Michele Payn's Blog, page 15

Where Does Your Food Dollar Go?

Ninety-two percent of Americans consider it “somewhat important” to “very important” that food be affordable, followed by the 91 percent who felt the same way about nutrition, according to the Science and Food Survey released October 2015 by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Nearly every food survey I’ve seen over the course of my speaking and writing career lists the price of food in the top three priorities. Farmers and ranchers have worked for decades to keep food costs low by increasing productivity. Some consumers question at what cost, but that sentiment changes as the income bracket goes down.

Americans spend only about 10 percent of their incomes on food, which means our food costs less than anywhere in the world! However, there is a trend toward social issues overcoming efficiency. There are unintended consequences of socially driven decisions ricocheting across our food system. It can create a divide between the food buyer and the food producer, who makes science-driven decisions.

Farmers receive 16 cents for every dollar you spend on food. You buy $10 worth of eggs and milk, and farmers receive $1.60 of that. Does that seem equitable? Off-farm costs (marketing expenses associated with processing, wholesaling, distributing, and retailing of food products) account for 84 cents of every retail dollar.

In 1980 farmers and ranchers received 31 cents out of every retail dollar spent on food in America. In three decades, the amount farmers received from your food dollar was nearly cut in half. These margins are tough for any business to survive—and the reason why farms have gotten larger.

If you are concerned about food costs, please know that is a shared concern with farmers and ranchers. The people who are raising your food are in the position of being price-takers rather than price-makers.

There is a ripple effect of unintended consequences across the grocery store when people are making rules or wanting change when they don’t understand the business. Price is one of those ripple effects. Farmers are not getting rich; they are facing higher production costs with lower profit margin. Where is the extra margin going? Regulations cost. Legislation costs. Changing housing costs. Diseases cost. Marketing labels cost. All of which add up to more expensive food for all of us.

Read more at   Food Truths to Farm to Table  and take a trip around the grocery store to be armed with 25 truths you urgently need to know about food so you can shop without guilt, confusion, or judgment. Learn the truths so you can recognize marketing and move on. A new book, Food Bullying, is expected late 2019.

 

 

Animals are not humans

In a society where we embrace rodents as cartoon characters, give pigs a political voice, and fill advertisements with grinning cows, we seem to forget that animals do not have the same intelligence or abilities as humans. Animals’ lives deserve to be respected and valued—but they are not humans.

As such, animals have different housing needs. For example, I was feeling really guilty our dog couldn’t get inside during a particularly nasty January snowstorm, and that guilt overcame my ability to think. The wind chill was near zero, large quantities of snow were falling, and it was miserable to be outside. My worry was being fed by messages on Facebook about how important it is to bring your pets in during bad weather.

When I went out in the driving wind and snow to check on Astro and Sugar, intending to let them in the barn, I found them wrestling in the pasture as winter blew all around them. They were playing in the snow with joy! You see, Pyrenees were bred in the mountains of France. They were bred for cold weather. And they were perfectly happy with being outside in the snow and wind, even though it may seem cruel if you are not familiar with their breeding.

The same is true for farm animals; housing may seem cruel if taken out of context. Farmers know their animals firsthand, have studied the species’ breeding, understand the animal’s instincts, and work hard to provide the best conditions for a given animal.

For example, consider chickens. Isn’t it more natural for Henny Penny to be outside, pecking corn off the ground? It’s also natural for Henny Penny to freeze to death, eat trash, be killed by predators, and poop on her egg (increasing your risk for salmonella). And if Henny Penny gets mad or her fellow chicken is ill, she may decide to peck the other chicken to death.

As a result, most chickens live in a temperature-controlled barn in some sort of cage. Their eggs immediately leave the cage so there is little exposure to bacteria from manure. Today’s laying hens have constant access to food and water 24 hours a day, oblivious to the drama that surrounds them about housing. Critically thinking about housing instead of marketing labels would increase logic in the egg case and decrease food drama.

Read more at  Food Truths to Farm to Table and take a trip around the grocery store to be armed with 25 truths you urgently need to know about food so you can shop without guilt, confusion, or judgment. Learn the truths so you can recognize marketing and move on. A new book, Food Bullying, is expected late 2019.

 

 

Does marketing sway you to buy hormone free food?

