Michele Payn's Blog, page 12

Healthy soil grows healthy plants for better baking

Soil is a farmers greatest asset

Do you know what stores 10 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide? Soil. Soil is a carbon sink that stores more carbon dioxide than the terrestrial vegetation and the atmosphere combined. When soil is disturbed, carbon dioxide is released into the environment and contributes to global warming.

         Soil is the foundation of food. It is the key to great baking. Are you
thinking you don’t want dirt in your kitchen? Soil isn’t dirt – it’s
essential to healthy plants that make up flour, sugar, corn meal, etc.

         Sadly, an area about the size of Costa Rica of topsoil is lost each year.
It can take more than 500 years to form two centimeters of topsoil, which is
the good stuff that crops grow in. Nearly 50,000 square kilometers of topsoil
is lost each year due to water and wind erosion.

That’s a huge loss – one which farmers take very seriously as they grow food for your baking aisle.

         The Mississippi River carves out beautiful green
hills and woodlands in western Wisconsin. East of LaCross, a pretty historic
town a couple of hours southeast of Minneapolis, is where Kevin Hoyer farms
around 500 acres of soybeans, corn, and pasture with his wife Jody – who also
works in dairy foods quality testing.

         Healthy water matters to the Hoyers; their farm
has a trout steam on it, so they want to be sure the water can continue to
support that. They use buffer strips (portions of land not planted with a crop)
to provide more space between their field and the stream. Kevin said they have
changed practices from the past as they have learned what hurts the environment
as agronomy continues to advance; they are getting rid of insecticides and
limiting things that can leach into water.

         “We take conservation seriously. It’s not flat here,” Kevin says about this unglaciated area of Wisconsin. “We live and work in this environment, so we want to take care of it.”

           Soil health has improved on Kevin’s farm because he’s changed how he works with the land –known as tillage practices. He uses no-till and minimal till to return soil tilth – the physical condition of soil (measured by soil particles, moisture content, aeration, drainage, etc.).  No-till has become a common practice for many row crop farmers. No till (or minimal till) just means the land is not plowed, disked or disturbed prior to planting to increase organic matter.

         Kevin, like most farmers, judges soil nutrition
based upon results from soil testing. He also has started planting cover crops
to reduce erosion and help with nutrients in the soil. He points to less need
for insecticides due to GMO seeds and integrated pest management as reasons for
the improvement in soil health.

         Kevin says as he talks about how he plans crop rotation field-by-field before planting. “The explosion of technology over the last decade has overshadowed the basics of agronomy. Farmers produce as much product with as minimal negative environmental impacts.”

Read more at   Food Truths from Farm to
Table  to arm yourself with 25 truths you
urgently need to know about food so you can shop without guilt, confusion, or
judgment. A new book,  Food Bullying ,
releases November 5 to upend the way you think about eating choices.

How does food bullying cost hungry people?

In the ongoing debate about food, it can be easy to forget that many people are waking up (or going to bed) without a meal. 

That’s the message Diane Sullivan, anti-hunger advocate has in this episode of Food Bullying podcast. She wants to help others connect the dots between their own food shopping decisions and poverty. This connection will help us become smarter consumers, and gives each of us a vote on the way to a hunger-free world.

Key points:

The hunger problem: how big is it in America?
The SNAP program: who it helps and its critics?
Diane’s personal story: why she became an anti-hunger advocate
Giving a voice to the voice to the voiceless in food policy
How any consumer can make a difference by shopping with their wallet

The Conversation:

[2:44] What is SNAP?

[4:03] How does food bullying impact SNAP?

 [7:00] The consequences of food bullying on the poor

 [10:37] How can we improve our response to the food needs of the poor?

 [13:34] Diana’s story of feeding her family

 [16:44] How can we give a greater voice to SNAP recipients?

 [24:26] Why shopping for label and status impact the poor

 

Fabulous Guest Quotes

“40 million Americans are now struggling to eat.”

 “We have bullying and food shaming around people who don’t shop for organic.”

“Low income people are often subject to policies that we don’t necessarily have a say [in]…”

“Poverty is trauma and it’s exacerbated by bad policy.”

“I am one story but there are tens of millions of people out there like me.”

“The more we are educated, the less we are fooled.

“Hunger is not a Democrat or Republican issue. It’s not an urban or rural issue.”

“It [Hunger] exists in every single county in the country.”

