The Agrarian's Alcove

Howdy everybody! My last post on natural foods got a lot of views so I hope that you are enjoying my Savvy Shopper’s Guide series! Today’s post is over locally grown foods. Are you a locavore? This term applies to people who absolutely LOVE buying local foods! I know so many people who are locavores and love shopping at farmer’s markets for several reasons. Personally, I love the environment of my local farmer’s market. It makes me feel close to the actual production of the food I buy. For others it also makes them feel like the food is more natural and organic. It seems like the food could be healthier for you. It also makes you feel good about yourself for helping out your local farmers. I think that’s great! It is so important to support farmers. I want to cover a few myths about food produced locally and make sure you are being savvy shopping when you support your local farmers! First, I want to know what buying locally means to you, so take a moment and comment below. Tell...

Alright, let’s face it. It’s a new year. And if you’re in college in the US, then most of you are going back to school this week. But whether you’re a mom, a college kid, or a single adult, we ALL have to grocery shop. With the New Year I know many people have resolutions to eat healthier, cleaner, or maybe to just cut back on spending so much money on food! In 2013 people spent over $717 million on food **at home (no restaurants)** in the US alone. I imagine that with the trends in organic and natural foods rising, we will surpass $730 million mark if we haven’t already (find the charts here ). So, welcome to my second post in the series of The Savvy Shopper’s Guide series. You can read the first post here . Let me start by clearing up some confusion. I think people get confused by the labels “natural,” “naturally raised,” and “organic.” Some people I have spoken to, thought they were all very similar or meant the same thing. They are not the same thing. To be organic, produce...

Hey everyone! I am going to begin a 4 post series called the Savvy Shoppers Guide. It will include facts on organic, locally grown, all natural, and free range products that you buy. This way you will be able to make savvy shopping decisions when you purchase groceries! You will also be able to understand why we have conventional agriculture and why we need to continue with conventional ag even if you choose to opt for non-conventional. Today we will be covering organic food items. So first I would like to say that I do not believe that there are any food safety advantages that come from producing organic foods. In fact, in 2002 Alex Avery, research director for the Center of Global Food Issues stated that natural and organic foods are eight times more likely to be recalled than conventionally produced foods 1 . The USDA has found that drug residues in ALL beef, not just organic, to be virtually zero 2 . Of course all foods from animals naturally have hormones. While organicall...

Hey everyone! This is a follow up to my previous blog Temple Grandin’s Insight: Animal Welfare . Today I’m going to be sharing what she thought about current issues. These are really important topics and most were brought up during the time that she left at the end of her talks for questions and discussion. Beta-Agonists                                  T   Problems with beta-agonists are generally dosage related                                  T   Beta-agonists should not be used in the heat. o    She doesn’t know why but she says that something funny happens in the heat. More lame cattle come in to packers. Animals start walking on their toes and shifting their weight back and forth from one foot to the other “as if the ground was hot lava.” More dead cattle come in to packers. Before b...

Hey y’all! Sorry I haven’t posted in a while! It’s that time of year: holidays and finals. So, first I want to give a shout out to my out of country readers! I have had a few readers from Ukraine, France, Russia, UK, Canada and Venezuela! Thank you all for your support. This month I would finally like to write about when I met Temple Grandin in October and how much she improved my perspective on certain things. I’m going to break it down into two or three posts, because she gave so much information. I was so blessed to be able to meet her. Let me introduce you to Dr. Grandin… Temple Grandin is a woman who was diagnosed with autism at an early age, in 1950. Luckily her parents were able to encourage her, find people who could help her, and send her to school even though they were told that she should be institutionalized. Dr. Grandin has now written many books, and truly impacted the animal agriculture industry as well as the autism community. I was able to hear her speak ...

Have you heard about the "horrors" of GMO's? If not you're one of the few. Luckily, I'm here to tell you the truth and the reasons behind why I am pro GMO! People who avoid genetically modified (GM) or genetically engineered (GE) products generally do so because they've heard bad things about them. When asked why they're against GMO's people usually say "they're bad for you" or "they're not safe" or "it's not natural." They cannot give you a solid, much less factual, argument. What would you say if I told you that crops have been genetically modified for over 20 years? Cattle have been fed genetically modified corn since it was first introduced and we have had no problems with it 4 . Did you know that food has been genetically modified to   help  us? Let's start with some research facts.  A $70 million research project which lasted 15 years was done by the European Union (EU). This project showed t...

So, in light of the recent chaotic news about meat being a potential carcinogen I have been asked to do a post about it. First off, let’s talk about what the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) really said. The IARC ranks the potential of cancer causing agents in 5 categories 1 : ·          Group 1: Carcinogenic to humans ·          Group 2A: Probably carcinogenic to humans ·          Group 2B: Possibly carcinogenic to humans ·          Group 3: Unclassifiable as to carcinogenicity in humans ·          Group 4: Probably not carcinogenic to humans Now, according to the press release, red meat is considered as Group 2A, probably carcinogenic to humans. Now, please don’t stop reading here and thinking your suspicions were confirmed.  According to the arti...