America's fat because of Agriculture

[stitchcounting]

I came across this thing on tumblr about paleo diet. It sounded familiar so i clicked. This was the part that made NO SINCE TO ME>
http://25.media.tumblr.com/dda0918aca0deb368a765301eb7cb35b/tumblr_ml7mm8iUzc1rbybp4o2_1280.png

If anything America is fat because of a lack of education, low salaries, subsidized corn and soybeans and the crazy way animals are raised in industrial farming.
How do paleos get their food if they are against farming? They hunt for it? Doubt most paleos are rich white people working in offices with fancy voss water.
I'm sure im perching to the chorus* but i needed to react some way.

ohh please excuse my writing mistakes, i don't like to reread online.... this aint literature class

 

[GLENMAR]

Right on.

 

[bonbean01]

My son does a modified paleo diet and his biggest lament is that so few farmers raise grass fed livestock in his area. He'd laugh at that article...it is ridiculous! He has yet to find anyone selling free range chicken and eggs too.

 

[stitchcounting]

My son does a modified paleo diet and his biggest lament is that so few farmers raise grass fed livestock in his area. He'd laugh at that article...it is ridiculous! He has yet to find anyone selling free range chicken and eggs too.

Wow really!? in nyc grass fed free range humane blah blah is all the rage now. and i think most are BS.

 

[OneFineAcre]

America is fat because of Agriculture.

People in Africa and other 3rd world countries are poor because of Agriculture also.

There was a thread one time on another forum that starts with Backyard where a poster said that people in other countries were hungry because off all of the corn and soybeans we used to feed livestock animals in this country.

He was dead wrong.

Want me to explain the real reason?

I don't think I have time tonight. It's past my bedtime.

 

[ourflockof4]

The reason America is fat is because we are an addaptive species. That & we are teaching our younger generation to be lazy. It's more of a society issue then anything else. People complain about education & low wage butthey are not willing to put in the hard work & long hours to further themselves. They look for goverment handouts instead. Our society/goverment doesn't want rich & poor people, they want everyone to be equal. The smart, rich white people with office jobs drinking voss water have to support the poor peoples bad choices as they keep on having kids they cant afford just they get a bigger check from the goverment all while they work under the table so they can qualify for food stamps that they use to buy steak & lobster that the average hard working American cant afford.

How "factory farms" raise there animals is all about dollars. We raise our meat in the most cost effective way because the average American can't, or isn't willing to pay the premium for a "more human" system. The average American is so clueless on how agriculture actually works. It always seem that the most un-educated people complain the most, and the loudest, so that is what people hear.

"subsidized corn and soybeans" - since you know so much about agriculture, please explain to me how this works.

"and the crazy way animals are raised in industrial farming." - Go talk to one of these farmers that are making us fat & ask him what he is feeding his animals. AI can just about promise you that he will know exactly what is in his feed ration, and they are all natural items. Now go look at what you ate today & look at the ingredents. If you can even pronounce then I doubt you know what they are, and they sure aren't natural.

America is fat from junk food.

America is fat from sitting on our #sses for too long.

America is fat because we live in an instant society, knowbody wants to wait for good, whole food to cook.

America is fat because society in general is lazy. Go find me a teenage kid that want to get up at 6am to feed hogs & cattle, then jump on a hay wagon & bale hay in 90 deg heat all day long, then unload those 60 lb bales into the barn until way after dark, only stopping for a few quick meals & for evening chores. IT ISN'T GOING To HAPPEN. The vast majority of the younger generation is lazy & doesn't want to work that hard. Are you willing to do it? I'm only 31 & I can see a huge difference in todays teenagers. It's very sad & disheartening.

America is fat because that is the direction our socialist goverment leads us. Too many people can no longer think for themself, and believe whatever the goverment tells them.

So no, modern ag is not the problem, it's society. I can tear your statement apart more if you would like?

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

I personally agree with everything ourflockof4 said.

But I wanted to add, and no disrespect intended stitchcounting; We now also live in a society where many take no responsibility for their own actions. ie: What they buy, what they cook, what they put in their mouths. It is much, much easier to blame someone else.

 

[ourflockof4]

Sorry for the rant, but it just makes my blood boil when someone from Manhatten tells me I'm raising animals wrong, and so is every other livestock producer. Have you ever been to a farm? Or just watch the videos PETA & HSUS sent to you?

Do you know what my crazy Friday night consisted of last week? I got home from working a 9 hour day at my day job & picking some parts up on the way home for our baler. As I pulled in the drive I noticed one of the cows that had been showing signs of calving out laying in the pasture, which she rarely does. I changed my close real quick & ran out there to check on her & found 2 huge hooves & a tongue hanging out & the bag was broke. After fighting the mud for 15 min trying to get her into the barn I decided we just needed to pull the calf right there, right now. My wife, bless her soul, didn't even get a chance to change. She just threw her bibs & boots on & came to help. 30 minutes later we were both full of mud & birthing fluid but had a healthy 120 lb bull calf. The calf wouldn't nurse though so we spent the rest of the night hand milking the cow & trying to give the calf a bottle. Didn't get in the house until after 11:30pm, and since my day started at 4:30 am it has a long day. But you know what, I would do it all over again today.

What do you thing all of the ranchers are going through out west right now? They try to calve out on green grass, usually in the March-May range. Well, there is snow on the ground out there right now. Do you know how many ranchers are picking up calves out of snow drifts today & putting them in the cab of their $40k work trucks to warm up the calf & keep it alive? Do you know how many farmers are running themselfs ragged right now fighting the mud, snow, flood waters, ect. just to keep there livestock healthy & alive? Do you know how many guys that run those evil feed lots are spending tons of extra time & money to keep their livestock healthy even though they know they will never recoup the cost of the extra bedding they are using.