 

Links to Check Out

SNAP

Diane Sullivan on Twitter

Food Bullying: How to Avoid Buying B.S. by Michele Payn

 

 

Genetics improve your groceries

Did you know that beef cattle have
been bred to have less fat in the meat? And dairy cattle genetics allow for
higher protein milk, while chickens and turkeys have larger breasts because of
genetic selection? And messing with genes gave you seedless grapes and seedless
watermelons?  And there is rice
genetically modified to provide Vitamin A to help prevent 500,000 cases of
blindness and up to two millions deaths each year? And…the list goes on.

         Granted, I may be unusual since I once wanted to study dairy genetics, but I don’t know how you can be interested in food and not be fascinated by genes. All food begins from a plant or animal and NO food remains untouched by genetics (regardless of any label claim).

         When did all of this “genetic manipulation” start? Plants and animals have been selectively bred for centuries to amplify desirable traits while minimizing less desirable ones. The first genetically modified crop was 8,000 years ago, designed by nature with bacteria in soil as the engineers. Scientists at the International Potato Center in Lima, Peru found genes from Agrobacterium in 291 sweet potato varieties, including ones grown in the U.S., Indonesia, China, parts of South America and Africa. In other words, genes were transferred from bacteria to sweet potatoes in evolutionary times.

         This
is technically called transgenics (the transfer of genetics), which sounds a
bit nicer than genetically modified organism. I hear from other moms “I’m not
so sure about feeding my child anything genetically modified – it sounds a little freaky. And then when I see pictures of
fruit with syringes in it, yikes!”

         Here’s what you need to know: no one is sticking a plant, ear of corn, or fruit with a syringe – or crossing them with frogs, but actually conducting revolutionary science that will someday help humans solve diseases like cancer. History shows genetic modification, gene editing, transgenics, hybridization, gene silencing and newer breeding techniques have proven benefits.

increased consumer convenience:
seedless fruits & apples/potatoes that don’t brownmore affordable food: more production per acre or animal decreases costsgreater medical options: today’s insulin is direct result of transgenicsbetter nutrition with leaner, higher protein: lower fat meats, higher
protein milksolutions to malnutrition: Vitamin A in rice, research on other foods
like sorghumimproved opportunity for small-scale farmers: drought resistant, hardier
crops and animalsreduced carbon
emissions: fewer passes through the field, higher productiondecreased use of insecticides: corn, eggplants & others resistant to
bugs don’t need sprayedimproved animal welfare: selection for disposition, calving ease and
polledgreater preservation of biodiversity: less land required with higher
production

         When you stand in the fast food line for some
chicken or enjoy a salad from the deli, you may not be thinking about genetics.
However, a whole lot of DNA is on your plate so don’t let it freak you out.
Then when you hear about gene editing, transgenics and even genetic
modifications – consider the possibilities of better health, food and
nutrition.

Read
more at   Food
Truths from Farm to Table  to arm yourself with 25 truths you
urgently need to know about food so you can shop without guilt, confusion, or
judgment. A new book,  Food Bullying ,
releases November 5 to upend the way you think about eating choices.

The pain of paying for food

         Last week I was at the grocery store and grabbed
a bottle of water on the way to the cash register. I felt bad about adding more
plastic in the landfill, but needed the water to wash down my Advil and bring
some relief to the headache caused by grocery shopping.

         As
I checked out, I was dumbfounded by the high cost of all of this questionable
food. Then I heard a person in the next aisle complaining about the food
prices, “those darned farmers and the government bailing them out with
subsidies and crop insurance.”

         “Nearly 80 percent of the ‘farm bill’ is for food assistance programs” was on the tip of my tongue, but I noticed the person behind me was ready to pay with a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program card – the food stamp program.  I didn’t want to make her feel bad for using food assistance to buy food for her family. She was a reminder of why I needed to write about keeping food costs in moderation.

         I didn’t have time to go over to the person
swearing about farmers, so I bit my tongue. 
If she understood the economic story of food production, she would not
being blaming or complaining about farmers and ranchers.                 

         Few understand the risk farmers and ranchers live with every single day. Everything they work so hard for can be gone in 24 hours. The most unpredictable factor is the weather. An unexpected spring blizzard killed thousands of head of cattle on the prairies a couple years ago, immediately costing those ranchers hundreds of thousands of dollars. When there was drought in the southwest multiple years in a row, ranchers ran out of feed for cattle – and had no way to get it to them without paying extremely high transportation costs. A number of ranches closed their doors and consequently, cattle numbers went down, pushing beef prices higher in the grocery store. This past spring, weather events pushed plant dates two months late, if the fields got planted at all.

