What does Alltech do for the average consumer?

Last week I was invited to attend the Alltech Symposium. Alltech is a global agricultural company that produces a variety of products used in several segments of food production. Other than their beer (which was quite tasty), bourbon, and coffee products, a big portion of what is produced by Alltech is sold to others within agriculture. The average consumer probably doesn’t even know the company exists.

So, that got me thinking. When people ask me where I was last week; why I left my kids and my husband for 5 days to attend a symposium hosted by a global agriculture company, what will I tell them? How do I relate what Alltech does to them and their everyday lives?

What does Alltech do to affect the average consumer?

·         DHA ~ Docosahexanoeic acid. The most important of the omega 3 fatty acids, DHA promotes brain and eye health in babies and small children and is important for heart health and immunity in adults. New research is showing that kids supplemented with DHA have greater attention spans and sleep longer (Score!).

Most DHA comes from fish oil or a diet high in fish. The fish get the DHA through the food chain, originally from algae. Alltech is capturing the DHA directly from the algae and working on ways to get it into livestock feed. In addition to making the animals healthier, the DHA will be deposited into meat, milk and eggs. Then, our everyday foods will be naturally supplemented with DHA. No more fish oil pills or worrying about over-fishing the oceans for DHA.

The Alltech Algae plant

We toured the Alltech Algae plant in Kentucky while we were there.

·         Antibiotics ~ A hot topic in animal agriculture today. Consumers worry about the overuse of antibiotics in livestock. Alltech works with farmers to improve the health and immunity of their livestock and help them reduce the amount of antibiotics used on their farms.

·         Farming technology ~ We’ve all heard about how massive amounts of data is used by marketing companies to follow our purchases at stores, and we’ve seen stories about the military’s use of drones and small, remote controlled aircraft. At the symposium, we discussed how those technologies can be used by farmers to produce food more efficiently. Imagine computers helping farmers know when to plant and harvest crops or when a cow is getting sick. I was personally quite impressed with the possibility of using a drone with a camera attached to it to check cows in hard-to-reach places on our hilly farm.

The camera-mounted drone

When farmers work more efficiently, more food is produced. That will not only affect the price of food, but the availability of food throughout the world.

·         Promote new science ~ Alltech embraces science and the role science plays in food production. Research discussed at the symposium explored the way nutrition can change the genetic code of babies in the first 1000 days of life. This Nutrigenomics research is in its infancy, but it takes support from companies like Alltech to drive these hypotheses from ideas to real-world applications that will make us and our children healthier.

·         Bees ~ One in three bites of food that Americans eat is directly or indirectly affected by bees, but the bees in our country are suffering from Colony Collapse Disorder. The bees leave the hive, never to return. Education and awareness are the biggest factors in helping the bees, but Alltech is conducting research to figure out how to save the bees and get them healthy again.

·         Food safety ~ Obviously food safety is important to consumers. Food safety is dependent on all the links in the food chain.  In a global food supply, those links may span across several countries that have varied levels of food safety regulations. Alltech recognizes that challenge and utilizes an all-encompassing Quality system that ensures food safety and traceability of their products regardless of the regulations (of lack of regulation) in the country that supplied it. This approach will reap benefits for their products, but more importantly, it will set an example of consistent, high quality food production worldwide.

·         Environmental sustainability ~ Sometimes sustainability can be hard to define. At last year’s symposium, Alltech brought together scientists from all over the world to discuss ways to measure and improve the environmental impact of animal agriculture. I wrote a post about our carbon hoofprint after the meeting last year.

·         Look at the Global Picture ~ We live in a big world and the number of mouths to feed in it is increasing more and more each day. Because of its size and scope, Alltech is able to focus on improving pork production in China, grain production in Europe, and beef production in Brazil. Some of that focus is on products that can be sold within agriculture today, some is in developing products for tomorrow, but some is simply bringing together people in the world that can work to solve the challenges that we are facing today and the opportunities in the future.

