Lately I’ve been reading many articles about the most common food toxins, hormones in our meat supply and nitrates in our drinking water. How much or how little of something in our food or water supply is a big deal!

A hot topic this year has been nitrate removal from drinking water by the Des Moines Waterworks. Bill Stowe, CEO and General Manager, Des Moines Water Works on April 17 said, “The public health of our community is once again at risk.” That sounds especially frightening, but we can’t take water issues at the surface level.

Nitrate levels in the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers have trended upward during the past 40 years, but the data show little or no change from 1984 to 2014. The data actually shows a slight improvement when measuring from 1994 and 2004, which could indicate that conservation practices voluntarily implemented by Iowa farmers are slowing and capture nitrates before they get into streams and rivers.

According to U.S. regulations, nitrates in drinking water must remain below 10 parts per million. Occasionally levels spike above that limit, and the DMWW incurs added costs to remove these nitrates. In a past blog, I did the math. It cost the average consumer of the DMWW less than $10 per year.

But was even that small cost necessary? According to the EU, there can be 15 parts per million with no ill effects. I have also read that for a baby to get Blue Baby Syndrome nitrates must be as high as 200 parts per million. That amount is so minute! As far as I can find, there has not been a case of Blue Baby Syndrome in Iowa without some other source of nitrate contamination! Millions spent, with no proof of the amount in our water causing any problem. It seems size does matter.

Lately I’m seeing food products, especially milk and beef products, being advertised as “no hormones added.” Here again, this type of advertising can be confusing and even scary. After all, who wants to buy food with “added hormones”?! Interestingly enough, many foods naturally contain higher levels of hormones than beef. Again, size does matter! Shown below is a visual comparing hormone levels across various foods.

What about “chemicals” in your food? It’s true – your food contains chemicals. (Remember the Periodic Table and how all these chemicals make up our world?) However, not all chemicals are bad. For example, Dr. Julie M. Jones points out that cranberries keep very well in the refrigerator because they have a higher level of (naturally-occurring) benzaldehyde than the FDA allows to be added to food. This is just one example.

Consumers also worry about eating food from plants that have been sprayed with pesticides. It’s very difficult not rely on some kind of pest control. Weeds and bugs do happen! A number of marketing tactics have presented organic fruits to be safer, but that is simply not true. In truth, Best Food Facts points out that BOTH organic and conventional farmers use pesticides on their crops.

“It’s the amount of the chemical rather than the presence or absence that determines the potential for harm,” explains Dr. Carl Winter, PhD, Director, FoodSafe Program, Extension Food Toxicologist at the University of California-Davis. “In the case of pesticide residues on food, we can detect them, but generally at very tiny levels. I think consumers are concerned because they’re aware that these chemicals, which have potential toxic effects, show up on foods. However, the levels at which we detect these pesticides are so low consumers have nothing to worry about.”

Most of the chemicals I use are now measured in ounces. Some of the chemicals used in organic are measured in pounds. Nothing wrong with either one because it’s what is left on your food that makes the difference. Maybe size doesn’t matter here!

Remember, your food choices matter. What – and how much – you eat affects your body mass and health. We need a variety of foods to obtain the nutrients our bodies need. Your body needs a certain amount of fat; the non-fat kick we’ve been on has made our bodies crave other types of food that have contributed to our declining health.

Research believed for the last 30 or 40 years has been proven wrong. In early 2015, it was announced that it’s okay to eat eggs because research “shows no appreciable relationship” between heart disease and how much dietary cholesterol a person eats. And the new proposed dietary guideline that calls for a reduction in red meat consumption really isn’t being pushed is for your health… it’s someone’s agenda to fix something that’s not broke. There is a misperception that beef production isn’t sustainable. Also keep in mind, our First Lady pushed changes to the school lunch program based on bad science!

Let’s get rid of this fear of food. No more food fights! Size matters. Common sense matters. Enjoy your food!

Music and patriotism have been an integral part of America since its founding. This spirit lives on through the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, where musicians like Brooke Stevens from Hampton, Iowa, showcase the soundtrack of America’s story.
“We are the goodwill ambassadors of the U.S. Army,” said Stevens, a U.S. Army staff sergeant and bugle player in the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps. “We have a unique opportunity to share our music with people worldwide.”

Founded in 1960, the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps brings U.S. history to life. Stevens and her fellow musicians wear distinctive uniforms of red regimental coats, waistcoats, black tricorn hats, white wigs and colonial coveralls patterned after those worn by the musicians of Gen. George Washington’s Continental Army, circa 1781.

In support of the president, the Corps performs at all armed-forces arrival ceremonies for visiting dignitaries and heads of state at the White House. The Corps has also participated in every presidential inaugural parade since 1961.

One of Stevens’ first missions with the Corps involved Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration in 2013. “The Corps is the official escort to the President of the United States, so we were right ahead of the president’s motorcade,” said Stevens, who has served with the Corps since September 2012.

