The 'Blame Game'

So this post was written this summer when Chipotle and Factory vs. Family Farms issues were being debated. However in light of recent issues, I felt that it could certainly be applied to recent debates. 


I have started to get more involved with political and agricultural issues because agriculture is being attacked. No matter the farming practices, organic or conventional, agriculture as a whole is being debated. 

 

I try really hard not to get mixed up in political issues, especially when I comes to agriculture. I am interested and read about them, I form my own opinion, but I don’t always speak it. My husband has a job that can very easily be impacted by what I write about agriculture, so try not to put my opinions ’out there’. 

However, I have been doing a fair amount of research in agriculture lately, and have been reading a lot of the Factory vs. Family Farm blog posts, and catching up with the whole Chipotle debate and a few other hot topics in agriculture. And, what I don’t understand is why farms are being blamed, or accused for the problems in our food. Maybe it is just my background and understanding of farming, but I don’t feel that farms are to blame.

There is a blame game being played, and I understand that there will always be one, but I know from experience that what farmers grow in the fields or pastures is not what I am buying in the store. Haven’t you ever bought meat that is so plumb that it looks like it is dripping in juices, just to bring it home, grill it and it shrinks up to a fraction of the size that it was in the package and tastes like a rubber tire? Well, it was plumb full of artificial ‘juices’. 

What I am buying in the store is filled with additives, preservatives, fillers, dyes and waxes to make the food look or taste better, not to mention all of the processing that the food has gone through. Anyone with a small amount of knowledge in chemistry knows that the more anything is processed or cooked, especially nutrients in food, the more it breaks down, therefore the less beneficial to the human body. The farmer is not the one processing or adding to their crops, or filling their meat with ‘artificial juices’, they just grow it.

On the other hand I am also not pushing for our country to go all organic. That is also not a healthy alternative for either animal or human. Without modern farm management and practices there wouldn’t be enough food to feed everyone and the financial burden couldn’t be afforded by neither consumers nor farmers. The health and well being of both animals and humans would also be extremely compromised.

Another point that I don’t understand is what exactly are farmers being blamed for? Cancer? Obesity? Diabetes? What?

As I stated earlier in the post that this is purely a blame game that is being played, but ultimately it comes down to personal responsibility and making decisions that are best for you, your family and your health. As we have always heard, actions do speak louder than words. Farmers just grow the food that is demanded of them by consumers, they aren’t the ones that are putting the food into our mouths.

I think that it is great that people are trying to find out where their food comes from, however when you start to make accusations or just even start making lifestyle changes, please do some research and make an informed and educated decision.