Do you enjoy the thought of hormones? As a woman, I don’t care for hormones dancing through my body. As a mom, I worry about my little girl developing early because of hormones. As a breeder of those pretty black and white dairy cows you see on food labels, I have great respect for hormones.

My respect for hormones comes from watching a favorite cow giving birth to a beautiful newborn 90-pound calf. It’s amazing to witness the reproductive cycle, from the breeding of a cow to the birthing of a calf. It takes education and experience to understand the special care a 1,500-pound cow requires during her pregnancy. Hormones allow all of that to happen—they make it possible to breed more cattle. The end result? More milk and meat for you.

That’s why hormones in food don’t freak me out. It’s different when you see hormones in action on a daily basis while working with plants and animals. If you or your friends have had fertility assistance in having a family, such as in vitro fertilization, you benefited from the extensive reproductive work done in bovines, as cattle reproductive systems are remarkably similar to humans. Yet there is this fear of hormones from milk.

While I was at a party at one of my friend’s homes, another mom proudly exclaimed, “I’m really careful to give my kids hormone-free food.”

I tried not to cringe, asking her as kindly as I could, “Do you really believe your food is healthier?”

“Well, the label says ‘hormone free.’” Then I asked her if the breast milk she had fed her kids when they were babies was hormone free.

“No way, not with all the hormones raging through my body,” was her immediate answer. The light went on . . . and all I had to say was, “Cows have those same hormones. They always have. All of your food has hormones in it, regardless of label claims.”

Hormones are a natural part of our world—they are required for living. Merriam- Webster defines hormone as a product of living cells that circulates in body fluids (as blood) or sap and produces a specific, often stimulatory, effect on the activity of cells, usually remote from its point of origin.

In other words, hormones are required for life. Yet hormones have become akin to a nasty four-letter word in food. Why? They exist in every plant and animal you eat. Minerals like salt are the exception. You are consuming hormones at every meal unless you have a salt lollipop.

It’s a fascinating marketing case study to look at how fear is used to scare people into changing their food purchases. The hysteria around “hormones in dairy products” is a prime example. Labels are often used to convey a claim to alter the perception of the product in order for the manufacturer and retailer to sell more or sell at a higher price.

Food labels claiming “hormone free” are lies. All milk has hormones in it; it always has. It always will or it would not exist. Do not let marketing hysteria sway you otherwise.

Read more at  Food Truths to Farm to Table and take a trip around the grocery store to be armed with 25 truths you urgently need to know about food so you can shop without guilt, confusion, or judgment. Learn the truths so you can recognize marketing and move on. A new book, Food Bullying, is expected late 2019.

Judging the Soul of Food

It seems we have moved beyond mere concern about our food to judging the soul of food—and those who consume it. What is the soul of food? For me, the soul of food has everything to do with beautiful black and white Holsteins gracing my front yard and neighborhood.

The soul of food is about the people who painstakingly care for the land and animals so that you can eat. The soul of food is about the memories made around my dining room table with my family and friends. The soul of food is likely different to you.

Food perspective varies based upon your position around the proverbial plate. Farmers come off as defensive when they refuse to acknowledge that questions have merit and there are other experts in the discussion. They see food as what they do every day and don’t understand why there are so many questions. Scientists look to facts; chefs look at the soul of food as how it will add flavor to their creation; dietitians consider health implications; and parents look the convenience, cost, and “feel-good” factor. One perspective is not more superior than the other.

 We will never all agree on the right kind of food or farming style. However, it is time for us to stop the judgment on food. Food judgment and food elitists should not trump realism in the soul of food.

 In other words, don’t let “judgment on food soul” overcome “soul of food.” Your choices differ from mine. A single mom trying to make ends meet has different wants than a Whole Foods follower. A dietitian concerned with a balanced diet has different food priorities than a middle-aged man looking for comfort food.

I don’t believe any of those people have a more superior food soul. A Super Bowl ad does not make the soul of food, a celebrity sensationalizing food claims does not make the soul of food, the words on a label do not make the soul of food, nor does a fad diet. All are what I call food soul judgments. All lead to food elitism and, consequently, food shaming.

 In reality, the soul of food today is largely the same as it was 50 years ago. Food is, in fact, safer—but I recognize facts don’t create the perceived soul of food. If you have a romanticized view of small family farms with crops raised by hand and animals lovingly running free while eating green grass, you may be surprised by the reality of farming with animals in mud, sweating it out while pulling weeds from crops, and trying to eek a living out of the land.

