The Food Supply & How to Improve It

The food supply is important to me as it can affect both the short-term and long-term health of me and my family.

A Possible Source

If you are like me, you get your news online instead of from the major networks. One of the daily news feeds I receive had an ad for a company that cans beef and pork from a family farm. Since I didn’t see the nutritional information in the ad I checked out the website. I didn’t find it there either, so I called the phone number listed for the company.

Even though the farm was located in Ohio, the call went to somewhere nearby in Florida, based on the area code. The person I called was a member of the family who lived in Florida. I asked him about the nutritional information and he said he would email it to me, which he did.

Info on the Farm

Pastured beef is what I normally choose, if given a choice. I had been buying it from my local grocery store as well as online, so I asked about that. He told me that both the cows and pigs his family raised were pastured for most of their life, but they ate corn before they were processed.

I asked him if the corn they fed them was organic, because most commercially grown corn is genetically modified. He didn’t know but promised to speak with his father to find out.  Not too long after that, his father called me to talk about my concerns. This is the actual farmer!

Talking to the Farmer

We talked a long time about his farm, the animals, and where the corn came from that was used to get them ready to be slaughtered. I was surprised that he didn’t know whether the corn they ate was organic or not. Apparently, he and his neighbors fill up a silo with corn that they all use for their animals.

Without knowing what kind of corn they were growing, it was very likely that the corn was GMO. I told him my concerns about food that is genetically modified. He had received reassurance from so-called “experts” that GMOs are safe. Instead of arguing with him about it, I praised everything he was doing sustainably: cover crops, pasture rotation, and manure as fertilizer. It was obvious that he wanted his product to contain the best meat for his customers.

Food Supply Change

The call ended positively, and I believed that he would continue what he was already doing.  A week later, I received an email from the son who lives in Florida.

I was very pleased to read:
“I’d like to let you know that we have researched the GMO issue and we have decided to switch our operation in Ohio to completely GMO-free grains and hay. We are starting the process next week and will keep our customers and potential customers in the loop to when we are completely GMO free!”

What I Learned

I never would have believed that one phone call could change an entire operation and maybe I wasn’t the only one who brought this issue to their attention. Either way, it is important to communicate! If every person who had concerns with a product was to contact the producer and ask about it, we would change the entire market for the better.

What is currently selling in the U.S. is changing. When even the largest distributors like Wal-Mart are providing organic produce, meats, dairy and eggs, most large grocery stores will have to do this or lose customers who want it.

The moral of this story is that If there is a product you like, but it’s not organic – talk to the producer. Anyone who would take the time to do that is an important customer and represents an even larger segment of customers. It is possible to make a difference in the food supply!