        Farmers and ranchers are price takers,
not price makers.
Growing food is no longer “Old McDonald’s” farm; it is a system of great
complexity and risk. There’s a perception that commodity agriculture has pushed
farmers to grow “heavily subsidized crops.” I would beg to differ; there is
demand for those products, largely driven by feed for livestock, energy and
exports.

         Friends tell me they find food prices
frustrating. “All I really want is great tasting, affordable, healthy food. Why
does it have to cost so much?”

         Growing food and getting it to your grocery cart is a
complex system. It is one that deserves thoughtful discussion – and recognition
of the many layers of profit between what is received at farm and ranch versus
what you pay in the grocery, deli or restaurant.

         As you select food for your family, know there is a farmer or rancher at
the start of food cycle risking a million dollars and their family’s
agricultural heritage while pouring their heart, hard work and hours into
growing food for you. That perspective may make your $100 grocery bill a bit
more tolerant.

Read more
at   Food Truths from Farm to Table  to arm
yourself with 25 truths you urgently need to know about food so you can
shop without guilt, confusion, or judgment. A new book,  Food Bullying , releases November 5 to
upend the way you think about eating choices.

Growing freshness from the ground up

Food Truths. Food is an amazing science.

         A standby vegetable I can count on to remain fresh in my pantry for a long time is the potato, thanks to the science in growing these tubers. Who doesn’t love mashed potatoes, twice-baked potatoes or potato soup? It seems potatoes have gotten a bad rap because of French fries and chips; potatoes actually are an amazing source of potassium and are important to heart health when you keep them out of the fryer. 

         Such was pointed out to me by a man very passionate
about potatoes, when I talked with John Halverson of Black Gold Farms in North
Dakota. They farm across 10 states and have about 35,000 acres of potatoes,
sweet potatoes, corn, wheat and soybeans.

         John, along with his brother, a
sister and their dad, own Black Gold Farms, and they are one of the largest
chip suppliers in the U.S. Black Gold also sells sweet potatoes and red
potatoes to large retailers in consumer packs throughout the States.   

         When I asked John how such a large operation with 200 employees could be a family farm, he was quick to respond.  “We are absolutely a family farm and have been since 1928. It’s what we do.”

         His passion for
farming was evident, as was the fact that freshness of a potato begins long
before it arrives at a grocery store. The best preservative for a table potato
is a tough skin, accomplished through the science of farming.

         He described the
complex business of growing potatoes across 11 farms, starting with the seed
potato. “Potatoes take a whole lot of seed, about – an average of about 2,500
pounds per acre, depending on the variety and region. The seed is stored 36-38
degrees Fahrenheit to keep it dormant and then a machine cuts the seed potato
into 2.2 ounce pieces.”  Believe it or
not, the seeds are treated with a fir bark material to help their wounds heal, piled
on the ground with blown air to warm them up and then planted several days
later.

         It can take
potatoes 50 days to come out of the ground since the seeds aren’t as
physiologically aged as seeds you may plant in your garden. However, when they
do come up potatoes grow fast – they go from peeking through the soil to
covering the ground in two or three weeks.

         Water is an
important part of growing healthy potatoes, but they are a very sustainable
crop, according to John. Black Gold Farms use center pivot irrigation (the kind
that makes circles) to irrigate often, but with a lesser amount of water than
row crops.

         Black Gold Farms believe in label integrity and maintain a zero tolerance policy for using products “off label” (at different rates or mixtures than those approved by EPA).  “The truth is easy to defend” John said as he explained they shut down a chip plant in Texas. “We needed to harvest two days earlier than what was labeled for grass herbicide that was applied. We made the decision to not deliver them to the plant and maintain our label integrity.”

Read more at   Food Truths from Farm to Table  to arm yourself with 25
truths you urgently need to know about food so you can shop without guilt,
confusion, or judgment. A new book,  Food Bullying , releases November 5 to upend the way you think about eating
choices.

What does the food bullying playground look like?

Imagine a $5.75 trillion playground with 40,000 pieces of equipment. Wouldn’t it be overwhelmingly grandiose and likely more than you could comprehend? What would your elaborate playground include? Mine would likely have a jetted tub, pretty dairy cattle, a chocolate fountain, a basketball hoop, spin bikes, beautiful flowers, great music, a beach with crashing waves, and a few other frivolous items. And a huge sign “No B.S. allowed.”

