized as a corporate sponsor of HSUS, and open itself to the wrath of U.S. producers. A Yellow Fail Facebook group, blog articles and videos popped up on the Internet voicing displeasure within days. Days after the news hit the agricultural industry, Casella Wine Tail issued an apology to the agricultural industry.
January 25, 2010 - University of Richmond Law Student John Dillard publishes The Myth of the Humane Society of the United States highlighting the organization's deception in fundraising.
February, 16, 2010 - HumaneWatch.org is launched by the Center for Consumer Freedom to serve as a watchdog site for all HSUS activities. Join the Facebook group for HumaneWatch if it interests you.
February 24, 2010 - The Facebook group for Pilot Travel Centers is targeted by farmers and ranchers after they discovered the company was a HSUS corporate sponsor. A debate occurs on the company's Facebook page between farmers and HSUS supporters, and the corporation pulls its support for HSUS.
March 9, 2010 - Producers discovered that Mary Kay had provided money for a Dallas, Texas, HSUS event. On the same afternoon, Mary Kay issued a correction on Facebook saying the donation was actually made by the wife of Mary Kay's owner.
March 15, 2010 - HumaneWatch.com and social media serve as the sounding board to target the Hill Pet Food company for its Science Diet click to give Internet program that raises funds for the HSUS.

It's an exciting start to 2010, but HSUS is a powerful organization with a huge amount of money to support its initiatives. The U.S. agricultural industry started with the blood, sweat and tears of dedicated producers, and it will certainly take the same amount of effort to spread the truth about the HSUS.

Take part in the initiative if you believe in defending the livelihood of America's farmers and ranchers.

Food Environment's Role in the Food Debate

2010-03-13T09:08:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago, I read about the USDA Economic Research Service's new Food Environment Atlas. Naturally, I was intrigued to see what it was all about. At first, I was a bit disappointed. The atlas didn't point me to the best steakhouses in a five mile radius. After spending a bit more time on the Web site, I was impressed.

The tool is insightful, and the site even offers raw data if you really want to play around. The ERS team pulled together 90 different county-level food statistics and put them in one place. You could probably spend a lifetime sifting through the raw data, but a quick glance at the maps can provide insight on the U.S. food environment.

The USDA's goal for the data is to stimulate research in the areas of food choice and diet quality and provide an overview of a community's ability to access healthy food choices.

Looking at a handful of the maps got me thinking a bit more about America's food environment. I understand the dangers in being oversimplistic in evaluating data, but the trends don't add up.

Considering the recent attacks against meat and processed foods in the healthy foods debate, I looked at five graphs that should share similarities if meat and processed foods really are the cause of obesity, diabetes and food-related health issues. I encourage you to visit the atlas and play around too.

In each of the five graphs below, darker colors indicate higher concentrations of the measured statistic.

Pounds Per Capita Meat and Poultry - Pounds of meat and poultry purchased per resident of the region. Meat and poultry include fresh, frozen, and canned products.

Pounds Per Capita of Solid Fat - Pounds of solid fats purchased per resident of the region. Solid fats include, for example, butter and margarine.

Pounds Per Capita of Prepared Meals - Pounds of prepared meals purchased per resident of the region. Prepared meals include, for example, butter and margarine.

Adult Diabetes Rate - Estimates of age-adjusted percentages of persons age < 20 with diabetes (gestational diabetes excluded).

Adult Obesity Rate - Estimates of age-adjusted percentages of persons age > 20 with obesity, where obesity is BMI is equal to a BMI < 30 kg / m^2.

The graphs between consumption and disease rate don't share a ton of similarities.

It's a stretch to say there's no correlation between food-related disease and the consumption of these three items. I'm a farm boy pursuing a master's degree in agricultural economics, not dietetics. But, the graphs tell me it's an exaggeration to blame the current food system solely for the surge in U.S. food-related illnesses.

My jeans always get a bit tighter in the waist from two bad habits -- eating too much and not exercising enough. Let's keep the big picture in mind. It's human nature to make these issues simpler than they are, but the issues surrounding food-related illnesses are complex.

The Sustainability Debate: You Don't Have to Pick Sides

2010-03-11T08:36:00.003-06:00

The sustainability buzz has been growing for quite a while, and producers knew it was a matter of time before the conversation became more than just coffee shop fodder. Judging by the latest USDA programs, I'd say the discussion is front and center in agricultural circles.

FARMER TALK NOTE: If you don't understand the coffee shop comment, you're missing rural entertainment in its highest form. Visit your local rural town coffee or breakfast stop and sit near the table with the men sporting dusty caps, Carhartt coats, and cowboy boots and hats.

Recently, the USDA launched the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food program, and it has been interesting to read the nation's perspective on the program.

Phillip Brasher's March 7 story in the DesMoines Register titled Some fret about push for smaller farm sizes shared some advantages of this new initiative. I'm not a public policy expert, but on the surface, it appears the program gives niche producers a foundation to work from while helping consumers learn a bit more about local food options.

An extended benefit is that it gives agricultural producers a platform to showcase what they do for consumers. I dug around a bit on the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food, and I couldn't find a lot of information to dislike. It sounds like a program that can only benefit agriculture, but please correct me if I am wrong.

