Food Day...Everyday is Food Day to American Farmers & Ranchers

Today I would like to start a conservation about food & farming.  If you can't tell by the blog title and previous postings my husband and I farm in South Carolina.  Actually we are the 10th generation in both families to be involved in agriculture.  In the last few years it has become very apparent that we (farmers & ranchers) need to step up and tell our story.  The story of how and why we farm.  This blog is the way that our family does that.

Events like Food Day are one of the reasons we feel compelled to share our story...to tell the truth about American Farmers & Ranchers!

On Monday October 24, 2011 a conglomerate of wealthy organizations (such as HSUS: Humane Society of the United States & PETA: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) plan to host over 700 events around the country on a so called FOOD DAY.  Here is an excerpt from their website about the event: "Food Day seeks to bring together Americans from all walks of life—parents, teachers, and students; health professionals, community organizers, and local officials; chefs, school lunch providers, and eaters of all stripes—to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way."

Before jumping on board with these seemingly great ideas let me put some things into perspective.

First: As you can see from the quote there is one group of individuals who haven't been invited to the party.  That group is essential to supplying food to our country & our world!  Those people are the farmers and ranchers that grow our food!  According to the U.S. EPA there are only 960,000 people claiming farming as their primary occupation.  That is less than 1% of the US population!  There are an additional 1% that list farming as their secondary occupation...so roughly 2% of the population are Farmers & Ranchers.  Those Farmers and Ranchers feed 285,000,000 people each day!  That's pretty impressive!  And my thought is if they are growing our food they should be involved in Food Day.

So let's dig a little deeper into the general idea of Food Day.  Food Day has 6 principles on the surface SOME of these principles seem to be goals that everyone can support. 

6 FOOD DAY PRINCIPLES

1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods

2. Support sustainable farms & limit subsidies to big agribusiness

3. Expand access to food and alleviate hunger

4. Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms

5. Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids

6. Support fair conditions for food and farm workers

At face value I think everyone could support 1,3, and 5.  2,4, & 6 immediately set off red flags for me as I am not sure what results they are wanting.  As you can see there are a few principles that seem a little sketchy...at least to me they do.  Now in the interest of making this post readable I am not going to discuss each principle in detail today but for the next 6 or 7 days you can follow along as I go through each principle from the perspective of a mother, wife, farmer, and lover of food. 

Please note that these are my personal opinions and observations based on facts that I know and have researched and my personal value system.  All facts will have links or citations so that you can make your own informed decision about the food you eat. 

Please join me tomorrow as we jump into the 6 Food Day Principles...and discover what this Farm Wife has to say!

Thanks for reading...see you tomorrow!!

Caci

P.S. Can't wait until tomorrow hop over to www.findourcommonground.com to engage in conservations about food and farming today!