Consider this; food is a $5.75 trillion industry. It makes for a huge playground; there are grocery stores, restaurants, online food retailers, convenience stores, food trucks, and more. Overwhelming, to say the least. The bigger the playground, the more bullies creating chaos and demonizing people about their eating choices. Some intentional, such as activists pushing group think or food labels targeting your pocketbook. Other bullying happens unintentionally by those who want to “help” you.

“Your food is poisoning the earth.

You feed your kids that?!?

Do not eat anything you cannot pronounce.

Your way of eating is wrong.”

The need to position one food as superior to another lies at the heart of food bullying. Fat-free marshmallows. Gluten-free water. Grass-fed peaches. Hormone-free salt. Vegan water. No-salt added, boneless bananas. Somehow, our hunger for a feel-good story about our food has led to these ludicrous labels and claims. I call B.S.! That’s Bull Speak – I don’t want you to think I’m cussing at you.

The playground of food bullying is crowded and includes different levels of bullies. The first step in avoiding B.S. food is to acknowledge the bad behaviors, misleading or false label claims, marketing half-truths, and other unnecessary drama on the playground of food bullying. All of these bullying behaviors have resulted in a “you can’t have that” mentality because of food bullies.

Food bullying literally takes food – and choice – away. “You can’t feed your baby that way. You can’t afford the right brand. You can’t farm like that. You can’t eat if it’s not like my diet…” The victims of food bullying span all income levels and generations – and the effects are far-reaching. Confusion. Increased food prices. Guilt. Decreased farm income. Eating decisions made on emotions rather than nourishment.

In short, the playground is filled with people who hold a fascination for finding the “perfect” food story that makes the “right” social statement. Frankly, it’s led to an inability to discern B.S. from meaningful information. I wrote Food Bullying to equip you to recognize the chaos on the playground, find the signposts of food bullying, make more rational eating decisions, and avoid buying B.S. on the chaotic food playground.

Spoiler alert: there is no perfect food story. There is no “right” way to eat. I hope you can use this new book (now available as an ebook) to stand up the the bullies. It’s time to clean up the food playground, reduce the chaos, and turn away from the bullies. How can you help make that happen?

Investing in your health & wellness

Spinning is my therapy. Not spinning yarn or even spinning a tale, but spinning on a bike. I go twice a week to sweat like mad while seeing how fast I can make my legs fly to obnoxiously loud rock music while my beloved teacher, Val, yells. It’s an awesome workout to combat stress, burn calories, and build endurance. It’s also one of the few intense exercise classes I am still allowed to do. I was born with abnormal knee structure and had surgery on both of them when I was 15. I refused to let them limit me as a long distance runner in track in high school, and ran harder than ever the year after the surgeries. When I was 24, my doctor in California told me that I’d have a double knee replacement by the time I was 50 if I didn’t stop high impact aerobics or give up running. When I was 40, I had major knee surgery that left me flat on my back for weeks. It taught me exercise is a privilege, and health is an investment.  Sure, it’s easier to sit on the couch and with potato chips and ignore nutrition, but what you invest in your body today pays off years later. That is true in both food and exercise.

         “Disease states, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity, are progressive. Unless you are taking preventative measures, the disease are going to start taking control of your life. Every day is an opportunity to take preventative measure – a chance for you be mindful of what you’re consuming, your portion and your activity level.” points out Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson, Jessica Crandall.

        She likens it to your retirement plan;
many people not start thinking about it until they get older. “And then people
realize it’s not just about longevity, but also the quality of life. They want
to be healthy and active, but also be with their grandkids – not just sitting
on the sidelines.”      

         One of the fastest growing trends is for food retailers to involve dietitians. Leah McGrath is a registered dietitian who has worked for Ingles Markets in North Carolina.  She suggested checking your supermarket’s website in their health and nutrition section to see if a retail store dietitian is available. “It’s very chain or retailer dependent. Some chains offer medical nutrition therapy for counseling on obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. Other stores are doing group activities, such as store tours and cooking demonstrations.”    

         Whether you work with a dietitian or
not, here’s the bottom-line. It may be cheaper to buy Coke instead of milk for
your kids today, but the long-term health consequences will be expensive. It’s
faster to grab water bottles than fill your own travel bottle, but what are the
consequences in the landfill?  It may be easier to grab a highly
processed, fully cooked meal, but if you’re not evaluating nutrient balance in
your diet, your life won’t be easier long-term. 

