USFRA responds to MSN's "14 Foods You Should Never Eat" article

From fooddialouges.com: 

MSN.com recently ran an article on the 14 foods you should never eat, which includes hamburgers, corn, wheat and even McDonald’s. And why should one avoid these foods? Cattle raised for beef are “pumped full of growth hormones.” Corn is nothing more than “pesticide factories with roots.” Or, how about their statement that modern wheat is “nothing like the grain your mother or grandmother consumed.” And, avoid McDonald’s all together because their food comes from factory farms.    

Read the article here: http://on-msn.com/Z70ra3

USFRA's Response:

The MSN.com article is based upon today’s fiction – not reality. Growing and raising safe food for everyone is paramount to farmers and ranchers. Not only because it’s the right thing to do, but they too feed their families the same food they raise. Here’s a breakdown of some of the article’s misconceptions.

• Cattle raised for beef are loaded with hormones. Hormones are naturally occurring in any living organism. It’s a fact. Hormones have been used by American farmers and ranchers since the 1950s. They’re used under the guidance of veterinarians and animal nutritionists and given to animals only in targeted ways – in very low doses and at particular times in the animal’s life. For example, in beef cattle, supplemental hormones can help stimulate growth by improving how feed is converted into lean muscle. Over the past decade, they have been studied heavily, looking closely to monitor any impact they have in the short and long term. They continue to be approved for use in this country and many others because studies have shown they pose no risk to consumers.

• More info: http://www.fooddialogues.com/foodsource/topics/growth-hormones
• “Today's corn plants are more like little pesticide factories with roots.” It’s been proven repeatedly that biotechnology is safe. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins used in some genetically modified crops manufacture a natural insecticide. In turn, pest challenges are reduced, pesticide use is reduced, and a healthy and safe product is grown. Biotechnology used to develop seed corn has traits beyond Bt. Herbicide tolerance is another biotech trait, and, more recently, drought tolerant hybrids have been created using biotechnology. Too, not all corn is genetically modified.
  
  More Info: http://www.fooddialogues.com/foodsource/topics/biotech-seeds
  More info: http://seedfeedfood.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/flipbook.pdf
• “Modern wheat is nothing like the grain your mother or grandmother consumed.” Of course it’s not the same. Wheat naturally hybridized around 10,000 years ago. Since that time, wheat breeders have capitalized on this natural hybridization to increase yield, plant uniformity, weather hardiness and more. To date, there is no wheat on the market created from biotechnology processes.
  
  More info: http://www.thebestgrains.com/wheat-improvement-the-truth-unveiled
• Avoid foods raised on factory farms. McDonald’s, like most restaurants today, get their food from family farms and ranches across the nation and beyond. More than 90 percent of farms and ranches today are family owned – no matter the size. Whether a farm is big or small, it’s providing safe food and meeting consumers’ needs. Management style has no bearing on the safety or nutritional value of the food. The MSN.com article states that consumers should avoid McDonald’s because their food comes from factory farms. This assumption is completely inaccurate.
  
  More info: http://www.fooddialogues.com/foodsource/topics/farm-size-ownership
  More info: http://www.fooddialogues.com/foodsource/topics/animal-welfare
  More info: http://www.fooddialogues.com/foodsource/topics/food-safety 

The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance is made up of agricultural groups at the national, regional and state levels (including Virginia Farm Bureau) that are answering Americans’ questions about agriculture.