From Chicken to Chocolate: Stop the Boycotts!

Fellow farmers and ranchers, foodies, scientists, agriculturalists and regular people who enjoy food but hate the shaming, marketing and random food labels clogging dinner conversations and newsfeeds . . . here’s a resolution for 2016.  Stop boycotts and start conversations with food companies.  Here’s why:

All This Corn & Not A Kernel To Eat

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Last summer two college grads, Lake and Catrin, were biking from NYC to California visiting farms along the way. Caught in a sudden summer storm, they ended up on our front porch and we shared an interesting discussion about food … Continue reading →

Dear General Mills:

Dear General Mills:

Well, you caved.

According to this morning’s news reports your original yellow box of wholesome good ‘O’s will now contain no genetically modified ingredients.  Some news outlets are reporting just that.  Others, I’m sure you’ve noticed, are declaring your decision as a victory.  Personally, victory seems to be a rather arrogant assessment of the age-old saying, ‘the customer is always right’.  Because that makes perfect sense that the consumer would be right . . . always, about your area of expertise.  After all, the average Joe and Jane just may have food manufacturer on their resume in addition to parent, lawyer, teacher, doctor, farmer, etc. 

10 Most Fascinating People in Farming & Food

Barbara Walters’ final “10 Most Fascinating People” airs tonight.  She’s done this 21 times and this morning I caught the preview teasing viewers with a giggly Miley Cyrus, boisterous Duck Dynasty clan and always grateful Robin Roberts.

It got me to thinking about who would be on my list of 10 Most Fascinating People.  People who are extremely interesting or charming, because that’s the definition of fascinating.

So while cookies baked, gifts wrapped and dishes dried, I put together a list – the 10 Most Fascinating People in Farming & Food.  This is my list, so take it or leave it or nominate your own fascinations in the comments section below. 

Bookends of the Food Chain

Last week started with a quick trip to Dallas where I joined fellow advocate and cattle gal, Janice Wolfinger (read about her family’s feedyard at for the love of beef) and several hundred restaurant executives, owners, operators, chefs and food suppliers at MUFSO, the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators Super Show.

With Chipolte’s Scarecrow dominating the food/farm conversation the last few weeks, I felt a bit defensive strolling into Sunday evening’s reception.  If we believe all we read on Facebook, this is an us versus them game, and Janice and I were facing an army of “them”.

Shifting Gears

My last blog, The Terms of Transparency, reeked a bit of desperate frustration. Here I am willing, wanting, wishing to talk farm and food with someone but getting the sense that no one wanted to share in the give and take of conversing.

Well, as the Lord says, “Ask and ye shall receive.” Call it fate, destiny, karma, serendipity or just God giving me a shove out of a pity party, but this week I received.

The Terms of Transparency

The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance hosted their seventh Food Dialogues in Chicago yesterday. The topic of discussion: transparency.  What does it mean? How are farmers transparent? And what is it that consumers want to know about their food? The whole discussion is posted here.

Lessons Not Found In Books

This teacher’s appreciation week I thank the teachers who taught me what can’t be found in books.  Life lessons I’ll not soon forget and the ones I’m still learning, all of which apply to today’s farm/food conversation.

Life Lesson #1: It is okay to be ignorant; it is not okay to stay that way.

Grass Fed Chicken

This morning I had the pleasure of playing “straight(wo)man” to the funny, energetic and incredibly passionate personality Chef Danny Boome of ABC’s Recipe Rehab.   We tag-teamed on a satellite media tour organized by the US Farmers & Ranchers Alliance, speaking to 27 television and radio stations from all across the country – San Diego to New York and Fargo to Dallas – about food and buzzwords. (Funny how these pesky “buzzwords” keep coming up; read When Buzzwords Stop Buzzing).