I Have a Favor to Ask

I feel bombarded these days by buzzwords and catchphrases: clean eating, organic, non-GMO, hormone free.  The list goes on and on.  Companies, restaurants and consumers seem to feel more powerful and self-righteous when they throw out these phrases regarding their food choices.  I understand that much of this stems from a need to feel in control of what you're eating.  I'm a parent.  Trust me, I understand the battle for control in some aspect of life.

Much of the time I, as part of the 2% of the nation's population that produces food, in turn feel vilified.  How dare I use a chemical like dihydrogen monoxide in the production of beef and crops?  (Did any of you catch that?  You may know this potentially lethal chemical by it's more common name: water.)  I wonder if I am a monster for judiciously providing sick animals with antibiotics because the ominous commercials on television indicate that I am.

My plea to advertisers, to companies, to consumers, is to stop with the fear mongering.  Please don't encourage anyone to feel morally superior because they paid more money for a product that is equally nutritious and safe as its conventionally grown counterpart.  Please don't assume that wikipedia or google nutrition statistics hold themselves to the same standards as hundreds of peer reviewed journal articles and countless studies regarding food quality and safety.

Please don't misunderstand; I don't mind if you choose an alternative path when feeding your family.  I've nothing against vegans, vegetarians, pescetarians, pollotarians or any other alternative diet choice.  I do; however, draw the line when 'facts' are presented to justify this choice.

I don't like hormones in my meat.
Hormones are found in all living things - both plants and animals.

I only eat organic because I don't want any chemicals from pesticides.
Pesticides can still be sprayed on organic produce.

I don't want antibiotics in my meat.
There are withdrawal periods for all medicines administered.  There are never antibiotics in your meat, or milk.  Ever.

I hear these types of phrases all too often, and I hear advertisements that cater to these exact misconceptions.  It is shameful.  I do believe it is possible to promote your chosen food or lifestyle without cutting down another.

For example, I do not like ice cream.  I don't skew data on nutritional studies to suggest that it causes cancer, nor do I write bitter diatribes against the ice cream industry and those who support it.  Do I feel morally superior to those that eat ice cream?  Certainly not.  Do I create a fictional narrative that supports my agenda against ice cream?  Again, no.  This all sounds ludicrous, and yet it happens every single day against those of us in conventional agriculture.

It is my hope that the tide will soon turn and it will become passe to think that 'food with a conscious' or 'food as it should be' or any of these other elitist type phrases are acceptable.  Myself, I look forward to the day when it becomes commonplace for everyone to simply say 'safe food for all' and 'enough food for all'.