 

Sometimes I think we forget the benefits of having lots of interests can be. A global agriculture company like Alltech can have a huge positive impact on consumers every day, and the consumers may never know about it. As with all the folks involved in agriculture, the people at Alltech are working hard to provide a safe, healthy and abundant food supply for the entire world.

 

I learned so much at the symposium this year (and last). I'm really excited about my next post about what I learned about Africa!

What’s in a food label? Grass Fed

I’ve been working on a series of blog posts about the meaning behind the labels you find on meat packages. Previously, I’ve written posts about the meaning behind the Organic and Natural labels and I’ve talked about how those two terms can be confused with each other and with Grass-fed labeling.

The next labeling term I’m going to cover is Grass-fed.

Hawaii Big Island Beef was popular in Hawaii.
It is all grass fed.

 

To use the Grass-fed label on a beef package, the USDA requires that the cattle were…

·         Only allowed to eat grass or hay for their entire lives

·         Never given grain or grain byproducts

·         Allowed access to pasture during the growing season

That basically means that, in the summer time, they were turned out on pasture and ate grass and in the winter time, they were fed hay because the grass wasn’t growing. They are never fed grain (corn, rice, barley, oats etc…).

You may be asking yourself, “So, what does that mean about the beef that is not labeled Grass-fed?”

That’s one of the things that makes this particular label confusing. Some people may think that beef that is not labeled as grass-fed come from cattle that never see a pasture. That’s not really true at all.

In the US, all cattle are grass-fed. 

Grass-fed cattle.

Cattle are ruminants. Their bodies are able to digest grass and convert it into energy that they can use to grow, fatten, make milk, or raise calves. Their digestive systems are much more diverse than ours. We can’t metabolize grass, but cattle can. That’s part of what makes cows so awesome!

Vallie and some of our cows.I think she was
demonstrating gymnastics to them

Calves are born and live with their mother’s for 5 to 7 months. They may be fed some grain to supplement them, but for the most part, they drink their mother’s milk and eat grass. Their mothers will eat mostly grass, too. Once they are old enough to be weaned (teenagers), they are usually sent to a stocker farm to grow for a few more months. How much grain vs. grass they get at this step depends on the time of year and the weather. If there is grass growing, they will get to eat it. If not, they will eat a combination of hay and grain.

For the final few months of their lives, cattle that comprise most of the beef in the US, will be fed a greater percentage of grain in a feedlot. In the cattle industry, we call the high-energy ingredients used in these diets concentrates because the energy is more concentrated; whereas, grass and hay are called roughages. The high-concentrate (grain) diet allows them to gain weight more efficiently and gives the beef the flavor and tenderness we expect in the US. Even then, they have to get fiber (roughages), too. So, they get hay, silage (fermented hay) and other forms of roughage. It would be unhealthy for the calves if they only ate corn. Their diet is closely controlled by nutritionists.

I have a post about the steps cattle go through to become beef.

One of my favorite blogs is written by Anne Burkholder, a mom, feedlot operator, Feedyard Foodie. She writes about daily life in a feedlot in Nebraska and her kids and beef and life in general.

Ryan Goodman, of the Ag Proud blog just wrote a great post about how cattle digest grass and grain.

Personally, I prefer the flavor of beef from cattle that have been grain-finished (fed grain for the last few months before harvest). Some people prefer the flavor of beef from grass-finished cattle (fed exclusively grass and hay). The great thing is that we have the choice.

Sometimes, labeling claims like organic and natural are confused with grass-fed, but those labeling claims have different meanings that I covered in previous posts.  Most of the time, grass-fed labels are accompanied by claims about being raisedwithout hormones or raised without antibiotics, but those labels have different meaning and will be coming up soon in my labeling blog series.

Paying it forward

I was traveling last week and a wonderful thing happened. I saw a young mother on the plane, traveling alone with her 4-month old son. We got off the plane together, and her arms were overfilled. I asked what I could do to help. All she needed was someone to open her stroller and put the baby seat in it. Anyone could have done it, but I got to. I was so excited, I almost cried. Seriously.

