Hottest of Hot Topics

We live in a time of extraordinary change. What was deemed impossible fifty years ago is now commonplace. Every major industry in the world has had to undergo radical change in order to meet the demands of a dynamic, technology savvy, but often under-informed society, and agriculture is no exception. With world population predicted to reach eight billion by the year 2025, we have to find ways to feed more people than ever before, with less land than we have ever had. This means that in twelve years, nine million American farmers will have to come together to feed nearly two billion people all across the globe. That is an astounding number. Every single farmer in the US will have to be able to feed 177 people.
But how can we use less land, less fuel, and less manpower to feed more people? There are many proposed solutions out there, but perhaps the most controversial is genetic manipulation. Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, have polarized the world for nearly a half century. Champions of the anti-GMO movement claim the genetic modification is playing God, unreliable and dangerous. Those embracing GMOs respond by presenting short-term studies showing the safety of this technology and point out that traditional plants cannot produce enough to feed the world.
Who is right? Should we embrace GMOs as the solution to our upcoming food shortage? Or should we leave them by the wayside and pursue more laborious options? That is what we have to decide. Consumers must be informed, as must agriculturalists, about the pros and cons of gentic manipulation. In the next article, we will explore the anti-GMO side, it's points and conclusions, and see if maybe there is some truth in the accusations brought against GMO technology. Later, we will look at the history of GMOs, their benefits and how they may hold the the key to feeding a booming population. Finally, we will investigate abuses of power by companies using GMO technology and come to a conclusion on this hottest of hot topics.

Have a nice day!

RoundUp Ready

Ok, ok, I know: I'm horrible about posting on a regular basis. But I try. Anyway, I thought I would just begin a discussion on Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs. Specifically, RoundUp Ready crops, produced by Monsanto. There is a huge debate raging right now over the supposed safety, or lack thereof, of RoundUP Ready technology. One day a study comes out saying you will die of cancer at 30 from eating GM food, and then the next, one comes out saying that GM foods are actually more nutritious than non-GM foods. Who do you believe? Over the next few posts, I will explore some of these claims on both sides, and give my (less than expert) analysis on the data with my interpretation of the whole issue. Stay tuned and enjoy the blog!
And of course, have a nice day!

Porcine furnaces make many meals of food waste

By BOB SHAW, St. Paul Pioneer Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Welcome to hog heaven. The pampered pigs served by Barthold Recycling get to savor the leftovers of $30 entrees from fine restaurants. They come running as the day-old steaks and sauteed asparagus cascade into their pens. They always get a hot meal -- thanks to a unique system that cooks their food right in the truck. They eat and sleep in a spacious outdoor pen. "For them, it's like a bed and breakfast," said Luke Barthold, 24, as he dumped the recycled food waste into the pen.
Every year, about 23,000 tons of food scraps are fed to 5,000 hogs in Anoka County. It is collected by Barthold Recycling, owned by Pete Barthold, Luke's father. He uses the scraps to feed his own hogs and hogs on three other farms owned by Luke and two cousins.
It has advantages over other forms of recycling, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (http://bit.ly/Y3nVPz). It removes food scraps that would have ended up in landfills, producing methane. It's the only method of food-scrap recycling that produces food, instead of compost. And it's done without a dime of government subsidies -- a point of pride for Barthold.
Saving the environment was not on the agenda for Barthold's grandfather Leroy when he started the business in 1927. "They gave him a pig, and he had to get something to feed it, so he stopped at a restaurant," said Barthold. Leroy Barthold's farm was in Fridley, where Totino-Grace High School is today. The business gradually grew, and Pete Barthold became the owner in 1988.
Only lately has it become trendy -- thanks to a growing appreciation of its environmental benefits. Barthold now collects food from about 400 businesses in the metro area, including nearly all of the St. Paul public schools. The business has tripled in size since he took over.
Lenny Russo, chef and owner of Heartland Restaurant in St. Paul, said the program saves him money because he can reduce his trash collections. He pays Barthold $4 per 60-gallon container. In September, having food scraps hauled away in 40 containers cost him $160 -- cheaper than trash removal. But just as important are the benefits to the planet, Russo said. "We do this because we think it's the right thing to do," he said. "It's not a marketing tool. You won't see this in an ad -- 'Come to Heartland because we do this.' "
It's the only way he has to recycle food. "We would love to be able to compost," Russo said. But there is no citywide composting program for St. Paul businesses. A program proposed for 2013 would provide curbside pickup of food scraps for the city's homes but not its businesses.
Zack Hansen appreciates what Barthold is doing. But Hansen, Ramsey County's environmental health director, said the food-to-hogs program can't replace composting because the hog feed must be 100 percent food -- no paper. That means paper napkins, receipts and food packaging must be sorted out. Composting can handle any kind of paper.
A typical journey from plate to pigsty shows how Barthold runs his squeals-on-wheels program. On a recent Wednesday night, a Heartland Restaurant patron ordered a $36 Limousin strip steak with "green cabbage, banana peppers, pumpkin and cranberry compote." When workers cleared the table, they scraped the leftovers into a sealed bin in the kitchen.
At 11 a.m. the next day, driver Erick Krotzer pulled the Barthold truck to the restaurant. He loaded six bins of scraps onto the lift and dumped the contents into the truck. Krotzer completed his route, then drove to the farm in St. Francis. He parked and attached a 2-inch steam hose to the truck. Barthold stood by, listening. The steam gurgled inside like a bubbling pot on a stove. "You can hear it working," he said.
Barthold and his relatives developed the truck. He ran loops of metal tubes around the bed of a dump truck. The steam runs through the tubes, heating the contents and turning the truck into a kettle on wheels. The food reaches 200 degrees to kill germs. It is usually cooled for several hours before the hogs get it -- Barthold doesn't want any pigs with burned lips.
The contents are then dumped in a feed bin. The slop was tan-colored, with a list of ingredients that the day before were edible to people -- melons, eggplant, bread, apples, peppers and bunches of broccoli. Somewhere in the mix were leftovers of the $36 steak.
Barthold's son Luke -- who operates a hog farm of his own -- wheeled a back-end loader around to scoop it up. The penful of squealing hogs came running. Then the pen went silent, except for the splash of hooves in the muck and contented snorts.
As Barthold watched them, it was clear that he likes pigs. Barthold's hogs have free rein in their outdoor pens. "They get sunlight. They run around. They get rained on," he said. One hog came up to him like a family dog, putting his snout on a fence and gazing up.
Barthold likes to watch them eat. When one grabbed an apple away from another hog, Barthold played announcer: "I am leaving with this treat right now!" He pointed to another: "See that one? Ooooh, I got a carrot!"
He has dropped his cellphone into the mess before -- which is not recommended. The phone bears a scar -- cracks inflicted when a hog pounced on it and bit it before spitting it out. Barthold drove back to his house, still chuckling about the antics of the hogs. "My living is off my hogs," he said.
** Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, http://www.twincities.com