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Fear not, farmers will always produce for you

4/21/2014

We traveled over 1300 miles by car over the Easter weekend. Lots of restaurants, gas stations, hotels and hotel breakfast buffets. It was a long weekend, but well worth it to see all the friends and family along the way.

We've been snowed in for a long time in Northern Minnesota, but I didn't realize how far behind the curve I was when it came to the newest food fad. I was shocked at the number of "gluten free" foods I saw advertised. One menu read "gluten free items available for those that choose, or require a gluten free diet." The breakfast buffet at the hotel had a long list of the gluten free items available for guests. The pie shop/tourist trap stuck gluten free stickers on everything they could, including a long list of items I don't feel needed a gluten free sticker such as popcorn, pure maple syrup and cheese.

For those with celiac disease, I am so happy your life is becoming easier because restaurants are understanding your food needs. I've seen my aunt almost brought to tears when a restaurant assured her they have a separate fryer for french fries, so the fries don't get gluten contamination from breaded cheese sticks or chicken nuggets. She was diagnosed with celiac disease several years ago, and I am so happy she is finding more restaurants that cater to her health needs.

But for consumers who are choosing to go gluten free, I'd like to offer a little history lesson and offer you the reassurance that no matter how crazy your food fads become, farmers will still be here for you, producing safe and healthy foods.

Let's start with Snackwells. Anyone remember these fat free crackers and cookies from the 90's? If they don't have fat in them, they must be healthy, right?

Even without fat, they still have calories. I blame snackwells, and every other "fat free" label for my freshman 15. I may have lived on snackwells and twizzlers (also fat free) in my dorm room. You can still find Snackwells on the shelves, but this time around they don't advertise fat free. They are usually individual servings of crackers, cookies and snacks. Portion controlled, so you only consume a 100 calorie snack instead of a 500 calorie bag of fat free cookies.

The diet during the 2000's was low carb. No bread, fruit, sweets, crackers, nothing. Pork rinds anyone? Just meat, cheese and some vegetables. How many of you are still on a carb free diet?

There is a silver lining to all these diet fads: They are making us aware of what we're eating, and for some people with health conditions, we need better awareness. Fat is not evil, but if you have high cholesterol, you need a low fat diet. Carbs are not evil, but if you're diabetic, even a piece of white bread can mess with your blood sugar levels. Gluten is not evil, unless you have celiac disease, and we're learning how gluten can hide in many products.

Farmers continue to plug along, growing the safe food you will need. Even if you don't appreciate it today because of your special diet, we keep growing healthy foods for you.

I predict the next round of diet fad will be nightshade vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers and potatoes. It seems like these are making the internet rounds more often with chronic pain. Once again, I will warn you that a BLT should still contain the T, but there may be some people who have bad reactions to tomatoes. As for me, I'm going to still dip my fat filled, carb and gluten loaded onion rings into the deadly ketchup. Wish me luck!

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My 14YO Thinks Everyone Should Know This About Grape-Nuts

4/14/2014

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I do my best to keep my kids versed on current events. I cut clippings from the Wall Street Journal. I make them listen to talk radio. I'm trying to raise educated kids. So I had to show my 14 YO how consumers are being shorted at the grocery store.

Grape-Nuts now carry a "Certified GMO Free" label. We're a big Grape-Nuts family, and I also had a box of the old fashioned grape nuts in the cupboard. At first glance, the boxes look identical except for the Non GMO Project Verified Label in the corner. Same size box, same labels, just the one minor change in the lower left hand corner.

The expiration dates are less than a month apart, so I didn't pull out something from a few years ago. These boxes were purchased within two weeks of each other, but they are not the same product. I always have Grape-Nuts in my cupboard. It's a staple in my family.

First of all, the Non-GMO box is only 20.5 oz, where the old box is 24 oz. I am not price sensitive to Grape-Nuts. I don't like the store brand, Nutty Nuggets, so I always buy Grape-Nuts, even if they're not on sale, and Grape-Nuts are rarely on sale. I didn't keep track of what I paid for the boxes. My fault. I hope Post Foods responds with a confirmation that they have dropped the price 15%, just like the box size fell 15%.

When you read the ingredient list, it's the same 7 ingredients, until you get down to the "Vitamins and Minerals" section. Now the Non-GMO Grape-Nut list is significantly smaller. There's no vitamin D, vitamin B12, riboflavin (B2), or vitamin A palmitate on the Non-GMO box.

When you read the nutrition label, you can see the Non-GMO box has fewer, or no vitamins, in 4 different vitamins and minerals, compared to the old formulation of Grape-Nuts.

So the box is smaller, and there are fewer vitamins and minerals in the newly formulated Non-GMO Grape-Nuts. My 14 YO could not believe Post Cereals could do that. "Why aren't people mad?" he asked. So I'm telling all of you, and are you mad enough to let Post know, go to postfoods.com and ask them why they are making their cereals less nutritious?

Anti-GMO advocates argue that genetic modification has never been proven safe, even though we've been consuming them for over 20 years. Here I have proof that a non-GMO product is WORSE for you than the old fashioned version.

We need to ask Post Foods how they can still label Grape-Nuts "The Original Cereal" when clearly the new version is not the original. It may taste and look the same, but there are missing vitamins and minerals.

I'm going to try Nutty Nuggets for a few weeks. Change is good, and Post Foods, you lost a customer. I actually have 3 boxes of Grape-Nuts in my cupboard, bought before I recognized the change. My last three boxes....

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A farmer's winter depression, it's not just you

4/8/2014

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I've been feeling under the weather nearly all winter. Profits in 2013 were less than hoped. The 2014 cash flow is tight. My pipes froze so we have a hose running across the driveway. My treadmill stops unexpectedly while I use it. The list goes on and on. If I know the sun is shining today, but there's still snow on the ground, everything is a muddy mess, and spring is still in the distant horizon. My energy levels are still low. I could spend all day in bed, warm under the blankets.

I thought I was the only one who was feeling so blah, but another farmer told me he's worried about his depression. As I sat with a group of farmers, I found out everyone was feeling the same way. One farmer even went to his doctor because his energy levels were so low. We've even questioned "Do we have mono?" in my house. Instead of having those great, productive work days, everyone is just shuffling through, pushing papers around the desk, and waiting for the chance to crawl back into bed.

It's true that misery loves company. I felt quite a bit better hearing that everyone else was suffering from the same symptoms I had. I'm not a doctor, but I do believe all of us suffered from some depression this winter. The weather was miserable, and after some boom years in farming, we're having to adjust back to reality. Unfortunately, income levels had adjusted faster than expense levels, so we're in a tight squeeze for a little while.

I don't have a solution to the low energy and depression that myself, and maybe you, are experiencing. I'm just going to have faith that it will all end as soon as I can finally go for a walk outdoors, and take some machinery out of the shed. Even higher prices would help (hint hint markets).

Just know you're not alone.

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This is what I get for majoring in agriculture economics at North Dakota State University. A farm near the Canadian border, far from any delivery restaurants or shopping centers. Sometimes in life you get nothing that you prayed for, and yet so much more than you asked. Life doesn't have to be easy to be wonderful and blessed.

Betsy's Blog

Fear not, farmers will always produce for you

My 14YO Thinks Everyone Should Know This About Grape-Nuts

A farmer's winter depression, it's not just you

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