Most Americans have no clue what a livestock producer goes through to raise our meat & dairy. How much pride they take in their animals, and the extent they go through to keep them happy & healthy.

I, personally, don't like the "factory farm" model that Americans have required to provide "cheap food" for the table, so I raise all my own meat. That is my choice, but the system is not the problem. Right now you are lucky to make $50 per head raising cattle in a feed lot, maybe $100 if your lucky, but that doesn't figure in any equipment cost. Hog producers are losing $10-30 per head right now raising in a hog barn. They raise them this way because it is the most cost affective way to put meat on peoples plates. They could raise them out on pasture, but that would cost more to do, and require most land. Land is very expensive right now, and there isn't a market for the higher priced meat.

I agree with the post above. Society & accountablity are the problem, no one is able to accept that. Nobody is able to accept THEY are the problem. They are too busy pointing fingure & blaming someone else for there problem.

So, flame away, but this IS reality.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Sorry for the rant, but it just makes my blood boil when someone from Manhatten tells me I'm raising animals wrong, and so is every other livestock producer. Have you ever been to a farm? Or just watch the videos PETA & HSUS sent to you?

Do you know what my crazy Friday night consisted of last week? I got home from working a 9 hour day at my day job & picking some parts up on the way home for our baler. As I pulled in the drive I noticed one of the cows that had been showing signs of calving out laying in the pasture, which she rarely does. I changed my close real quick & ran out there to check on her & found 2 huge hooves & a tongue hanging out & the bag was broke. After fighting the mud for 15 min trying to get her into the barn I decided we just needed to pull the calf right there, right now. My wife, bless her soul, didn't even get a chance to change. She just threw her bibs & boots on & came to help. 30 minutes later we were both full of mud & birthing fluid but had a healthy 120 lb bull calf. The calf wouldn't nurse though so we spent the rest of the night hand milking the cow & trying to give the calf a bottle. Didn't get in the house until after 11:30pm, and since my day started at 4:30 am it has a long day. But you know what, I would do it all over again today.

What do you thing all of the ranchers are going through out west right now? They try to calve out on green grass, usually in the March-May range. Well, there is snow on the ground out there right now. Do you know how many ranchers are picking up calves out of snow drifts today & putting them in the cab of their $40k work trucks to warm up the calf & keep it alive? Do you know how many farmers are running themselfs ragged right now fighting the mud, snow, flood waters, ect. just to keep there livestock healthy & alive? Do you know how many guys that run those evil feed lots are spending tons of extra time & money to keep their livestock healthy even though they know they will never recoup the cost of the extra bedding they are using.

Most Americans have no clue what a livestock producer goes through to raise our meat & dairy. How much pride they take in their animals, and the extent they go through to keep them happy & healthy.

I, personally, don't like the "factory farm" model that Americans have required to provide "cheap food" for the table, so I raise all my own meat. That is my choice, but the system is not the problem. Right now you are lucky to make $50 per head raising cattle in a feed lot, maybe $100 if your lucky, but that doesn't figure in any equipment cost. Hog producers are losing $10-30 per head right now raising in a hog barn. They raise them this way because it is the most cost affective way to put meat on peoples plates. They could raise them out on pasture, but that would cost more to do, and require most land. Land is very expensive right now, and there isn't a market for the higher priced meat.

I agree with the post above. Society & accountablity are the problem, no one is able to accept that. Nobody is able to accept THEY are the problem. They are too busy pointing fingure & blaming someone else for there problem.

So, flame away, but this IS reality.

Wasn't quite sure who you were ranting on. Since I'm not in Manhattan, I guess it wasn't me.

The OP is a teenager, and I dont' think she intended to offend you.

I agree with what you said that American's are fat due to lifestyle choices, not what farmers produce.

My comment regarding how agriculture leads to poverty in other countries was directed towards farm policy. Specifically agricultural subsidies in the U.S., Western Europe, and Japan. It's

It's a simple matter of economics.

 

[stitchcounting]

Whoa ! This wasn't what i expected to see when I check my email today....
First, can you explain to me how does being from Manhattan affect anything?

Have I been to a farm?
yes i have and i loved it. I've been to a farm where 300 cows are feed grass on 6 pastures i believe, and chickens are free to walk around and eat what they please.

and you wanted me to explain the corn and soy bean crap. how corn and soy is so easy and cheap to grow, thats what put into the junk food that sold in food deserts across america, thats what animals that are meant to eat grass or browse are also feed.

Alsooo, it's crazy that you assume i've never been to a farm a second on my journal and thats the most i talk about. PETA and all thoses vegan people videos are comedy to me. why? because those videos are factory farms, not farms where the farmers and workers care about the health and life of the animal. these vegan companies make it seem like ALL animals are raised that way. And I KNOW thats not true.

I was putting this up not to offend anyone, but just to show the crazy thoughts some people have about the ag business and people. It's shocking that in BYH i'm being called out for being a teenager and from manhattan. Things i'm already used to because i tend to being where no other Stitch has been.

oh, and sorry ourflockof4, i will not flame away. I've through alot and i know how to stand my ground. I'm here to educate the farmers about the crazy city people that WANT to farm to have meat that cames from animals that see sunlight and grass. That are petted and loved.