The Underdog

I love Texas Country music (some folks call it Red Dirt music). I’ve loved it since I was in college; Musicians like Pat Green, Robert Earl Keen, Cross Canadian Ragweed, and the Randy Rogers Band have always filled my cd case and iTunes.

I really like Aaron Watson. He lives in Abilene, TX, which is about 45 minutes from where I grew up. He’s a Christian and a family man. Listening to his music is like a trip home. His latest album recently topped the Country music charts, but he gets virtually no play time on country radio (not that I listen to country radio, anyway). The irony of that fact is compounded in the name of the album, the Underdog. 

After I downloaded it, my productivity dropped because  I was dancing and beating my hands on my desk. :)

Several of my blogging buddies have decided to write a group blog with the Underdog theme. Honestly, as much as I love Aaron Watson, I wasn’t sure I was going to participate. I didn’t know how I would tie this theme into my blog about meat and the meat industry.

Then, this morning I was listening to National Public Radio (see, not country). A young woman who was having a hard time financially was being asked about her health. She was convinced that her health was failing because she could not afford to buy food at the farmers market.  It hit me.

She was my underdog.

I don’t know her story, and I doubt she’s heard of me, but I write my blog for all the underdogs like her.

Families all over this country are told that expensive, Organic, Natural foods are better and healthier for them.  When they can’t afford them, imagine the guilt they must feel when they buy and feed their families conventionally-raised foods without the fancy, Organic, grass-fed, or Natural labels.

Even if what I write helps just a few of these folks feel better about what they feed their families, then I’m happy and it’s been worth it.

• I want to assure the young, single moms working for minimum wage that processed meats are a great way to get kids to eat protein when that’s all the protein they can afford.
• I want the busy, soccer mom to know its ok to run through the drive through between soccer practice and music lessons. The food will be safe.
• I want the label-reading-obsessed dad know what nitrites are, why they are used, and that they are safe and helpful.
• I want the concerned grandma to know that all meat is free of antibiotics regardless of what’s on the label.
• I want the mom with the newborn to know that no pork and poultry is raised with steroid hormones, and she can enjoy it worry-free.
• I want everyone to understand the importance of food safety and meat thermometers.

Unfortunately, we live in a society full of judging and Mom guilt. Feeling guilty and judged sure makes you feel like an Underdog. When they can’t afford the food that everyone says they should feed their kids, or they’re too busy to get it prepared, or they just don’t understand all the hype, I hope my blog helps them to feel a little more confident about the decisions they make to feed their families.

I've always been one to root for the Underdog.



Other Underdog posts:

Dirt Road Charm

Dairy Carrie

Heim Dairy

Rural Gone Urban

Farming America

Christmas and Hunger

Last weekend I had an amazing experience. We drove 6 hours to Dallas to work in the Operation Christmas Child shoebox processing center. Operation Christmas Child is an arm of Samaritan’s Purse and collects personal, shoe-box sized gift boxes from Christians in the US (and other countries) and sends them to children in need in the developing world. We have participated in this program for 6 Christmases sending boxes, but this was our first opportunity to help process the boxes for OCC. In the 6 hours we worked, our team of about 9 or 10 people processed approximately 1300 boxes. We were one of at least 18 teams working, and a second shift went to work after we left. They expected to process over 600,000 boxes at that center this year and over 7 million boxes total.  It was such a rewarding experience.

Working at the Operation Christmas Child Processing
Center has been one of the highlights of my Christmas so far.
We even found some 4H stickers on some boxes.

Back to food…

With this season of giving and all the joy it brings, I can’t help but think of those who go without. Without food, without clothes, without enough money to buy gifts for their families. In Dallas this weekend, I saw several billboards about hunger and the people that suffer with hunger. I’ve been wanting to write a post about hunger for some time, I think God was telling me it was time.

Facts about hunger

The facts and figures on global hunger are staggering.

·         Hunger kills more people globally than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis COMBINED

·         805 million people do not have enough food to live active healthy lives (That’s 1 in 9)

·         Poor nutrition causes nearly half (45%) of the deaths of children under 5.

·         In a world where 1 in 4 kids’ growth is stunted due to poor nutrition, adding one egg per day can increase a child’s height and weight by 50%.

But what I find even more amazing are the hunger statistics in developed countries like the US.

·         49 million Americans are food insecure

·         Almost 16 million children are food insecure nationally (about 1 in 5 US kids)

·         Arkansas tops the list in the percentage of food insecure households, followed by Mississippi, Texas, Tennessee, and North Carolina (hits a little too close to home, doesn’t it?)

·         In the US, 4.8 million seniors are food insecure (about 8%)

These facts came from World Food Programme, ENOUGH movement, and Feeding America.

What can be done?

Obviously, you can give to your local food bank or food pantry. Kids have canned food drives all the time, and it’s really easy to send a few cans of green beans or corn. However, remember that the most expensive nutrient is protein. It may cost a little more to send canned chili or stew, meaty soups, tuna, pasta with meat balls, Vienna Sausages, or even peanut butter, but it will be much appreciated. Protein helps people fill fuller longer and helps kids learn.

Several lists of things food banks need have been making the rounds on social media, check out these from Second Harvest Food Bank, Buzz Feed, and KORD Radio. Of course, monetary donations can have a bigger impact than food because food banks can buy exactly what they need, and they can buy food at discounted prices.

