Sometimes You Just Have to Share: Don't be Afraid to Speak Up

About 2 months ago a friend of mine shared a gluten free food delivery company with me, Taste Guru. I looked through the website and thought for the promo offer price that I would sign up for their monthly "sample" box. It looked like a good deal. Each month you got a box for a minimal fee filled with a variety of foods that are gluten free. ( I should take a moment to say that 4 out of the 7 of us in my house/family are gluten sensitive and I am always looking for tasty products.) I got my first box and was excited. Stuff that actually tasted good and was usable!

Well, then I got a "special offer" email and went back to their website. I did a bit more looking and noticed that one of the things they offered was menu/ recipe ideas. Then I saw it.... "Meatless Monday: Black Bean and Yam Enchiladas". I was done. I immediately closed my account. Now, you may say OVER REACTING. I see where you are coming from, BUT MEATLESS MONDAY is not something I support. I have no problem with meals with do not contain meat. Even I, a HUGE meat lover and firm believer in the need for a variety of meat in our diet, serves a meal now and then without meat in it. I have a problem with the initiave and the groups that promote Meatless Monday.

The vast majority of special interest groups behind not eating meat, do not have any health reasons behind the "movement". Many of them believe that all animals should not be used for food. That they should be raised to the same standards as people. One must realize that livestock are not petsnor are they people. They are born and breed for the purpose of providing food. They are treated very well. They are cared for and often provided with better medical care than we, farmers and ranchers, provide ourselves. Animal products are healthy for most to consume. Yes, some have medical reasons and are not able to. Animal products are also important to medicine, recreation, personal products, clothing, school supplies etc. Livestock, animal agriculture, is a VITAL part of the American economy, our food supply, and our national security!

So, back to Taste Guru. Deciding that they may not notice that I cancelled my membership, I decided to send them an email explain why I had cancelled. This is what I said, "Good Morning! I just wanted to send a note to let you know why I cancelled my monthly delivery. As I was looking through your site I noticed your support for Meatless Monday.Being that this is a movement supported by extreme animal rights groups such as the Humane Society of the US and PETA ( who really care nothing about pet welfare, but want to eliminate all animal agriculture), I can not support your company either. I hope that you take this into consideration when selecting movements. Please do your research before jumping on the bandwagon. Meatless movements are not good for our health."

I figured, that I would hear nothing. So, when late the same night I received in response,"I'm sorry that you made the decision to cancel your account based on our article about "Meatless Monday". We never had intention to take one side or the other on anything but gluten free products and lifestyle. We did a Meatless Monday post because there is a lot gluten free people that order our boxes that are vegetarian and we were catering to them. We try and report as much of an open diet as we can. It's great that you feel that strongly about this and I commend your stance on this topic. I hope you understand that we had no intention to promote what PETA or the Humane Society does. We were only posting a wonderful recipe free of meat. Thanks for your concern and your email.", I was pleasantly surprised.

Now, I am not so sure that they really cared that I cancelled my deliveries. I understand that they have a variety of clientele. Some that probably are vegetarian for reasons that are founded in inaccuracies instead of need or even personal preference. But I will say that I found a small amount of comfort when they said they "had no intention to promote PETA or [what]the Humane Society does" and perhaps may have had them think about what they as a company promote vs. what they want to share. I hope that they think carefully before they pick a title for their posts.

Some may say they were being politcally correct and giving me a feel good answer. I hope I left them thinking, questioning, and wondering what they may be unintentionally supporting. If nothing else, they now know of connections that their heading has and I feel if nothing else, they have acknowledged awareness.

I ended my conversation with Taste Guru stating, "Thank you for responding! I do appreciate that Taste Guru is trying to provide ideas for meal planning. I just wish it would have been done under a different heading, as catchy as it is, it is a bad message. I respect peoples food choices and have no problems with the recipes offered, just the heading and the connections it has.
Again,Thanks,
Katie Heger"

The NEED for 3, MEASURE 3!

Today, I have had the opportunity to share my insight on the need to pass MEASURE 3. My husband and I have had several calls, and I have been able to "speak" to several people via Facebook and text regarding adding a constitutional amendment protecting farming and ranching practices in North Dakota.

Simply put... This amendment is like our right to bear arms. It doesn't mean we can shoot someone. Measure 3 gives farmers and ranchers the right to use the most current practices. It doesn't mean we can be negligent. It simply means we can choose to use best practices for our operations. Just as teachers use researched best practices with their students!!! Another scenario is that we have an amendment in the constitution that protects our right to hunt and fish. This means that we are awarded the priviledge, but have to follow the rules of hunting seasons, quantity limits and purchase licenses. The passing of Measure 3 would essentially do the same thing. We as farmers and ranchers would still have to abide by the rules and regulations that are reflective of safety, consumer request, and need.



Here is a conversation that helps explain Measure 3.....

ND Citizen: I'm still really confused on this measure. Don't farmers already have the right to use the most current practices? Why do we need to vote on it? I'm not sure which way to vote on this one.

ME: Please let me share. We do not have the right to farm or ranch protected in our state constitution. Outside special interest groups are working very hard to take away our right to provide the state/ nation/ world with quality food choices. They are attempting to eliminate all animal agriculture and drastically cut production of crops.

They do not understand the need for modern practices such as cover crops to enhance soil quality and prevent erosion not to mention food for livestock or technologies such as precision farming that can allow for minimized fertilizer, seed and chemical usage.

