Food Dialogues
Comment on Question
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Due to marketing tactics, most consumers do not have an accurate perception of where their food comes from. What steps are you taking to improve transparency so that consumers know what kind of operation they are supporting with their dollars?
Author: denise
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Topic: Healthy Eating / Healthy Choices
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25
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I do not know if you are asking the farmer or the government that question.
The farmer cannot improve transparency or he will be sued by the government and large corporations for disparaging detrimental remarks against a conglomerate trust.
For instance I cannot say raw milk is healthy before you cook all the amino acids and nutrition out of it through high temperature pasteurization because the dairy council might have to explain how they got the government to classify milk as a toxic substance requiring emergency spill cleanup response plans for dairies. Our government representatives might have to explain why they passed regulations that allow for prosecution of farmers that try to sell raw milk. The same dairy product that has been feeding us for thousands of years is now legally considered a controlled substance that requires chemical alteration before it is offered to the public.
Concentrated feed lots are the truth but our government has made it illegal to take pictures of that particular truth because beef packing plants got special regulations to put a stop to such transparency.
Think about it. If you wanted to poison an entire nation and destroy its political institutions wouldn't you want to keep it a secret?
You know Denise you are exactly right about the marketing tactics and it has created a nightmare for the Agricultural Community. You have organics saying that they are better than traditional methods and that small farms are better than large farms, and then you have folks like Zitibat that use scare tactics and conspiracy theories to try and get their points across! Denise I have been farming my whole life and started on a family farm and went to college and after that started working for a Corporation, started my own farm and now am back with a Corporation. Honestly you should buy food that you can afford and enjoy to eat. The niche markets may give you a sense of satisfaction and if you can afford it that is great, but other than that there is not much difference between all the different farming systems. As for transparency, that is a marketing tactic as well, if you want to come and see one of our farms you are welcome.
I agree that Zitibat but like B. Ruth I am dedicated to tell others about our farming operations for both grain and livestock farm. I share lots of information on various social media outlets and my blog - Passionate Voice on Agweb.com. I include videos so no matter where you live you can walk in my family's shoes. I also visit classrooms and share our agriculture story. As farmers, I think we work hard to get the consumer a quality product that we forget to talk about our farms. I think asking an actual farmer is the best way to learn about how your food is grown. That is why this website is so great.
I was not aware that farmers could be sued under these government regulations! Do you have the direct laws that govern this? Or is there a website that we can read more on this. I myself am considering going into organic farming and I am trying to do my research on the legal do's and don'ts. Thanks!
As Cheryl said, farmers and ranchers across the country are working to be more transparent, using social media to reach out to consumers. Even though you may not be able to visit farms and ranches across the country, you can interact with farmers and ranchers online, ask questions, and learn more about what goes on in daily farm life. As a student working with a University, we host many field days and activities to interact with the community and answer questions about food sources.
Just the facts.
This is a great link to pasteurization which has been recognized for 200 hundreds years as an important food safety practice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurization
Milk is not a toxic substance. For awhile the EPA was going to inforce their cleanup provisions because milk direct from the cow is 3% to 5% fat or an oily substance. And the various dairy industry groups had to guide the government away from the hazard notion, not towards.