I’ve committed myself to the same job that tens of thousands of other farmers have committed to as well. It is about pride of care, quality and constant betterment. But most of all, it’s about pride in the product that goes out of my driveway.
That means that I’m willing to back up everything that leaves this farm. Whether that’s a wagon full of soybeans, truck full of a corn, or tanker full of milk. All of it, I stand behind.
On the livestock side, farmers choose to give a sick animal an antibiotic to help it get healthy, and then wait a set number of days, weeks or months before sending it to market to ensure that none of the antibiotic residue is still there….For hormones, only one animal in this country can use growth hormones, a beef animal. If a farmer chooses to do that, they’ve chosen to implant a small tic-tac sized pill under the animal’s ear several months before sending it to market, so that it will take less feed and less water to produce every pound of beef. That also means greenhouse gas emissions are reduced. (I’ve talked about these in more detail in the past, available here.)
Bottom line, I trust these tools that have been used for decades and I trust the farmers that use it.
As for the GMO debate, we too grow some GMO crops. If I didn’t, I’d have to cultivate my soil more often in order to reduce weeds from taking over a healthy food crop. I save hundred of litres of diesel fuel from burning with that move. Some then worry about pesticides being sprayed on GMO crops. Unfortunately for them, the fact is almost every crop, whether it is a GMO or not, organic or not, livestock feed or human food, all gets sprayed with a pesticide. If we didn’t, weeds would strangle out some of the crop, insects would feast on what did grow, and fungal diseases would kill out what was left….Plus, hundreds of organizations from the World Health Organization to the Food & Drug Administration…agree that through the approval process that is in place to get GMO seeds to market, they are proving to be as safe as non-GMO seeds and do not pose a public health concern….
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Why Farmers Take the “Non-GMO Project Verified” Label Personally
