Pro (food) Choice | On the Banks of Squaw Creek: Pro (food) Choice

Friday, March 23, 2012

Pro (food) Choice


Before I went to Charleston for Common Ground, I will admit that I considered organic or non-conventional farmers to be my enemy.

But I realized, while I was there, that we are not enemies.  We are on the same team.  A farmer is a farmer…and having both types is important so that we can offer the world choices in their food.


Neither type of farm is better or worse, but they offer consumers different options when purchasing food.

I want to have those choices available.  Personally, I want to be able to purchase food that is less expensive, but still healthy and safe.  And I want to be able to raise that food for others who want to make that choice.

But when people attack modern farming, those opportunities are put into jeopardy.  When policies are made based on consumer opinion, instead of science, that less expensive alternative is put at risk.

For example, many grocery stores have decided to quit selling meat containing “lean finely textured beef.”  And in this article, it says more than once that Safeway believes the meat to be safe, but has decided to quit selling it due to customer demand. 

Again, like the McDonalds gestation crates issue, a policy related to food production has been decided by consumers, instead of by experts.  And because of that, food production costs will rise, and your food prices will rise.

For many of us, rising food prices aren’t THAT big of a deal.  Yeah, it kind of sucks, but we won’t go hungry.  But there ARE people who WILL go hungry.  As Jen Hatmaker said in 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess:

The working poor are one missed shift from homelessness, one lost paycheck from hunger, one overdue bill from repossession.  However, they learn to camouflage nicely into society.  They laugh at the right jokes and deflect questions with sarcasm or silence.  The children are ashamed to admit they haven’t eaten all weekend or can’t afford to play soccer, so you’d never know.  In many ways they are invisible.


People, those are AMERICANS that she is talking about.  Those are your neighbors…your kids’ classmates…the guy down the road who lost his job with the latest factory closing. 

I support food choice and you are free to choose whatever you want for your family.  But keep in mind that as soon as you start attacking modern farming, or supporting policies or regulations that are based on myths, misconceptions, or misrepresentations, you put food security at risk. 

I will be writing to my local grocery store, encouraging them to continue offering the safe, sustainable, less expensive lean finely textured beef, and I would love if you would do the same.

You can also use this button (just copy the html below the picture and paste it to your blog) to show people that you also support food choice.


On the Banks of Squaw Creek
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  1. Great post. I just added a Pro Food Choice badge on my blog. Thanks for sharing.

  2. Nicely done! I'll be sharing this!!

  3. I am catching up on a couple weeks out of blogland, so I had opened this post up after I posted on your more recent one, and I was sooo hoping you didn't take offense to my mentioning switching to organic fruits, veggies, and meats - lol. Then I saw your comment. Thank you so much for sharing that site; I will be checking it out.

    In college I took a nutrition class and after learning more about the guidelines and such, believed that there was no point in buying organic. Since I had my son 4 years ago, I have been reading more and more about it, trying to make sure I'm giving them what's healthiest... So of course, I wash everything and peel apples, but there are some things, like potatoes, that I think we'll benefit from by buying organic, since they absorb everything. My other concern is ground beef, because of the antibiotics and hormones. It seems like kids are maturing 5yrs earlier now than when I was a preteen... And then about the antibiotics, I read that they have only been being used for a few decades so it's hard to say if there are any long term side effects... but anyways, I'm not done researching and making a decision, so I really appreciate the information you gave me and I will definitely come your way if I need more! :) Thanks!

  4. Katie, why DID you previously consider non-conventional farmers your enemy?

    1. Good question. I think it was because of the misinformation that those farmers (and their customers) SOMETIMES spread about conventional farming. Sometimes, to justify their higher prices, they make the argument that their food is better, safer, or more nutritious, and often that's not true.