So, one of the cool things that happens when you make health content is people send you videos and shorts of other content creators doing the same thing.
I know something is notable when 2 or more people send me something.
On today’s radar is this absolute lunatic going around talking about farming. His name is Chris and his channel name is Farming While Beige and he and 3 others run a farm out in Virginia.
I came across a post of him responding to someone that asked if he feeds his chickens corn and soy. His response was that of a lunatic.
Because I haven’t quite figured out how to express sarcasm through text, I’ll say it plainly: I’m being sarcastic when I call this guy a lunatic. He’s actually just a hilarious, energetic and very entertaining chicken farmer.
(Many farmers do consider themselves lunatics though… thanks Joel Salatin)
Anyways, Chris’ response was “YEP”. They absolutely do feed their chickens corn and soy.
Which is where today’s lesson on food will begin:
The Devil?
The words “corn and soy” are nuclear buzzwords in the health sphere. When we hear a farm animal is fed an improper diet, what do we hear? “They’re fed an improper diet of corn and soy!”
Like most things I cover, there’s more nuance to the conversation. As I’m sure we know, corn and soy are not inherently bad. In fact, consider it this way:
When Farmer Austin Allred at Royal Ranch based in Washington was asked about grain-feeding, in a video made by Cayden Cazier (Great watch by the way, check it out after).
He said “all grass becomes grain”.
When I heard him say that, I swear my brain popped.
Now, that video was about cows, but the revelation made me think deeper on the “proper diet” of every farm animal.
Corn and soybeans are massive cash crops here in the U.S.. Cash crops are commodity crops that, contrary to popular belief, are grown for cash- not food. Food is more of a secondary reason for growing these… foods… Mind blowing right? Food grown for a purpose other than to feed.
When things are turned into a commodity here in the U.S., they’re subject to industrialization. Think factory, but for food. So those massive farms that we see while driving down an interstate and those long, long rows of corn? Those are not what they seem.
That isn’t sweet corn that you and I can just straight up eat. They’re GMO. Foods that have been genetically manipulated to be able to withstand the chemical pressure thrust onto them by the use of pesticides.
No longer view those rows of corn (and soybeans) as food, view them as a part of a factory-- those rows of corn are just one huge conveyor belt. This conveyor belt runs right into the factory farm where these GMO crops are fed to farm animals in condensed living quarters.
The thought alone of foods being genetically manipulated to then be used as animal feed is maniacal and enough of a reason to make folks mad.
While I'm no fan of GMO, there is some fascinating and nuanced science around it, none of which we’ll go over here.
The real issue is lying. Vital Farms (whom I can’t seem to escape talking about) are the new face of industry deception. For many, many years they have been the most expensive eggs in the grocery store and have every “health” label to prove it.
So folks thought they were buying the best when they bought Vital Farms, but recent news has put Vital Farms on blast because they feed their hens, you guessed it, corn and soy.
But the reality? Even our pasture-raising, grass-feed and finishing farmers supplement their animals' diet with corn and soy.
Why? Well, the pasture-raised, regenerative Farm Shirttail Creek says soy is a favorable food with a perfect balance of the top five amino acids needed to grow sizable chickens. Not to mention, sizable chickens are better for profit. So, supplementing the chicken diet actually puts a bit more cash in the local farmer’s pockets, which we definitely want.
So, what gives? Is soy a good food?
I’m fighting the urge to derail this entire newsletter and spend time talking about omega-6 and omega-3 nutrition. Because this science is the basis for all the hate toward soy. But, I’ll stay focused, you can watch my YouTube video on soybean oil to nerd out afterwards.
While the omega-3/6 conversation is valid, I want to introduce you to the larger issue at play.
Corn and soy (especially soy, because of its association with the notorious soybean oil [processed food’s favorite oil]) has fallen from grace in the health conscious community ages ago.
By my estimates, GMO corn and soy derivatives make up 30-50% of the average processed foods ingredients list. Without corn and soy (and wheat) the entire processed food industry would crumble.
When you hear the term “factory farm”, we think of density-living and grain feeding. What are those grains? Corn and soy.
So, what I’m trying to lay out here is how corn and soy have built up a negative reputation in the healthsphere. So now, when it comes out that Vital Farms feeds their chicken the same stuff all the other industrialized farms are feeding their chicken, we make this huge uproar, but what about the fact that pasture-raising, grass-feeding farmers are feeding their chickens the same?
If you speak to your local farmer, chances are they are supplementing their chicken’s grass-fed diet with a corn-and-soy-based feed ration.
I can feel your panic setting in… “oh my goodness! Will I ever be able to escape the suffocating grip of corn and soy on the American food system!?
Relax.
There are 3 major differences between your regenerative farmer’s corn and soy feeding and your industrial farmer’s corn and soy feeding.
1.) Regenerative farmers' rations are not GMO.
a.) So, the chickens are not only getting corn and soy in more natural forms, but the farmer isn’t fueling the economy of cash crops.
2.) Regenerative farmers’ chickens eat grass.
a.) Grass simply has the omega-3s that everyone is looking for. We don’t eat grass, but our animals can, and in turn, we inherit those nutrients. Omega-3 is the biological opposite of omega-6, of which, is the overly dominant nutrient of the two present in grain.
3.) The ratio is wildly different.
a.) Industrial farmers are feeding their chickens ONLY grain. So for every bite their chickens peck for, 100% of it is always GMO grain. But for pasture-raised chickens, each bite is something different… you get grass, bugs, flys, worms, and the supplemental feed on the side.
And so, I thought to myself: “Well duh Johnny, you knew that all grain was once grass” but I didn’t connect that fact to anything relevant. It was just floaty head knowledge.
That’s the general problem with our conversations surrounding nutrition; we hardly connect these truths to what’s actually relevant. Corn and soy? = bad. That’s how the logic plays in our head, but we have so much more nuance to observe.
One month Away, one problem
On May 15th we’re going to be in Englewood Chicago, a notorious food desert, to adopt families to serve on a regular basis. We’re going to raise awareness, teach, and inspire this community by planting seeds with the children, spreading positivity, and giving away chicken and eggs straight from a couple local pasture-raising farms!
We want to make a change in not only our recipient’s diets, but their mindset surrounding food. It’s a long-road, but next month is when we lay down the groundwork.
One problem: cold storage. The solution is a bit more costly than I thought. We’ll be partnering with a local church that has a couple deep freezers of size to fit the chicken we’ll be giving out, but to transport the chicken to the location of the rally, we’re going to makeshift a U-haul and multiple special coolers. It’s going to cost us about 600 dollars.
Random stuff like that, you never really foresee when you envision doing this work hahaa😅
Please consider giving to the Real Food Rally below, I can’t wait until you see the impact!
Keep your wits about cha'
Ain't nuthin' here generated or written by Al.
Best,
Johnny