Let freedom ring
Stevens’ spectacular journey to Washington, D.C., from Franklin County, Iowa, started with the Hampton-Dumont school’s concert and jazz bands, where she played the trumpet. She credits her father, Brian, a retired middle school band director, for inspiring her love of music.

“Dad taught me to set goals and follow through,” said Stevens, a four-time All-State Band member. “I also learned that hard work and dedication pay off.”

After graduating from Hampton-Dumont High School in 2002, Stevens earned her music degree in trumpet performance from the University of Northern Iowa in 2006. Then it was on to Indiana University, where she earned her master’s degree in music in 2008 and began working on her doctorate in brass pedagogy and literature.

Stevens also began looking at job opportunities. She was intrigued by the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, which offers more than 500 performances annually and has appeared at NBA games, NFL games including Super Bowl XVI, the Kentucky Derby and the Indianapolis 500.

Since the 70 members of the Corps are active-duty military, Stevens enlisted in the U.S. Army and completed basic training in June 2012 before joining her unit in September 2012. She is stationed at Fort Myer, Va., near Arlington National Cemetery.

“One of my highest honors was playing taps at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,” said Stevens, who added that the Corps supports all U.S. Army funerals in the Washington, D.C. area.

While Stevens has always been patriotic, serving with the U.S. Army and Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps makes the 4^th of July especially meaningful, she said. “Experiencing military life and seeing the sacrifices that servicemen and women are making for our country and their families gives me the utmost appreciation and respect for the U.S. military.”

A taste of Iowa
While Stevens travels extensively with the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, part of her will never leave Iowa. “I’m proud to be from Iowa and represent the state,” said Stevens, who shares her all-time favorite bar recipe from home.

Last week I got a call from farm broadcaster and writer Ty Higgins, host of Farm & Country. This interview reminded me why I started speaking out for agriculture. Ty gave me an opportunity to talk about crop conditions in our area and to also talk about my pigs.

Of course, Ty and I also had to talk about the weather! (I honestly don’t think people who make a living off the land can have a conversation that doesn’t touch on this subject.) There are many farm fields across the Midwest where too much rain is wreaking havoc on the crop. Fortunately, where I live in North Central Iowa, the conditions are nearly perfect. I have the best looking crop that I’ve seen in 5 years, but I’m saying prayers because weather and growing conditions can turn on a dime!

Ty gave me an opportunity to talk about how much pig farming has changed over the years. When I was a kid, we raised pigs in the pasture. Pigs don’t sweat, however, so they needed help staying cool on hot summer days. Did you know that today’s fair-haired pigs also can get sunburned?

Now I raise pigs in temperature-controlled buildings where there’s no threat of sunburn and where pigs have access to food and water. I’ve shared before how the number of sick pigs and our death loss decreased after we started producing hogs inside. I’ve also that during the 1980s Farm Crisis I supplemented my farming income but starting a construction business that focused on building hog units.

Recently I accepted an opportunity to oversee the remodeling of existing hog buildings and acting as the general contractor for new construction. Making a better, safer place to raise pigs is something I’ve been involved with for decades. We continue to learn and improve the buildings, as well as our methods, as we go along. The same is true for those farmers who only raise crops… we’re always improving. Producing more with less is always the goal.

Technological advancements in agriculture are comparable to what’s happened in the medical field, as I was reminded while making a doctor’s visit. I’ve been battling a sore foot for a couple of months. Being a stubborn old farmer, last week I finally made a doctor’s appointment. The first thing I had to do when I got to the office was complete a stack of paper; more paperwork was required before I left.

Medicine reminds me a lot of farming. It makes use of state-of-the-art technology – and lots of regulation. “State-of-the-art technology and regulation” define modern farming, too. But technology is accepted in medicine! Almost everyone understands that new technology makes people healthier, and as a result of better healthcare and nutrition, our life expectancy has increased.

Penicillin is a great example of a medical breakthrough. It was discovered by accident but has become a miracle worker. But wait. Is penicillin a chemical?! Of course, it is! What about the equipment used in the medical field like X-ray machines? We used to have to wait for film to be developed, but today’s technology provides us with nearly instant results. The same is true for farming: GPS, auto-steer, drones, grid sampling and tissue sampling. All these things can make farming more efficient and “sustainable“!

Just as they are in farming, burdensome regulations are holding back future innovations and inventions. Safeguards are needed, but unnecessary regulations increase the cost of medical services, procedures and even vaccines. Some people are being denied procedures and medicines that could save their lives. This is true in agriculture as many small shareholder farmers in developing countries can access the newest seed technologies, and others in their country are being denied biotech crops like Golden Rice even though it could save millions of lives. The GMO rice has such a huge potential to save lives, but emotions – and politics – keep holding back its potential.

Emotion and politics are directly linked in the United States, too. We enjoy food choice, but a loud minority of people would like to change that. I’ve written before about how confusing food labels have become, and paying more for “hormone-free chicken or turkey” is a case in point. I know there are a group of seed industry officials support federal H.R. 1599 Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act to standardize regulations nationwide.

Choice and common sense are very important to innovation. After all, the medicine field could still be using techniques such as bleeding and leaches!