Go back a month on the calendar, and you will find a bit more news on 2010 Agricultural Outlook forum from the USDA, Sustainable Agriculture: the Key to Health and Prosperity. A write up courtesy of Agri-Pulse at AgriMarketing.com highlights a different tone.

I agree with the journalist's work to a certain extent. I am concerned with what some of the panel participants said. I don't think organics will take over conventional agricultural production, and I still believe that the use of antibiotics in agriculture enhances food safety and animal welfare.

As a tomato-loving consumer, I'll be the first to admit that a locally grown tomato is far superior to anything I can get at a grocery store. Sometimes water has more flavor than a store-bought tomato. That tells me that there are places conventional agriculture has it wrong.

Now that brings us back to sustainability. If sustainability is defined as providing the world with an abundance of the healthiest, tastiest and cheapest food possible, how do we best achieve that?

First, all of production agriculture needs to get on the same page. Whether you are an organic produce farmer selling to a local market or a commercial feedlot operator providing beef to the world, you have the same goal of making consumers happy.

Honestly, one producer can't live without the other. We all have to admit that each method isn't without its flaws in achieving sustainability, and the ideal production system probably sits somewhere in between the two spectrums.

Consumers and producers need to quit polarizing this issue or someone is going to get their feelings hurt. When it comes to sustainability, you don't have to pick sides.

Maybe I am going out on a limb here, but I think Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is getting a bit of whiplash in the debate. I'll end with his quote from the Brasher article:

"I must be doing something right," Vilsack said. "What folks on both sides of this debate want the USDA to do is pick sides, and I think that's the last thing USDA should do."

I agree. It's not about picking sides. Ultimately, both sides have to exist. Let's find some common ground and grow something on it.

Celebrity Spotlight - Mike Rowe Supports American Farmers

2010-03-10T21:23:00.003-06:00

I get excited every time I hear a front-and-center celebrity stand up for a cause that I support. Mike Rowe, the host of the television show Dirty Jobs, is a guy worth getting excited about.

Not only does his show Dirty Jobs highlight the occasional agricultural industry, but earlier this year, Rowe had a guest contributor write about his concerns with American agriculture on his Web site www.mikeroweworks.com/. The article gets a bit long for my tastes, but it's worth the read.

The author is a California native and addresses not only Proposition 2, but also offers his opinion on the moral dilemmas presented by some of our nation's leading animal rights organizations. Check out this excerpt from the piece:

"I didn’t vote for the proposition they’re talking about because it didn’t make sense to me. I couldn’t buy into the emotion of seeing animals in cages and using the worst examples of some unethical people as the end-all be-all for every farmer in the state – passing that measure would negatively affect our food sources and our farmers.

I happen to believe that using emotion to manipulate voters is just plain unethical and wrong. Who wouldn’t get choked up to see a mistreated animal? And look, I’m sure that some farmers use methods that are not humane. I’m equally sure that there are many who don’t. Just like all blonds aren’t dumb and all polish people aren’t stupid, the few bad eggs shouldn’t represent the many good ones (sorry – I just couldn’t resist saying that). Should we put every good citizen in prison and let the prisoners run free? Just like you can’t say that every person who owns a puppy is going to treat it like the bozo down the street that runs a puppy mill, you can’t say that all farm animals are abused and all farmers are to blame. I don’t believe that keeping a chicken in a cage, free from bad weather or predators and feeding them well and making sure they stay healthy is a bad thing. My grandparents had chickens. I know what the chickens did all day and what they were happy doing and it didn’t include much else besides eating, “talking” to all their pals and laying eggs. Seriously (no disrespect to all the chickens out there)."

Again, it'll take you a few minutes to read the entire entry, but I think it does a great job at capturing the heart of the battle we are up against as supporters of U.S. agriculture.

Next time you are in conversation with someone who questions your meat-loving American motives, you'd be wise to remember some of the points brought to light in this piece.

The First Post - Time to Kick the Tires

2010-03-06T10:41:00.002-06:00

Welcome to TheBeefUEat.com! Chances are you either tripped across this site randomly or you decided I might actually have something useful to say as a blog writer.

Over the next few weeks, I plan on sprinkling in bits and pieces about why I started TheBeefUEat.com and what you can expect as a reader. Here are a few fundamental goals for this blog, and I encourage you to hold me accountable:

Keep it short and sweet. We are all faced with information overload. A goal of this blog is to provide you with the "big picture" to be ranch and consumer literate. If you feel like you need to do some homework, I'll provide links to help you sort out the details.
Keep it civil. The great thing about America is we are all free to share our opinions and biases without serious attack. I want healthy discussion. If you have criticisms or compliments, share them. I might not agree with your opinions, but I'll respect you regardless.
Keep informed. I have a journalism background, but don't confuse this site with pure journalism. I'll point to magazine articles and primary sources in nearly each entry. However, you should always treat a blog as more of an opinion editorial, not journalism.
Keep promoting the positives of agricultural production. Whether you love working on a farm or consume its products, you deserve to be part of the discussion. Change isn't good or bad -- its reality. Let's discuss positive and realistic changes that need to happen to improve U.S. and world agriculture and its image around the world.

OK. That's all for now. I'm excited to see where our discussions take us.