Why I Rarely, If Ever, Defriend People on Facebook

The number of ‘friends’ I have on Facebook is no longer border-line ridiculous. It's full-on crazy. I crossed that line many moons ago when people whom I’ve never met started requesting to be my friend because they read one of my columns in an ag mag somewhere. Seriously, who in their right mind has ~2,200 ‘friends’ and actually talks to more than 50? 100? Not me. Sorry, outsider 2,100 but we just really aren’t connecting as well as we used to in the days of old.

However, I refuse to defriend 2,100 people based on the fact that we no longer talk (did we ever start?). Why? Well, in my line of work, issues and reputation management, the things I share on my Facebook wall have the potential to impact my non-ag, urban peers in a way that can give them insight into the agriculture industry.

For example, this appeared in my timeline yesterday. Holly is a girl who came to some of our house parties during undergrad at K-State. I think she might have been related to my roommate also, but I can’t recall. I haven’t talked to Holly in at least six years, possibly more. But when I saw this, I knew I had to say something. Jamie Oliver has smeared the name of lean, finely textured beef perhaps more than Jim Avila, ABC and Diane Sawyer did in their crusade. So, I politely gave Holly more info on lean, finely textured beef and its production process via a link from a foodinsight.org, a public information website about food.

Holly may or may not reply and she may or may not look at that link. But Holly’s 700 friends are now ALL able to see that link and hopefully one or two or 12 of them will click and learn about how safe lean, finely textured beef is for consumers. It’s 100% beef!

Urban consumers aren’t the only ones that my posts target. You’d be surprised at how many people from Anderson County, Kansas (my home base which is EXTREMELY agriculturally oriented) grew up in ag families and showed livestock but say things like “I don’t want to buy beef that has been given hormones.” That happened to me at lunch, in that small ag community in southeast Kansas, and my jaw literally dropped – I wasn’t expecting that reaction from that individual. Le-sigh.

So, while my newsfeed is constantly filled with baby pictures of children whose parents I long ago stopped talking to, rad status updates from friends of ex-boyfriends and, probably the most confusing, wedding pictures of young women who’ve married and changed their names leaving me with no idea who they are, I will forge on with my ag promoting, sarcasm-touting Facebook practices because you never know who might be reading or who you might reach with the right info.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

PETA Makes an "Appearance" at the Kansas State Fair

Remember when I said I was going to the Kansas State Fair to help some friends but was also going to stop by the PETA booth?

Well,  I did it. And it was sure nerve wracking. And you'll have to go here to check it out! My experience is highlighted on SwineWeb.com.

Did you see the school lunch parody made by some Kansas high schoolers in Sharon Springs?

Make sure you brush up on your defamation knowledge with the BPI vs. ABC suit.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

What's in That Chicken McNugget?

 photo from here

I've been asked this question before on the blog - most recently in a comment from this post. And I've always forgotten to answer it; sorry, I'm not perfect and sometimes I forget. But McDonald's of Canada has stepped up to the plate and become completely transparent in regards to what is in their products. They have recently invited their customers to pose their questions online at Our Food. Your Questions. and boy are the inquiries rolling in.

Some of the more popular questions are - my synopsis is in italics, but to read the word-for-word detailed answers, visit the website.

-- How is it that a McDonald's burger does not rot? Too dry; not enough moisture for bacteria/mold.
-- Does Canada use pink slime? (which I hate saying but that is verbatim - the actual term is lean, finely textured beef) No.
-- Does your egg McMuffin use real eggs? Yes - a freshly cracked egg for every sandwich.
-- Inside the McNugget, is it actually the meat of the chicken or cut offs that nobody would actually want to eat? Answer (verbatim): It's definitely chicken inside our McNuggets. We use seasoned chicken breast and a few seasonings, along with a natural proportion of skin for flavour and as a binder.

I hope that clears up any misconceptions about random chicken parts.

 One of my faves is, "Would you live in the life of one of your cows for even a week?" That'll make you take a deep breath! McDonald's has yet to answer that one but you can see the answers to the above questions and more by following the link to the Your Questions website.

I applaud McDonald's for taking this approach to helping consumers make connections between their food and the way it's produced/prepared. You should definitely go over and look at some of the other questions being posed and maybe even ask one of your own.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Hyvee, Pink Slime (LFTB) and Stupidity

It's generally not common for shoppers to thank grocers for carrying certain products - we just expect them to be there and take for granted the different options available to us. There's usually two or three different brands/varieties of each product on our grocery list, which allows us to be selective based on price, brand loyalty and taste.

Unless you shop at Wal-Mart, Kroger, Safeway or Target and henceforth your ground beef options will have been slashed. Those retailers have chosen to cease utilizing lean, finely textured beef (LFTB) in their ground beef products which drastically reduces the options available to we, the shoppers. Even though the USDA, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and one of the producers of LFTB, Beef Products Inc., have affirmed its safety time and again. In fact just yesterday three governors (Iowa, Kansas, Texas) toured a BPI plant and chowed down on burgers made from LFTB after their tour. Governor Branstad (Iowa) stated in a press conference that boycotting LFB is bad for the econom and the public's health:

”The problem is, we take this off the market, then we end up with a fatter product that’s going to cost more and it’s going to increase the obesity problem in this country,” he said at the news conference. “It doesn’t make any sense, and it’s not caused any problems in terms of health — that’s the most important thing here, is protecting the health of the citizens of this country and making sure that they have product that’s safe.”