Dairy farmers like my friend Carrie work with Feeding America to provide families local milk. You can donate to their cause with a simple text.

To combat global hunger, Heifer International gives people in developing countries livestock to raise for milk, eggs, and meat. For as little as $20 you can donate a flock of chickens or geese to a struggling community. One summer, our church raised enough money to purchase a heifer. Samaritan’s Purse has similar programs that give goats and other farm animals to families in need. This kind of giving empowers people to provide for themselves and stimulated the economy in the impoverished communities.

You can volunteer. Call the local food bank or food pantry to find out when they need helpers. Give time to the Salvation Army. Locally, we have Cobblestone Farm where food is grown to support hungry families in the community. Volunteers come throughout the year to plant, tend and harvest crops that given to local folks in need or sold to fund their other giving programs.

Don’t know where to look for volunteer opportunities? Try searching Volunteer Match.

The easiest way to help is to spread the word.

• Talk about hunger.  

• Share these statistics with you friends and family.  

• Like and follow some of these groups on social media and share their message.

Awareness of the issue is the first step to starting to solve the problem.

I can’t imagine not having enough money to provide food for my kids, especially during Christmas. It just breaks my heart to think of people going through this joyous holiday season with the worry of not having enough to eat.

Think about ways you can help.

Share in the comments what you and your family do to combat hunger locally, nationally, and globally.

BEEF! What an industry

 

Last weekend, the Mom, Dad and Daughter at the Meat Counter spent time enjoying the Fort Worth Stock Show. We drove 6 hours, stayed two nights in a hotel and paid money for parking and admission to look at cattle, sheep, a few goats, and a trade show. It was great! We loved it! I would spend every weekend the same way! I know; however, that most people don’t enjoy spending time evaluating cattle on their days off like our family, and that’s ok.

 

This week, I am very excited about my trip with students to the National Block and Bridle Convention. It’s being held in Murfreesboro, TN, and we’ve spent a whole day at the Cattlemen’s Industry Convention. I have been so excited. People from all aspects of the beef industry, 6,000 to be exact, gather together to teach, learn and celebrate the beef industry at this annual convention. We are a passionate bunch. If you are interested in the happenings, you can follow along by searching the hashtag #CIC12.

 

The Dad at the Meat Counter and I have a few cows (50 or so), and the Daughter at the Meat Counter is starting her herd (she actually had cows before she was born). We are part of the Beef Industry and beef is a big part of our life.

 

So, I decided that I needed to dedicate a post to BEEF! and the Beef Industry. I recently spoke at the Madison County Cattlemen’s Association meeting and shared with them some facts about the industry, and I thought I’d share some with you as well. Most of these facts came from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association website.

• In 2011, there were 92.6 million cattle in the US
• Cattlemen spent $44 billion on them.
• Cattle farms (or ranches to some people) make up the single largest segment of American agriculture. (31% of farms in the US are dedicated to cattle)
• In 2007, 97% of cattle farms were family farms
• 90% of American cow herds have fewer than 100 cows. The average cow herd size in the US is 44.
• The average cattleman (beef farmer) is 58 years old.
• The US beef industry harvested 33.5 million head of cattle in 2011 to produce 26 billion pounds of beef.
• Texas has the most cattle, followed by Kansas, Nebraska, California, and Oklahoma.
• In the US, all beef cattle spend most of their lifetimes grazing grass on pastures.
• Cattle designated for meat production are switched to high-energy, grain-based diets for about 100 days before harvest to give their beef the juiciness and flavor that we Americans enjoy.

Here are a few facts about beef as a meat product

•  8 out of 10 people consume fresh beef (bought out of the retail case in a grocery store) regularly, eating beef prepared at home an average of 1.7 times each week.
• At home, ground beef is the most popular item and steaks are 2nd
• Families, which make up 1/3 of households, purchase and prepare greater than 50% of fresh beef served at home in the US.
• Beef is the #1 protein served in food service, which is made up of restaurants, hotels, schools, etc..
• Ground beef makes up the greatest volume of beef sold in food service (63% of pounds)
• But, steaks make up the greatest amount of total dollars spent in food service (42% of dollars)
• How have things changed for our industry in the past few years? (This is where the numbers get really cool!)
• Since the early 1980s, the number of cows producing calves and, eventually, beef has been decreasing. (You would think that fewer cows would mean less beef. Right?)
• While cow numbers decreased, beef production increased from 1980 to today, because the pounds of beef produced per cow has increased dramatically in the past 30 years.

 Here’s the cool part! This data is from research published by Dr. Jude Capper from Washington State University.

 

• US cattlemen produce 20% of the world’s beef, but only have 7% of the world’s cattle.
• American beef cows in 2007 produce 131% of the pounds of beef that American beef cows were producing in 1977.
• Even though cattle are producing so much more beef, they are doing it using 81% of the feed, 86% of the water, and 66% of the land used in 1977. (WOW!)
• And, to produce beef in 2007, cattle produced only 80% of the manure and methane produced in 1977 as well as 89% of the nitrous oxide.
• So, a pound of beef produced in the US in 2007 has 82% of the carbon footprint of a pound of beef produced in 1977.

 

 

To sum it all up, the US beef industry is producing more beef with fewer animals, using fewer natural resources, and lessening the impact on the environment. All of these accomplishments are due to the innovative people in the US beef industry!