photo courtesy Pexels on Pixabay
On Your Table has been chugging away now for just over a year. Our first post went live on February 1, 2018 with the post Feeding the World? Here is that first post:
A recent survey showed most people aren't concerned about "feeding the world." They are much more concerned about feeding their families safe, healthy food in a way that doesn't harm the environment.
You can put farmers in that category too. Well, sort of. Because they do care about feeding other people. They want their work to grow crops and raise animals for food to be a benefit to everyone. And, they want it to be safe and healthy because they feed their families from the same grocery stores you do.
So why would we want to limit ourselves to one method of feeding a hungry planet? Diversity is good. One method of production is not safer or healthier than another, no matter what some people try to tell you.
Rather than bashing specific types of farming, why not take the best of all and make it even better? Why would we want to limit our knowledge and the use of technology to make our food supply healthier, safer and more plentiful?
We embrace technology when it comes to our smart phones and our entertainment. We can do the same when growing our food.
That means that we can't just expect that growing food one way can take care of all our needs. Mark Lynas, a Visiting Fellow at the Cornell Alliance for Science recently responded to a study about how organic farming could feed the world – until you read the small print. Read the post here: Organic farming can feed the world until you read the small print.
And take comfort in knowing that technological advances farmers and ranchers are embracing are providing us all with more healthy and safe food choices.
In the last year, we can say we have seen more voices reaching out to dispel common, often-repeated food-related myths. (No you aren't saving the planet by not eating beef. Cattle do NOT produce more greenhouse gas than transportation!) But there is still a long way to go.
In the meantime, we encourage you to think critically about the information you read. When in doubt, ask an expert. If you have questions about why farmers do what they do, send us an email with your question and we'll have one of our farmer-bloggers answer it for you.
You can also follow OYT on Facebook and Twitter for more thought-provoking food and sustainability info that cuts through the clutter.
And thanks for following along over the past year! We hope to see even more of you in the coming year!