Farming, GMOs and Food Choices on the Docket at K-State

 

Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, are a polarizing topic among many food minds. There are passionate arguments and advocates on both sides of the issue and all parties agree they only want what is best for their families. The volatile nature of the GMO debate has led to a plethora of resources, fact sheets and resources all developed with consumer education in mind.

In order to provide engaging discussion and clarification to a popular topic, two consumer advocacy groups, the Kansas Farm Food Connection and Food For Thought, are partnering to provide interested consumers with the opportunity to discuss GMOs with a panel of experts.

Additionally, the film Farmland will be shown in advance of the panel to provide the audience with a firsthand look at various methods of raising food ranging from organic to conventional and everything in between. Farmland is directed by Academy Award-winning director James Moll and follows five farmers and ranchers through their production cycles as they raise vegetables, pigs, cattle and fruit.

The film will screen Nov. 12 at 6:30 pm in Justin Hall room 109 on the Kansas State University campus. The film will be followed by a GMO panel featuring Dr. Kevin Folta, professor and chairman of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida. Dr. Folta is a renowned expert on GMOs and from 2007 to 2010 he helped lead the project to sequence the strawberry genome.
Also featured on the panel will be two farmers – one who grows GMO crops and another who uses non-GMO seeds to grow crops. The panel will strive to answer audience questions about food production, science, technology and global hunger.

Free bacon samples will be provided to attendees courtesy of the Kansas Pork Association.
This event promises lively discussion from various viewpoints and is not one to be missed! For more information about the event, please contact Meagan Cramer, Kansas Farm Bureau, cramerm@kfb.org or call 785-587-6821.

Upson Lecture Series: Vance Crowe

Vance Crowe - Director of Millennial Engagement, Monsanto

Farmers and ranchers wear a number of different hats - manager, botanist, animal scientist, nutritionist and many more. All in order to grown safe food for a hungry world. However, in the past decade or so they have also had to start wearing the hat of marketing practitioner by opening their doors to people who are interested in the food grown on farms and ranches. Many of these interested consumers are millennials who are cognizant of their food choices and are constantly searching for information.

To give light to some of the thinking behind the consumer trend to discover more about the food we eat, Food For Thought is hosting the next installment of the Upson Lecture Series by featuring Vance Crowe, Director of Millennial Engagement for Monsanto. Crowe will speak at Forum Hall on K-State's campus on November 10 at 7 pm and will address common consumer misperceptions about food production and from where those misperceptions stem with his lecture titled "Crossing Over the Mountain: Understanding Memes and Networks to Outcompete the Fear of Modern Agriculture.”

Be sure to join us on K-State's campus at 7 pm on November 10 for an exciting discussion about transparency in food production!

The event is free and open to the public - the Upson Lecture Series has been fully endowed by the generous support of the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine classes of 1962 and 1966.

For more information about the lecture, contact Brandi Buzzard Frobose, a Food For Thought
member, at bbuzzard13@gmail.com  or Lindy Bilberry, the lecture series’ coordinator
at bilberry@ksu.edu.

How Beef Goes From Pasture to Plate: A Video

It takes a lot to produce beef - not just in terms of hard work or lots of time, but also with reference to the number of people that dedicate their lives to taking care of livestock in order to produce healthy, safe beef.

The following is a video hosted on FactsAboutBeef.com that highlights the intricate lifecycle of a beef animal.



Additional questions about beef production? Shout 'em out below!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Is Withholding Eggs for Vegetarians Reasons Ethical?

Generally, public leaders have the best interest of their people in mind. Especially when it comes to food.


Indian children eat a school meal
Photo courtesy PBS News Hour

For example, the current Obama administration has been taking steps to more heavily monitor and control antibiotic use in livestock in the United States. As misplaced as this guidance is, because all meat is antibiotic-free due to strict adherence to withdrawal times and judicious use by farmers and ranchers, it’s still a conscious effort by public leaders to do what they believe is best for the nation’s citizens. I highly doubt that any U.S. President would deny healthful food to a malnourished population. That’s ludicrous, right?!

Well, apparently that thought process is not taking place in India. The Chief Minister of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, recently shot down a proposal to serve eggs in government run daycare centers. Why, you may ask?

The minister, whose name is Shivraj Chouhan, is a staunch vegetarian and lives in the state of Madhya Pradesh, which is mostly vegetarian along with and a few other Indian states. That’s fine – to each their own. However, the poorest – and most malnourished – Indians are generally not vegetarian. They would absolutely eat nutritious eggs if they could afford them.

If you’re thinking this is a trivial matter, you’re wrong. India’s free school lunch program, including the government-run daycare, reaches 120+ million Indian children. Providing these children with eggs could literally save their lives. In fact, when eggs are served in the free school lunch program and daycares, attendance actually increases! Those children aren’t getting enough sustenance at home but they can get it at school – double positive because then they are actually going to school.

Remember that eggs are an extremely good source of protein and nutrients. A large egg has about 80 calories but packs a big ole protein punch of 6 grams. Additionally, eggs are a good source of Vitamin D and Vitamin B-12. For a malnourished child, those nutrients are invaluable.

It all boils down to doing what is right, not what you want and unfortunately for some, those things don’t always align. I think its best summed up with this quote from Dipa Sinha, an economist at the Center for Equity Studies, when asked about the state of malnourished children and solving that problem:

“Every third Indian child is malnourished. The best interest of the child should be driving policy. I think this ban on eggs is a big setback.”

What do you think? Should politicians' personal beliefs be a reason to deny nutrition to children?

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~

To read more about this issue, read this NPR piece.

New Member Profile: Anissa Zagonel

Hello all!

I am Anissa Zagonel and I grew up in southeast Kansas on a production agriculture operation where we harvested the usual wheat, corn and soybeans, along with running my family's fried chicken restaurant… Yes, you heard correctly, I said fried chicken. 

From planting the seeds in the field to harvesting crops to preparing and serving meals, food, in all its forms, has been a large part of my life. With my curiosity of the world's food system and my farming background, I was led to Kansas State University, where I am currently a junior majoring in agricultural communications and journalism and minoring in agronomy.

I look forward to my future involved with the Food For Thought organization and all the advocacy adventures it brings!

Lastly, GO CATS!

--Anissa