 We’ve allowed individual judgment of food to dictate the soul of food over the last decade. Food is not a religion, nor should a tribe be dictating what is right for your family. The soul of my food is no different from the soul of your food.

What matters is how food nourishes a family.

Read more at  Food Truths to Farm to Table and take a trip around the grocery store to be armed with 25 truths you urgently need to know about food so you can shop without guilt, confusion, or judgment. Learn the truths so you can recognize marketing and move on. A new book, Food Bullying, is expected late 2019.

Does food confuse you? Don’t buy the B.S.

Have you ever felt judged for what’s in your grocery cart?

Do you wonder whether GMO-free, gluten-free, antibiotic-free, fat-free milk is better than regular milk?

Are “natural” Fritos better for you?

Does anyone really need organic, natural, hormone-free cat litter?

Grocery store marketing is full of food claims that are B.S. (below standard).

Don’t buy it!

Five Ways to Avoid Buying B.S. Food

Ignore the label. Just as you don’t want food with empty calories, avoid food with empty label claims such “____-free”, “natural”, “farm-raised” or  “sustainable.” For example, all milk in the grocery store is GMO-free, gluten-free, and antibiotic-free. Those labels are used to make the product seem more attractive. If you want to know facts – not B.S., flip the package over and read the Nutrition Facts Panel.  The information on this panel is scientifically true. Really. Watch this amusing video that illustrates the B.S. on food labels.
Understand the journey. The journey of your food is truly an amazing story – and usually not the negative, sensationalized claims you hear. Sometimes, many hands touch a product on the way to the store.  In other cases, for example when you purchase a bag of apples, the last hand to touch the apple was the one that picked it from the tree.  In every case, rules are in place to ensure food is handled properly to secure it is safe and nutritious when it reaches your table.  Rather than buying the B.S. get to know the system in place to protect your food safety.
Fight the bullies. Often B.S. is communicated in a way designed to create an extreme emotional response.  People become scared and even well-intentioned neighbors and friends can pressure you to change your eating and buying habits.  Celebrities, wellness gurus, or gym nutritionists often proclaim their way is the only right way.  Who are they to say your food isn’t good enough? Your family’s nutrition is your business.  Just as bullying is a real threat in our schools, food bullying has become ridiculous.  Parent groups are clamoring for rules about what can be served in school or at events based on fear rather than science.  Don’t rely on the B.S.  Make you decision based on science.  If you need nutrition insight, find a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist – members of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics will help you fight bullying and B.S. with science-based recommendations.
Get to know the people. Have you watched a documentary on farmers abusing animals, damaging the environmental, or becoming huge factory farms?  In reality, 96% of today’s farms and ranches are still run by families; they are the people who can give you the real story about how food is raised without the B.S. You can find farmers and ranchers who blog here. 
Make your own decision. Define your own environmental, social, ethical, and health standards when it comes to food – and measure all claims against YOUR OWN standards rather than falling prey to B.S. food.

Food is a basic necessity, not a battleground. It is time to elevate the food conversation away from B.S. so you can avoid overwhelm the next time you are making food choices. Use these five tips to avoid food that is below standard and pick up a copy of Food Truths from Farm to Table, just named an Independent Publishers (IPPY) medalist in health/medicine/nutrition, to uncover the truth in food.

Crock-Pots and cattle…what’s in your kitchen?

Is it safe to cook in a Crock-Pot? Is your house equipped with fire ladders? Have you replaced the smoke alarm battery? Props to This Is Us for bringing fire safety to the forefront in their Super Bowl special, but it’s a fictional TV show.  And while it’s incredibly well-written, This Is Us occurred 20 years ago.

Are animals safe on farms? Is it O.K. to eat meat or consume milk after seeing horrific movies about how farmers treat cattle? Have you considered your food ethics? Just as This Is Us has created hysteria around slow cookers,  “documentaries” have created hysteria around meat and milk. Written and staged by animal rights activists, the documentaries have great emotional appeal to those who haven’t set foot on a farm or ranch.