I asked if she needed help getting to her next gate, and she said she had a long layover and would be fine. I told her again how cute her baby was and headed on out to the terminal. I was smiling ear to ear.

Why was I so excited to help her? I was finally getting to pay it forward.

When Vallie was little, I flew by myself with her several times. I had long delays and cancelled flights, but every time there was some stranger to help me (usually a mom, but sometimes a dad). They helped open strollers or held something for me. One lady even carried my diaper bag through the airport and made sure I got to my plane. One offered me her seat on the plane when my ticket was for the wrong flight. People were always so good to me and I finally got to pay it forward. I was so happy.

I was thinking about that today, and I realized that that’s why I blog. To pay it forward.

Outside of helping me in the airport, other people (lots of them, moms) have been helping me for years. Watching my kids, giving us hand-me-downs, giving me advice. Not expecting a thing in return. Most of the time, I couldn’t give them anything, except a smile and a thank you.

But with my blog, my hope is that I help other moms (and dads too). Give them information about something that I know, that they may not know. Help them feel better about the food they feed their families. Answer the questions they have.

I hope my blog is also good for farmers and the food industry as a whole, but I write it for the moms.

I will be celebrating the sixth anniversary of my induction into motherhood soon and it has been a crazy whirlwind of a time. I’ve spent hours and hours thinking and worrying about what I do for my girls and the choices I make.

If my posts help just one other mom ease her worry, then, it’s all been worth it.

 

Me and my girls on Easter Sunday.

Blueberry Burgers

I was asked to write a post for the Foodie Friday series on the Arkansas Women Blogger site.

I had a great time experimenting with Blueberry Burgers!

Go check it out at:

http://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/blueberry-burger/

What’s in a food label? Natural

Last week, I started a blog series about food labels and what they mean. I was inspired by a trip to Manhattan, KS to talk to the Kansas Nutrition Council about food labels.

This week, I’m going to cover the label ‘Natural.’

Natural is a label that you see on lots and lots of foods.

Examples of Natural labels

The USDA defined the term Natural in 2005.

Basically, Natural means that a meat product does not contain any…

·         Artificial color or flavoring
·         Coloring ingredient
·         Chemical preservative
·         Artificial or synthetic ingredient
And that the product is minimally processed.

The term natural refers to the meat itself and how it was processed. It has nothing to do with the way the animal was raised. The Natural term should be accompanied by another term that further explains what it means, like Natural, no artificial ingredients, minimally processed; Natural, Grass-Fed; or Natural, raised without antibiotics. You can see some examples of those claims in the picture above.

All fresh meat is eligible for the term Natural regardless of how the animal was raised.

Sometimes you may hear that meat was Naturally Raised. This claim was defined by the USDA Ag Marketing Service in 2009 and carries a different meaning than Natural does. 

As of 2016, the Ag Marketing Service of USDA no longer verifies this claim. 

I’ve found that most foods simply state the individual claims rather than just saying the animal was Naturally Raised. Those claims, like raised without antibiotics or hormones, and grass-fed, are also in my What’s in a Food Label? series.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Farmland

I normally don’t have movie reviews on my blog, but for one movie, I’m going to make an exception. Last night, I was invited to the Arkansas screening of the movie, Farmland.

Chances are, if you read this blog, you have an interest in how your food is produced, and if you’re interested in learning about how food is produced in this country, you need to see Farmland. A group called the Farmers and Rancher Alliance financed the film, and it was directed by Academy Award-winning director, James Moll.

Six young farmers were featured, from across the country, representing many aspects of modern American agriculture.

·         I have to say my favorite was Brad Bellah, a cattle rancher from Texas. His ranch is not too far from where I grew up, and the scenes from it made me gasp with reminders of home. I practically cheered when they pictured his family all decked out in the red and black of my alma mater, Texas Tech. He and I probably had many of the same professors. During the movie, his twins were born in the same hospital where I was born. Most importantly, he raises cattle for beef production. Our family also raises beef cattle.