         Healthy behavior requires discipline. I choose more life. You decide what is right for you long-term. 

Read more at   Food Truths from Farm to Table  to arm yourself with 25
truths you urgently need to know about food so you can shop without guilt,
confusion, or judgment. A new book,  Food Bullying , releases November 5 to upend the way you think about eating
choices.

Is organic or conventional food better? What about farming?

Watch Michele & Carolyn discuss farming choices on this FB Live.

As a mother, I am particularly protective of my choice on how to feed my family. Aren’t you? I’ve made nutritional choices for my daughter since the day she was conceived and slowly turned those over to her as she learned the value of nutrition. I don’t need any government agency, farmer or media limiting my choices on my family’s plate. You likely feel the same about your choices.

Farmers and ranchers also value choice. This is called freedom to operate; the ability to make decisions best suited for their family, land, and animals. And since independence is one of the strongest traits amongst farmers and ranchers, we don’t take kindly to people telling us how to take care of our land or animals. 

         An organic farm could have 1,100 acres of land, raise seed for a company, and grow 7,000 conventionally raised hogs annually.  Jon and Carolyn Olson from Minnesota have a unique operation between their certified organic grains and conventionally raised hogs. Carolyn is quite vocal in her support of ALL kinds of agriculture.  “I believe that every farmer needs to find what works for them and their farm. Organic agriculture is not for everyone, and neither is dairy farming, or pig farming, or vegetable growing. Diversity in agriculture should be celebrated.”

         “When we decided to transition to
organic, part of our conversations revolved around the pig barns. Should we
continue to finish pigs conventionally? We didn’t have the pasture space or the
proper barn style to raise pigs organically, and we knew we needed a source of
animal manure for our crops, so we made the decision to continue finishing pigs
as we always have.”

         Matt and Anne Burkholder in Nebraska are another couple exemplifying both choice on the farm and on the food plate. “We have a diversified farm in order to supply a variety of markets and customers.  Historically, our farm was 100 percent traditional crops but we got into the organic markets in 2006.  Organic farming, if managed well, can bring in quite a bit more profit with a market that is not typically as volatile as conventional markets because it is a niche market. They each come with a set of positives and negatives.  Using a blend of organic and conventional on our farm allows us to diversify to best meet a variety of challenges.  Judiciously using resources is important to us and we can optimize that by growing a blend of both traditional and organic crops.” 

         Finding the right type of operation is
different for every farmer and depends on their skillset, available resources,
market, type of land and personal values. One is not right and the other wrong.

         Make your choices based on your own
standards – just as farmers make
those choices for their business. 

Read more at   Food Truths from Farm to Table  to arm yourself with 25
truths you urgently need to know about food so you can shop without guilt,
confusion, or judgment. A new book,  Food Bullying , releases November 5 to upend the way you think about eating
choices.

To my 4-H daughter…

“To make the best better” involves a lot of lessons for 4-H members

“The days are long, but the years are short” is never so true as it is for a 4-H mom, though you won’t understand that for awhile. We’re heading to the fair with your beloved moos today and I’m sure it will be some of the very best days of the year, but also push the limits of exhaustion. I’ve been a 4-H leader for a couple of decades and worked with amazing kids, but my greatest privilege has been to have a front row seat to your 4-H career over the last six years. It’s involved a whole lot of cow hair, piles of cake frosting, the whole grain flour that you’ve come to detest, more patience than I thought possible, too much paperwork, hours upon hours in the barn, and the very best memories that will forever be in my heart.  Here are just a few of the lessons I’ve watched you learn over the years.