It’s a lot more sexy to show the terror of fire or abuse than it is the every day, mundane activities. A slow cooker is a rather boring, yet a basic kitchen tool. Caring for animals at 6 a.m. is a non-event to the 98.5% of the population who has never had hay chaff stuck in their hair, yet a basic tenet of animal care. Similar to focusing on the horrific aftermath of the fire instead of considering the faulty switch that would logically put the slow cooker in the trash, perceived abuse on farms gets the attention.

A mom friend thanked me for providing ” insight into an unknown world” after I posted a picture of my daughter saying good-bye to her first 4-H cow, Ving. The dairy cow will no longer breed, so she is being sold for beef – the secondary purpose of the animals when they can’t provide us with milk. When purchased by a 9 year-old, this calf was dressed up as a princess (often eating her hair bows), played tug-of-war, and gave my daughter a lot of lessons in perseverance as her first 4-H project.

However, Ving was also dehorned – for the safety of my daughter and the other cattle – horns are brutal weapons that can kill. The calf grew up and was artificially inseminated, producing a beautiful heifer that I watched my daughter show with pride – in spite of being kicked, drug on a halter, and various other frustrating things animals do. Ving also produced a really ugly heifer, which is part of the genetics game. She was milked by a machine throughout her life until she miscarried her third calf. As a result, she had some major reproductive issues – which we tried to help with reproductive hormones (the same used in women). We failed in getting her bred back, so my daughter understands that her animal’s purpose is now to provide meat.

Perception is everything. Any of those statements taken out of context or video taped would make paint us as animal abusers. It is true that some farming and ranching practices practices are ugly, but if you take the time to find out WHY we do them, you will get the REAL STORY. Your meat and milk are still safe – and more importantly, raised by the same families that put meat in your grandparent’s freezer and milk in the refrigerator. It is an honor and privilege to care for animals today, just as it was then. I know, because I have done so my entire life.

Yes, it is still safe to cook in a slow cooker, but InstaPots are perceived to be much cooler. Meat and milk are still essential cornerstones fueling your family (not to mention tasty), but making Meatless Mondays a social claim is perceived to be more hip.

Are we really so unaware the difference between fiction and good television that we can’t recognize reality? Crock-Pot’s stock fell immediately after This Is Us aired, people are dumping slower cookers in the trash, and a kitchen essential is being removed from wedding registries – because of one scene from a fictional show.

I, for one, refuse to allow sensationalism in my kitchen. How about you?

How do we address teacher bias? Does marketing now trump critical thinking in the classroom?

Is bias in teaching going the same way as the rampant bias in journalism?  Should we be questioning teachers who  promote their own agenda in a classroom? This is not a new problem, but a social studies teacher showing a Chipotle film to our friends’ seventh grade class has left me questioning what is wrong with our educational system.

Last week, in a central Indiana suburban school district with some rural influence, my 12 year-old friends some serious questions about their food brought up by a food marketing video. This one hit close to home because it impacted the son and daughter of one of my closest friends (and also why I’m not disclosing the school name). While corn and soybeans were being harvested around the school, the teacher chose to feature one of the Chipotle videos as  their social studies lesson.

These are kids that have followed my daughter in our pasture since they were toddlers, played on hay bales in our barn, and even helped bring one of our newborn calves home last March. They know our cattle by name, have visited the milking parlor of our neighbor, and their grandpa had beef cattle. Both kids are smart, raised by wonderful parents, and know the difference between right and wrong. They now question what farmers are doing to animals after hearing cows don’t see grass, chickens are injected with hormones and pigs are kept inside.  Their words. Heartbreaking to hear this is part of their “education.”

Why would a teacher put these thoughts into kids heads from marketing propaganda from a food service company with a questionable track record? There was no debate, no other side presented, no lesson in marketing. The result? Kids feeling bad about their food and questioning farming. It broke my heart to hear these questions from children that I once held in my hand  – literally, as they were very premature. I first asked them what video it was, and when I heard it was Chipotle, I managed to not bang my head on the table in frustration.

“Why do you think a food company would make a video?” I asked them as gently as I could. They said to show bad things farmers do. I pressed a little further and asked what a restaurant wanted to do. “Sell food!” they agreed upon. “So do you think they might be telling lies to sell more food?” was my response, quickly followed by “have you ever seen us abuse our animals or do anything mean to them?”  They shook their head while joyfully telling stories of the animals they’ve watched us raise through the years.  My daughter and I both asked if they thought our cattle were the same as their dogs; we all agreed that farm animals have a different purpose than companion animals. Our friends also understood we find it a privilege to care for farm animals so they provide food.

