Awww, Sugar Sugar

I recently spent my honeymoon in Fiji. Beautiful country - lots of touristy things to do but if you leave the 5 star resort area and pristine beaches to head inland - you'll see an awful lot of this luscious green crop: sugarcane.

(photo courtesy of http://www.fijiorganic.org/)

Sugarcane yields products such as white table sugar, molasses, rum and ethanol. It is produced in over 110 countries and the U.S. ranked 10th in world sugarcane production in 2008. In 2009, over 1,683 million metric tons was produced accounting for 22.4% of total world ag production. Sugarcane is harvested with a combine, just like wheat, corn and sorghum.

In the U.S. soda is produced using high fructose corn syrup while in many other countries, pure sugar (derived from sugarcane) is used instead. This switcharoo in ingredients causes soda in varying countries to taste differently. I realized this first in Germany, then South Africa, then Fiji and now while in Australia. It takes some getting used to!

Sugarcane is used for a wide variety of things in the U.S. however it is not a huge part of our GDP. This is a similar case with rice and bananas. However, in small developing countries like Fiji, sugarcane is a front runner in the development and maintenance of a stabilized economy. There are over 22,000 sugarcane growers in Fiji all who contribute to exporting the surplus of their valuable product. It's mutually beneficial for the U.S. to have free trade agreements with countries like Fiji so that both parties can receive goods without being subject to excessive taxes.

It's important to be mindful of where certain staples in our food supply come from  - whether from home soil or abroad.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Get into organized agriculture and veterinary medicine

Well, Tera talked me into writing a blog. So here goes my first blog on the Food for Thought website. I speak all around the U.S. and the world on beef cattle welfare and the animal rights movement. One of the most common questions that I get is how can I help be an advocate for animal agriculture. My first response is to join organized agriculture groups. These might be a cattlemen’s organization, this might be a general agriculture organization or a professional organization. I am a member of multiple organizations such as National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Kansas Livestock Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Bovine Practitioners and the Academy of Veterinary Consultants.

Most people want to get involved and going out on your own is better than nothing. But, we get organized and have synergistic activities within our producer and professional societies. These groups are always looking for volunteers within their organization. They are also organized across the United States and prevent us from duplicating efforts that conserves our human and capital resources. Get on the right bus, be active and help steer us in the right direction. Passionate people that want to serve are needed today in our producer and professional organizations.

Get on board!

Dr. Dan Thomson

Get into organized agriculture and veterinary medicine

Well, Tera talked me into writing a blog. So here goes my first blog on the Food for Thought website. I speak all around the U.S. and the world on beef cattle welfare and the animal rights movement. One of the most common questions that I get is how can I help be an advocate for animal agriculture. My first response is to join organized agriculture groups. These might be a cattlemen’s organization, this might be a general agriculture organization or a professional organization. I am a member of multiple organizations such as National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Kansas Livestock Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Bovine Practitioners and the Academy of Veterinary Consultants.

Most people want to get involved and going out on your own is better than nothing. But, we get organized and have synergistic activities within our producer and professional societies. These groups are always looking for volunteers within their organization. They are also organized across the United States and prevent us from duplicating efforts that conserves our human and capital resources. Get on the right bus, be active and help steer us in the right direction. Passionate people that want to serve are needed today in our producer and professional organizations.

Get on board!

Dr. Dan Thomson

Foodie Feature: I Am Angus - Creating Connections with Consumers

Connections between consumers and producers is what Food For Thought is always striving to create. A great example of this is the connection that the I Am Angus series, produced by the American Angus Association, is creating.

For your information, Angus is a breed of cattle largely used in the beef industry. Angus cattle are black hided and commonly associated with high quality carcass characteristics. Different breeds form associations to connect breeders from across the country. Breed associations are built on the premise that registered cattle are worth more, the benefits trickle down through the system to the individual producers.

I Am Angus is an hour-long show that airs on RFD-TV. All of the videos are posted on YouTube as well. This February 28th at 7 p.m., the program will feature several people in the industry with highlights including one of our own Food For Thought members, Chelsea Good, and world-renowned animal behaviorist, Dr. Temple Grandin. Tune in on RFD-TV or catch the segment on YouTube because you won't want to miss this touching video connecting consumers and producers by telling the story of agriculture.

Here is the preview that you can access today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO6j14NdR10.

My best,

Tera Rooney

It's getting hot in here...

Fundraising for the future.

We will be hitting it hard this spring, as Food For Thought members, to reach our goal of $250,000 seed money to establish the Upson Lecture Series.

Dr. Dan Upson had a large impact on a lot of students at Kansas State University. We hope to show him that those students have made a large impact on agriculture by sustaining the Upson Lecture Series for years to come.

Check it out - we're turning up the heat little by little!

Fundraisers




Update Fundraiser Thermometer Here

Let me know if you are interested in financially supporting a great cause!

Tera Rooney

trooney@ksu.edu

Holy Cow!

We at K-State aren't always proud of the student newspaper's articles that are written about food production or agriculture. In the past few years there has been an increase in negatively skewed articles.

This week I was pleasantly surprised! Holy Cow hit the front page of the Collegian and presents a valid, fact-based and positive view of food production in the beef industry.

Check it out - http://www.kstatecollegian.com/news/beef-offers-protein-weight-loss-solutions-1.2470816

My best,

Tera Rooney

What are your thoughts?

We want your food for thought! Go to this article on the NYtimes and give us your thoughts in the comment box below.

I created the picture above using Wordle and it eliminated the common, meaningless words from the article to get a big picture of the topic and a neat typography image.