Growing willpower, honed at the halter of your first heifer who drug you as you battled wills, your tug-of-wars with 2,000 pound cows, and taking a heifer who refuses to walk and turning her into a beautiful animal in the ring. You have a gift with animals, and they, in turn, have given you a perseverance that will carry you far. Appreciating the power of friendships. I’m not sure if you see the helping hands who have made it all possible, but someday you will look back and realize lifelong friends came from the Boone County 4-H Fair.Understanding the highs and lows of breeding animals. The pure pride on your face when your first homebred heifer “Lucky” was selected as champion – and the frustration while she has battled a nasty infection all year. The pain of losing our “Peppermint”, the ability to understand when it’s time to sell animals – and be grateful for the privilege of caring for them so they can provide people with food. Figuring out time management and finding your limits. I see you go from from working in the barn early to basketball practice to wrestling cattle for hours to running a 10K at 9:30 p.m. I don’t know how you do it all, and you wear me out, but girl – you do know how to work! Just remember to enjoy life, too!Learning about politics in some projects, people who make different choices in integrity, and from those who suffer from inflated egos. It’s not all roses – and that’s O.K. – because life isn’t, either. Managing disappointment when a judge uses words like “poor effort” with an apple spice cake after you had carefully created your own recipe as a 10 year-old, your rolls didn’t bake perfectly evenly – and laughing about it later (years later). Understanding that others watch you. Finding ways to lead by example, even when you don’t feel like you are.

What will you walk away with after your 4-H career? I don’t know – that will be your story to tell. As you approach your final few years, I wish you joy. Joy in the imperfections, like the speck of manure on your showmanship cow, the paint that doesn’t go on a project perfectly, the pie that’s not a work of art, or the cake decorating flower that doesn’t quite meet your standard. Joy in the time on the wash rack with friends and how your family steps up for you. Joy in the opportunity to be in 4-H – it is a privilege. Joy in sharing that and serving others. Purple banners are pretty, but JOY is what you’re more likely to carry in your heart for a lifetime. Thank you for bringing me immense amounts of joy in these memories. Now let’s go make our girls sparkle!

Caring for animals with a conscience

         People who care for animals do so with a conscience – we consider it an honor and privilege to do so. We give medication accordingly – with a conscience. However, farm size doesn’t change the care, concern and human conscience that goes into responsible animal care. If you’ve ever stood with a farm animal and cried because you felt so incredibly frustrated about not being able to make the animal feel better, you’d know why we want and need every tool available – including antibiotics.

        
Antibiotics are most commonly used in dairy cattle to treat mastitis
infections. Mastitis is an inflammation and infection of the mammary gland –
and can be incredibly painful, as any mom who has experienced it can
explain.  Depending on the type of mastitis, the udder may swell up, the
cow can have a fever – or in the worst cases, the infection becomes systemic,
endangering the cow’s life. This is not due to unsanitary conditions, stressed
cattle, over milking or “factory farms” – just like it is not a human’s fault when
she gets mastitis. Some animals are just more prone to getting this infection
and the best prevention in the world can’t keep every cow from getting mastitis
– even though farmers try their best.

        
Cows injected with antibiotics may carry some residue of the antibiotic in
their milk, just like you secrete medication through your tears, tears, saliva
and urine. Milk from treated cows is withheld – it is not put into the bulk
tank with the rest of the herd’s milk. It is discarded. Care is taken to ensure
milk from treated cows does have any impact on the other milk, such as rinsing
milkers (milking machines) and lines that the withheld milk traveled down to be
removed from the system.

        
Why do we even milk cows with mastitis?  Milking gets the bad cells out of
the cow’s udder to reduce the infection. It’s also important for a cow’s
comfort.

         Milk is not allowed to contain any detectable antibiotics. The FDA Grade A Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, revised in 2009, has a legal standard requiring milk to contain no detectable antibiotics when analyzed using approved test methods. Interestingly, the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance dates back to 1924.  If you’re buying milk in the grocery store, the only kind you’re purchasing is Grade A.

         When antibiotics are used responsibly, they do not enter your food supply. Milk is tested multiple times to be sure no milk enters the food supply with antibiotics in it. Every tanker of milk in the U.S. is also tested before the milk is pumped from the tanker for delivery at the processing plant. If the milk passes the test, it is pumped into the plant’s holding tanks for processing, such as pasteurization, homogenization or being turned into cheese, ice cream, yogurt, etc.

        
If milk does not pass antibiotic testing, the entire tanker load of milk is
discarded. Farm samples are then reviewed to find the source of the antibiotic
residues. The farm is usually held financially responsible for the entire
tanker full of milk, fines can be involved and the processor may refuse
shipment in the future. The veterinarian for the farm is also contacted and may
be put under review by the FDA. As any dairy farmer or veterinarian will tell
you, antibiotics are NOT something they take lightly.

Read more
at   Food Truths from Farm to Table  to arm yourself with 25
truths you urgently need to know about food so you can shop without guilt, confusion,
or judgment. A new book,  Food Bullying , releases November 5 to upend the way you think about eating
choices.