“It’s illegal to give chickens hormones” I next explained, along with the fact that there are no such products available.  The boy quickly noted that it would be expensive to do so, the girl wanted to know why chickens were so big, wondering if I was sure chickens were not pumped full of something.  So we got into a discussion on genetics and the fact that chickens have been bred to have bigger breasts because that’s what people like to eat. We talked about what their dad grilled as an example of consumer demand.

Their parents chimed in as we talked about why pigs stay inside. We discussed diseases, predators, and huge swings in temperature.  I told them it was really sad that a marketing company was telling lies about farmers. The whole conversation gave me a sick feeling in my stomach. Seeds planted by teachers last a lifetime, whether good or bad. Marketing and bias doesn’t belong in the classroom; science and well-roundd debate does. Teacher bias deserves the same concern as journalistic bias, as a student will never be able to turn off their education the way so many of us have silenced the news.

As we finished our conversation, I suggested they share their farm stories in their class since they had more farm experience than most classmates, but also understand it was really hard for 12 year-olds to go against the grain. Education, defined as “the knowledge, skill, and understanding that you get from attending a school, college, or university” has a problem if it is filled with bias. Kids should not feel bad about bringing truth to the table.  We need to be educating students to have reasonable thinking, critical thinking skills – not fill them with marketing.  How do we hold teachers accountable for presenting accurate content?

Calluses, crowns, and cow divas: lessons from the county fair

It’s county fair week. If you’ve never experienced a fair from the inside, it’s like final exams and Christmas all wrapped into an intense week filled with more sweat and dirt than you can imagine. It’s both exhausting and exhilarating. I have been involved in fairs my entire life, but am always amazed watching 4-H and FFA members learn life lessons through the trials of diligently preparing a project, talking with a judge and then nervously anticipating the outcome. Sometimes, the ribbon is blue. Other times it’s red. And if they’re lucky, the coveted purple or pink ribbons may be put on a project.

The reality is that ribbons fade and are eventually stashed away in boxes, forgotten about. It’s the stories behind the ribbons that are remembered for a lifetime. I still tell stories about my molasses crinkles baked my first year in 4-H, my showmanship cow Goldilocks who switched her feet when I tapped her shoulder, and my beloved Perfect who went from the bottom of the class as a chubby heifer to the top of the show and the grand matriarch of a family that has been passed on to my daughter.  Those are the stories, filled with life lessons, that matter so much more than trophies.

Some people claim it’s cruel to show animals who will provide us with food, but a glimpse on the inside of fair preparation tells a very different story. These animal are a personal passion for the families involved in 4-H and FFA; show animals eat before we do, are cleaner than we are and have stricter diets. However, the people providing the care know that the animal’s ultimate purpose is to provide food for humans; milk now and beef when they are culled, in the case of our dairy cattle. But it’s an absolute privilege to care for them. In celebration of the work my daughter, the pied piper of our pasture,  puts into caring to her cattle year-round, these are the stories behind the Holsteins she’ll be showing.

 Peppermint: She believes she is a queen, and several girls have suggested her poll needs a crown (it is the right size, so it may happen fair week). Peppermint has delivered lessons in perseverance; she’s as sweet as pie at home and adores attention, but is a very different story in the show ring. Nearly six now, she greatly enjoys planting Miss A into whatever wall or gate is available just because she can and she doesn’t like being full of milk. My daughter is taller than me and pretty strong for her age, but over 1,600 pounds of obnoxious cow is a lot to handle. Nonetheless, Miss A wants to show her and holds Queen Peppermint in a special place in her heart (the cow’s full story about being saved by rumen bugs is featured in both books). Perseverance through and through.

Lucky: The cow with the most nicknames, Lucky Ducky is a  complete diva and headed to her fifth show. This two year-old is the result of my daughter’s first homebred animals; she chose  gender selected semen from a bull named Goldchip to use on the heifer Miss A purchased as a 9 year-old. Lucky is silky black and pretty – and she knows it. Interestingly, her two-week-old daughter Lovely already thinks she is a diva, so it must be a highly heritable trait. Lucky has given lessons in patience and more than a few calluses as she loves to plant all four of her feet firmly in the ground when my daughter leads her. Her eyes light up when the halter comes out and she sees Miss A, but the diva excels at pushing my daughter’s buttons – I sometimes have to step away so I can laugh at the pair without being caught by a very ticked off teenager.  I pray they get along on show day!