He also scolded the national media for permeating the ongoing discussion with a “poisonous tone,” which he warned was “detrimental to the beef industry and the jobs that support it.”

“It’s time to end the smear campaign and to stop the use of inaccurate, inappropriate and charged words designed to scare people,” he said.

To read more about the Governors' visit - check out these sources.

However, there is one grocery chain who has chosen to not jump on the uneducated bandwagon and will continue to offer LFTB choices. Know why? From the Hyvee website:

"Hy-Vee takes great pride in listening to the voices of our customers and offering them outstanding values on the quality products they want to buy," the company said in a statement published on its website. "Following our recent decision to stop purchasing ground beef containing Lean Finely Textured Beef, we heard from many customers who asked us to continue carrying this product.

"They've sent us a clear message: They want a choice when it comes to ground beef, and they want to support companies that provide thousands of jobs in our Midwest trade area. In response to this feedback, Hy-Vee has made a decision to offer both kinds of ground beef -- both with and without Lean Finely Textured Beef."

Bravo! It's so refreshing that our voices were actually heard and Hyvee responded. This is what agriculturalists and agvocates work for - empowering people to voice their need for choices and search out correct information. This is a superb example of a company standing up for what is right and making decisions based on facts and consumer demands.

Unfortunately, not all grocers are created equal and the aforementioned stores that have chosen to cease offering LFTB have, with the help of horrible reporting by ABC news, caused BPI to close its plants in Kansas, Texas and Iowa. This cease of production has left about 800 people out of work, which is a travesty since LFTB is safe for consumption and is comprised of 100% beef and only 95% lean. Thankfully, and contributing to the stand up values of BPI, the company will continue paying employees full salary until the situation has been resolved. Wow.

Oh by the way, did you know that since the bottom has fallen out of LFTB demand - DUE TO ATROCIOUS REPORTING BY ABC - beef producers will need to supply processing plants with an additional 1.5 million head of cattle in order to meet demand. This comes on the heels of one of the worst droughts in recent history this past summer which caused the national cow herd to drop to the lowest numbers since 1952. This is becoming the perfect storm for through the roof beef prices and a lot of additional stress on the cattle industry.

On the topic of poor ABC reporting - I know that getting people to read articles is sometimes difficult. Gold mines are found in sensational headlines with buzz words however, a biased slandering piece about a 100% safe process that provides millions of people with healthy, safe and affordable beef does not fall under responsible journalism. There will be likely be another post about journalism on this blog and how not to do it - I don't have a communications, English or journalism degree but I know how to check the facts.

This post has ended up a lot longer than I intended but the consequences of turning our backs on an economical, safe and healthy product are far reaching and sombering. If you appreciate choices, low-cost high-quality food, please please please call the renegade grocery stores that have suspended LFTB and let them know how you feel.

Look for more on this topic later because it's not going anywhere.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Pink Slime - It's Meat

******First off, I want to say that yesterday a fantastic commentary was written about the pink slime issue. which you can read here. I was given a lot of praise and credit for apparently writing it but I want to make it clear that I didn't write it - my husband, Hyatt Frobose, wrote that as a member of the Food For Thought blog squad. Just giving credit where credit is due - he did a great job and has seen first-hand how LFTB is processed and made.******

 Ok, on to the regularly scheduled post: there's been a lot of buzz about pink slime recently, which is a moniker I dislike so I'll henceforth be referring to it as Lean, Finely Textured Ground Beef (LFTB). There is a lot of negative buzz about LFTB but there are also a lot of facts and truth behind it which need to be pointed out:

- LFTB is completely safe for consumption.
- LFTB is NOT made from beef parts intended for pet food. It is made from meat that is extracted from the external and KPH (kidney, pelvic, heart) fat from cattle. Part of the process involves using ammonium hydroxide to ensure the product is free from bacteria and microorganisms. The ammonium hydroxide mist evaporates and is not present in the final product. Therefore, it's completely safe for consumption.
-- LFTB helps us meet consumer demand for safe, affordable and nutritious food - Dr. Russell Cross, Head of the Department of Animal Sciences at Texas A&M

There are many other very well written and informative factual-based commentaries about LFTB and I encourage you to read up on the facts.

Q & A about ammonium hydroxide in food

Is Pink Slime Dangerous to Consumers - written by the Ninja (@frobose on Twitter)

Pink Slime is a Myth - great resource

Engineering a Safer Burger - Washington Post article about LFTB production

Pink shirts, pink ties and pink slime - Common Sense Agriculture by Jeff Fowle (@JeffFowle on Twitter)

Also, I was asked by a contact I made in Australia if I thought the US would adopt irradiation in meat processing. I wrote about this a year ago or so and hope you'll check that link out, too. Although I don't see irradiation being adopted/accepted anytime soon, unfortunately.

Become an investigator and find out the truth. The news isn't always true but science doesn't lie.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~