Modern practices include things that are very old practices but are still being done today such as branding and artificially inseminating animals. By protecting these among other practices we can stand strong against these special interest groups that are out to endanger the livelihood of over 32,000 farms in ND. With the passage if Measure 3 there is also a positive effect on or protection for all jobs (tens of thousands ) connected to agriculture in our state.

ND Citizen: Okay, that makes sense. But who defines the modern practices terminology? I guess thats my issue with it. Because I am all for cover crops and precision farming and things of that nature.

ME:Modern and practices are guided as terms by their formal definitions in the dictionary as individual terms.(Modern: of, relating to, or characteristic of a period extending from a relevant remote past to the present time. Practices: to do something customarily.) The legislature and / or other formal systems that are regulatory provide the guidelines. As fast as things change they also change slow enough to look at the researched best and modern practices with a careful eye that will provide the safest and best scenario for all given a wide variety of operating sizes, conditions and methodologies.

After soliciting input from individuals involved in agriculture I was fortunate to be able to explain more....

ND Resident: Can I ask a question? Why was this introduced? who is trying to take away your rights as farmers? Does the constitution not allow for modern farming practices already? I believe everyone should be happy with the conservation practices of modern farming. Who is opposed? By the way this is a good topic to discuss because the wording is vague in the amendment. You are right to inquire what exactly is "modern farm practices". One of the reason why it needs to be defined is because what happens when a different administration gets in there and interperates modern farm practices under a different definition.

ME: Thanks for the question! Farming and ranching are under attack from special interest groups such as PETA, HSUS, environmental organizations etc. as a proud member if Farm Bureau and a state representative for the Young Farmers and Ranchers we along with numerous other agricultural groups have formed the Feeding Families committee and have worked hard for the past 1.5 years to collect over 26,000 signatures to get Measure 3 on the ballot. We do not have a constitutional amendment that protects farming and ranching. I understand the concern about vagueness, but it is impossible to list all the modern practices today and in the future.

This amendment simply protects our right to farm and ranch ensuring food choice and our ability to use safe approved practices. It will not change anything with zoning as this is a legislative process. It does not mean we can go against approved regulations. It means that we are protected to use approved practices and that outside anti- Ag and special interest groups cannot take our heritage and livelihoods away from us. It is not a debate about GMO, organic or conventional seed. It is a measure to protect ALL acceptable/ approved practices and allow us to continue to research additional things such as conservation practices, more efficient machinery, new technology that will aid in the reduction of waste of seed, chemical and fertilizer etc. It will also allow us to continue practices that help care for and protect the livestock that raised in the state.

Outside special interest groups are working very hard in ND and the nation to abolish animal ag and other farming practices that are leading to better products and less fertilizer and chemical use. They do not understand and are not willing to listen as to why we do what we do. Please vote YES to Measure 3 and No on 5. For with this vote ALL will win!

So, what I ask is that if you wonder what is happening in the world of agriculture that as a state we need constitutional protection, ask a farmer or rancher, find out what is occuring on modern farms and ranches ask.... Farming and Ranching is at the root of our ND heritage. Please vote to protect it in respect of our ancestors and for this and future generations.

VOTE YES on MEASURE 3!

Hidden Messages, Hear What is Really Being Said

Today I opened up my email and saw a forward from my mom. Now, I wasn't alarmed because she sends these about once a week. Some of them are cute, funny and some I admit I delete without even opening. Today the subject line caught my eye, "Tyson Foods".

So, I opened it and began reading.....

The initial line said " verified by Snopes and Fox" which peeked my curiousity even more. So I actually READ, not skimmed the email.

Overall it was about boycotting the Tyson company because their Tennesse plant negotiated to switch paid holidays from Labor Day to that of a Muslim holiday in response to the high number of Muslim employees. The email made it seem like this was recent, but in actuality if one does the research this happened about 3 years ago and the switch was made in only one of the processing plants. I can see why people get worked up about a switch of this matter, but one must realize that we are living in the 21st Century. We choose to live in a country with a vast variety of cultures and religiuos beliefs. We also need to remember that we have our personal beliefs and then we have our businesses. Sometimes these two perspectives do not see eye to eye.

Anyway, my response to this email was, " I guess one needs to look at this wholistically... As a business, we need to accommodate those who work for us. We have to set our personal beliefs aside and figure out what is best for the company. We also cannot persecute and entire culture/religion for what a small number of brain-washed crazy people have done. So I guess I am saying that if a company has a large number of employees whose culture/ religion should prevent them from being able to work on a particular day, then the company should consider changing up the work schedule in order to accommodate their work force. Also, it is important to note that not all Muslims are recent relocators from the Middle East. The religion has what we may call " white" or non-traditional believers. I think if we look at history we one will see that if we group them all into one category, we will find ourselves on the wrong side of the argument and assumption."

I also would like to say, that the circulation of this email is concerning to me, especially since this is a matter of 3 years ago. My gut says that this is not really an email about the change of a paid holiday. My concern comes from the increasing negative publicity from special interest groups that are taking wild and far reaching actions to discredit, terrorize and destroy animal agriculture in the United States. With that being said, I encourage you to gather accurate information from those who work directly in the animal agriculture industry. Do not let a wild card emails, commercials, mailings etc persuade you to travel down a road of inaccuracies. When hearing information question it, research it and look to those within the realm of the information for their side and info before passing it on to someone else. And if nothing else, PLEASE read between the lines!