Patience: As white as they come, Patience has taught her 4-Her about unconditional love and trust. She would probably follow Miss A around the fairgrounds without a halter and happily chews her cud (a sign of cow satisfaction) whenever she comes into the styling salon – known as a grooming chute to cattle people. Patience is Peppermint’s oldest daughter, but behaves herself in the show ring and has given my daughter a whole lot of confidence that she can train civilized animals. Since her topline is all white, she’s also lives up to her namesake when it comes to blending hair. For unknown reasons, Miss A has bestowed an English accent on Patience and been inspired to breed an “albino” calf.







Liberty: Named for the statue of Liberty that we visited last fall, this is Lucky’s sister, but she didn’t inherit the pretty gene. Great lessons in genetic variation. Nicknamed Bell, she really should be called belly because she sometimes looks like a pot-bellied pig and has a head like a Jersey. This fall calf has taught Miss A lessons in pride; my daughter is proud of how sweet the heifer is and has worked with her diligently, though she readily admits Bell won’t be at the top of the class. And that’s perfectly fine because there’s a young Holstein breeder who is proud of her work.

Point: The baby of the bunch, Point is four months old with a tongue longer than a grown cow. She delights in chewing on twine, halters and anything else she can get in her mouth. Point runs thought the pasture with her tail straight up in the air, is the grand daughter of Peppermint and worships the ground Miss A walks on. Point, named for a black dot on her head, has been trained to walk like a little lady on the halter since she was a baby, but still prefers to lunge in circles if given the opportunity. She has taught my daughter about the joy of sharing her passion for dairy with her friends who want to experience the long tongue or walk Point for her.

 

As you walk through the barns at the fairgrounds, it’s stories like these that illustrate the love and respect poured into show animals. It’s true of every species. Know that there was a young person who likely put in some 18-hour days to get those animals ready for the fair. The care of these animals is a story worthy of being told to the people who don’t know what it’s like to get up at 3 a.m. to wash cows or prepare animals with gloss and glitter on show day so they can look their best while their owners are dripping in sweat.  What lessons can you share from the county fair?

The crux of corn? Or a choice for a family farm?

The Dammanns choose to grow both GMO and non-GMO corn in fields side-by-side because it is best for their family. Is corn taking over the Midwest? Are farmers paid off by the government to grow corn? Does farming include choices on growing GMO and non-GMO crops side-by-side? Do families really have choices on what to grow?

As summer’s heat turns up, any drive across the Midwest will feature corn outside the window. Why do farmers grow corn? Justin and Jennifer Dammann sat down at their kitchen table with me to talk about how they make choices in growing corn, soybeans, and beef as family farmers.

The Dammanns choose to grow both GMO and non-GMO corn in fields side-by-side because it is best for their family. They talk about how they make choices and WHY they farm the way they do.

Justin and Jennifer talked their corn contract, practices, and choices in Food Truths from Farm to Table: 25 Ways to Shop & Eat Without Guilt (just named a #1 Amazon best-seller). They shares more about farming on with regular tours to their farm and on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DammannFarms/.

The next time you enjoy tortillas, a steak, or drive through the Midwest, farm families like the Dammanns are making choices to raise corn.

What’s inside Food Truths? A look at the table of contents

Thank you for helping to grow the movement to bring truth to the plate. Food Truths from Farm to Table: 25 Surprising Ways to Shop and Eat Without Guilt was named a #1 best seller on Amazon on May 31!

We’ve had a lot of inquiries about what is included in this book, so here’s the table of contents and graphic of the 25 food truths embedded throughout the book. Yes, there really are 45 chapters, but they are approachable and filled with real-life stories, backed by 119 citations. If you don’t have your copy yet, you can order on Amazon, Walmart, Barnes & Noble and other fine bookstores.

[image error]Introduction: Truth in Food

1. Take Guilt Off Your Food List

Section 2.  Dairy ~ Milk was once considered the standby beverage of choice to grow healthy kids. Now questions abound about whether milk is making our kids fat, causing breast development by first grade or adding antibiotics to our diet.

