Minnesota Farm Living

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How Food Fear is Spread and Why Words Matter

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At what point do we say enough is enough.

Dr. Josh Axe published the second annual Chain Reaction II scorecard analysis of top restaurants on his website. The analysis supposedly highlights the “problem of routine antibiotic usage” in the meat and poultry operations that supply the nation’s top restaurant chains. The report is sponsored by organizations such as National Resources Defense Council, Consumers Union, Friends of the Earth and Center for Food Safety, organizations that reflect misinformation and ideology. 

How restaurants are scored

To score an “A” a restaurant is required to only serve meat where animals have never been given antibiotics or given antibiotics important to human medicine. To score an “F” a restaurant serves meat that may have been given antibiotics and if they did receive antibiotics, have followed the prescribed withdrawal times to ensure the antibiotics are naturally removed from the animal before market.

The bottom line?

Both restaurants that scored an “A” or “F” serve meat that has zero antibiotics in the meat. Continue Reading

How to Use Critical Thinking Skills Without A Science Background

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“Monsanto Fails Farmers Again – Tell USDA to Ban GMO Seeds”

“DNA from GMOs can pass directly into humans, study confirms”

“GMOs are bad. They’re banned in 60+ countries”

 

How To Critically Think GMOs Without A Science Background
GMO Corn

There isn’t a day that I don’t see headlines such as these in my social media newsfeed. One particular article, “Why I Changed My Stance on Eating Organic Food,” came across my newsfeed and I noticed the author was a dietician. When I think of dietitians, I think of integrity so I was interested to hear what the author had to say about why she changed her stance on eating organic food. When I finished reading the article, there were a number of “red flags” and knew I needed to do some “critical thinking” research on some of her statements. But how do I use critical thinking skills about GMOs without a science background?

Even though I am a farmer, I will admit my science background is not very strong. How does one know what is true and what is merely propaganda? I will show you, step-by-step, on how I used critical thinking skills to examine how valid her claims were. 

Statement #1:

“I became a spokesperson for CLIF Bar in Canada, and as their products are at least 70 percent organic, I became better educated about organic farming, seeds, and crops, and their impact on the environment, and on us as the consumer.” Continue Reading

Where Did Blue Apron Go Wrong?

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This past Christmas I purchased two gift certificates for my daughters to Blue Apron. Blue Apron is a company that provides all the ingredients for a meal (made from scratch) that you cook at home. It is one of the newest food trends. Because their lives are so busy, I thought this would be a service they may appreciate. They work full-time and have young children—need I say more? Unfortunately, Blue Apron has revealed their true self to me which caused me to ask, “Where did Blue Apron go wrong?”

“Food Fear”

What I realized is Blue Apron is perpetuating “food fear”–the food fear that is so popular as a marketing tactic we see frequently today. In fact, after watching one of their commercials, it appears to me they are following the same path as Chipotle.

Truth Revealed

A few days ago, a Blue Apron post appeared on my Facebook newsfeed. It stated the company was going to start partnering with Bill Niman (of Niman Ranch) to source their protein. In fact, their headline stated, “Animal Welfare Pioneer Joins Blue Apron.” Blue Apron continued with, “Today as the founder ( Bill Niman) of BN Ranch and as a member of the Blue Apron team, his wealth of experience, knowledge, and passion enables us to uphold a best-in-class set of criteria for the sustainable, responsible treatment of animals, and for high-quality beef . . . Bill Niman will play a key role in the development of all of Blue Apron’s beef, pork and poultry programs. Promoting high standards for animal welfare and sourcing only the best ingredients are just a part of Blue Apron’s vision for a better food system.“

A better food system? High standards for animal welfare? Responsible treatment of animals?Continue Reading

How to Use Critical Thinking and Hold Civil Food Conversations

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BLOCKED

Have you ever looked at your newsfeed on Facebook and notice the “comment” button no longer there? That is the sure sign of “we have blocked you from commenting on our page because we don’t want you to sabotage our propaganda.”  

I am officially blocked from the HSUS (Humane Society of the United States), the Food Babe and Moms Across America. Don’t be fooled about Moms Across America. It is an anti-GMO website. On each of these blocked sites, I have been respectful in my comments and/or questions. I have not bombarded their facebook page with posts or links, but I do occasionally disagree with the misinformation they post and I will refute their statements. And the result?

Blocked

Because I have been blocked, I am no longer allowed to inquire any misinformation on their site or discuss the issues with them. So, how do we have a conversation? 

That is the point, they do not want a conversation.

HSUS pushes a vegan agenda and wants to eliminate or greatly reduce animal agriculture. The Food Babe pushes her agenda of food fear and Mom’s Across America is an anti-GMO site. Even if I don’t agree with their position, what is wrong with having a healthy discussion, with opposing views? 

 

Let’s examine biotechnology, or more specifically GMOs. How can I say biotech crops are safe? I am not a scientist nor do I have a science background except for the BIO-100 class I took in college. Just because I don’t have a science degree doesn’t mean I can’t use my critical thinking skills and make a determination if a study is credible or not. Continue Reading

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