·         The film traveled to Georgia to the poultry farm of Leighton Cooley. We watched him fill a barn with baby chicks and teach kids about chickens.

·         I was so impressed with the work ethic and drive of Margaret Schlass on her Certified Naturally Grown vegetable farm in Pennsylvania. She was the first-generation farmer in the group and she talked about how hard it was to start a farm from nothing.

·         Ryan Veldhuizen and his family raise pigs, corn and soybeans in Minnesota. He and his brother comically argue about tractors and land.

·         Large scale organic farming was represented by Sutton Morgan from California. He learned about farming produce from his dad, but turned his operation to all organic.

·         David Loberg took over his corn and soybean farm from his dad, and it’s tough to watch one of the sadder points of the movie when he talks about losing his dad to cancer.

This film doesn’t shy away from the hard subjects. They cover GMOs, Organic farming, pesticides and chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, and animal cruelty videos. It was interesting to hear all the different takes on those tough subjects.

The main take away from the film was that our food is produced by people. People who work hard and want the best for their families.

It’s hard to devote the time and energy to traveling to a farm for a tour. Lots of farmers would love to have you. This film is a great chance to spend about 70 minutes on farms with young farmers and learn how our food is produced.

What’s in a food label? Organic

Jodi and I. We swapped lots of new baby stories.
Mine was 5 months and hers was about 4 weeks.

Last month, I was asked to speak to the Kansas Nutrition Council on Food Labeling. My friend, Jodi Oleen from the Kansas Pork Association invited me, and it was lots of fun to go visit with the nutritionists and dieticians for a day. I also enjoyed a quick trip back to Manhattan, KS, where I went to graduate school.   

My talk was about the labels that we see on meat, milk, and egg packages and while I was working on it, I thought that this would make a great blog series. So, that’s what I decided to do.



Jodi took this one of me giving my talk.
I like to break the ice with pictures
of Vallie in a hair net

When you get to a grocery store, the labels you see can be so overwhelming. It’s so hard to know what they all mean. You have so many concerns when you are buying food. You want to consider your family’s health, the environment, the animals’ wellbeing, and you only have so much money to spend.  

All the labels at the meat counter can be so
overwhelming when all you want to do is find
healthy food for your family that you can afford.

The first label I spoke about was Organic.

In the US, foods labeled ‘Organic’ are regulated under the National Organic Program which is part of the Agricultural Marketing Service of USDA.

To be labeled with the USDA Organic label, meat, milk and eggs must be produced from animals that were raised following strict rules on farms that are subject to audits by the NOP.

Just a few of the regulations for organic farming include:

·         Animals must be fed only Organic feed

·         Animals are only allowed to graze Organic pasture

·         Animals must be allowed to graze 120 days of the year (and they must eat the grass when grazing, not just hang out in the field)

·         They may not be continually confined indoors

·         They are not allowed to be given any growth promoting hormones or antibiotics

·         Healthy animals MAY be given vaccines to prevent illness

These are by no means ALL the rules when it comes to raising organic livestock, but these are the main points. When I have questions about Organic farming I consult Emily Zweber at Zweber farms. Their family has an Organic Dairy in Minnesota, and she writes a great blog about her life as an Organic dairy farmer. She has a whole series about the Myths associated with Organic farming.

In order to use the official Organic label, a food must be made from 95% or greater organic ingredients. If a food has greater than 70% organic ingredients, the label can state that it is made with ‘Organic ingredients.’ If it is less than 70% organic, the organic ingredients are just listed on the ingredient statement.

Organic is not the same as Natural. I’m going to cover the Natural label in the next post in this series, so STAY TUNED!

Although, I’ve blogged about the difference between Natural, Organic, Grass fed, and others, I am planning to repeat some of that information in this labeling series and expand on it. Please let me know if you have any questions about meat labels and I’ll do my best to answer them.