2. Are Happy Cows on Drugs Harming My Kids?

3. Your Milk Is Not Filled with Antibiotics

4. Animal Welfare is 24-Hour Care

5. Are Confined Spaces Cruel?

6. Is Organic the Utopia?

Section 2.  Eggs ~ How many choices can fit in one small space? 36 different types of egg label claims in a less than 10-foot area points out the overwhelm of eggs; this chapter will help guide you to finding the right egg for your family.

7. Animal Care, in Context

8. Pecking Order Isn’t Pretty

9. Eggstravaganza or Overwhelmed?

10. Farmers Buy Food, Too

Section 3.  Fruits ~ We love our bananas for breakfast, strawberries in December and then demand locally grown fruit. A realistic look at food miles, food safety, worms in fruits, and our demands for the utopia of perfect fruit – chemical free.

11. Is Your Fruit Creating an Environmental Frenzy?

12. Where Fruits Grow, Bugs Go

13. Excuse Me, There’s a Cucumber in My Papaya

14. Cutting Boards and Cross-Contamination

15. Did You Know Organic Produce Requires Pesticides?

16. Water and Family: The Lifeblood of Growing Food

Section 4.  Vegetables ~ Billions of genes in carrots and seemingly nearly as many chemicals used. ‘Larry the Cucumber’ didn’t tell me he could be grown in water or fed fish waste. What’s happening with vegetable production, where it’s coming from and what any mom needs to know about vegetable power.

17. Does Eating Healthy Cost More?

18. Vegetables Make Chemicals?

19. Freshness Is a Science

20. What’s Growing in Your Veggie Drawer?

21. A Love of Playing in the Soil

Section 5.  Meats ~ Pretty red barns, cute animals that talk and farmers in overalls make for a good book and movie, as long as you realize they’re fiction. An inside look from farmers at how animals are raised, why many farms are larger and a comparison of different types of animal agriculture to help you feel good about the protein your family gets from the meat case.

22. The Mayhem of Meat. Why Isn’t Farming like Charlotte’s Web?

23. Are Antibiotics Awful?

24. Is Meat Messing with Your Hormones?

25. The Mass Production of Education, Medication, and Food

26. Does Your Burger Damage the Environment?

27. There Is No Singular “Right” Way to Buy or Grow Food

28. Are You Growing Bacteria?

Section 6.  Bread and Baking Aisle ~ The amber waves of grain have turned into an ambiguous guilt trip. How do you know if gluten is good, why sugar has been demonized and battle baking overwhelm if you’re not Betty Crocker? This chapter will help you unraveling the mystery of bread and baked goods.

29. Saving Our Soil

30. Would You Like a Loaf of Guilt with Your Bread?

31. Sugar, Salt, and Everything Evil

32. Is Your Fat Better Than My Fat?

Section 7.  Cereal Aisle ~ Cheerios suddenly became a marketing ploy, the toys are gone, the front of cereal boxes are billboards for marketing claims and the products we once considered wholesome are now demonized.

33. Pardon Me, You Dropped Intellectual Property in My Food

34. The Demonization of the Corn Stalk

35. Is the Environment Sacrificed for Profitability?

36. What Is Pecksniffery?

Section 8.  Snacks and Convenience Foods~ It seems there are more kinds of fats today than there were choices in crackers 20 years ago. Take a look at the issues in the “salty aisle”, including label claims, the advent of GMO and convenience packaging.

37. The Reality of Convenience

38. Balancing Choice on the Plate and the Farm

39. Cheap Food Will Cost You More Later

40. Are They Sneaky Snacks or Are We Label Illiterate?

Section 9. Deli and Foodservice ~ Harried schedules and less interest in cooking have made the deli one of the fastest growing grocery trends. The deli has grown beyond fried chicken and cupcakes. Is deli fresher, better for you, or simply higher priced?

41. Whose Hands Have Been in Your Food?

42. Just Because You Can’t Pronounce It Doesn’t Mean It’s Bad for You

43. We’re Not Crossing Frogs and Corn

44. Everything in Moderation

45. Check Out with Truth, Not Fear or Guilt

More than 50 expert contributors (watch them on video here) bring real-life stories to Food Truths from Farm to Table. It has been peer-reviewed through the accreditation for continuing educations as a balanced book. But more than anything, the book is about the truth from people with firsthand perspective on food. Who needs the truth in food in your life?