By Nathan Smith

We spend a lot of time talking about cuisine of all kinds here on Texas Table Top so the idea of a day dedicated to food was interesting to me, to say the least.

The Center for Science in Public Interest (CSPI) is encouraging Americans to “Eat Real” as the group prepares to host “Food Day” on Oct. 24.

The stated goals of the campaign are to promote safe, healthy foods, support sustainable farming, expand access to food, and protect the environment and animals–all of which are great things to be a part of. However, CSPI says we don’t have that in America today. I say we do.

Those goals are also the same ones Texas farmers and ranchers keep year ’round and I hope farmers and ranchers across the country attend “Food Day” events to paint the true picture of what they stand for.   

Let’s pretend we are farmers for a minute. We grow food.

  • Our market is anyone who eats (bread, milk, chicken, spinach, tomatoes, beef, etc).
  • Everyone eats and everyone wants safe food including us so we make that a moral and business priority.
  • The land we farm has been in the family for six generations and is five times as productive as it was back in the “horse and plow” days. Thank you, science.
  • We want it to be just as fertile in another six generations so we take care of it and teach our children to nurture the land. After all, we live here, too.
  • Because of science and modern farming practices, we can have Maine lobster in Dallas or California peaches in Houston. I can access just about any kind of food within minutes. We let those who can grow it best farm it where they live.
  • Our animals depend on us and they deserve our respect and care and they get it. It’s the right thing to do and we do it.

Okay, step down off that tractor.

Unfortunately, CSPI veils their true agenda. With support from groups like the Humane Society of the United States and Farm Animal Rights Movement, the real push is to end modern farming and revert back to the way things were.

You remember those days right? Back when people were old at 45, back when swarms of insects decimated crops, when there was severe hunger in America.

Whether hurling lawsuits at fast food restaurants, launching all-out war on meat and dairy products, or advocating for the total recall of farm safety net programs, CSPI is no friend of the American farmer. Yet the idea of connecting eaters with the folks who grow what is on the shelves and served in restaurants is a great one.

This “Food Day,” don’t be fooled by a marketing scheme but enjoy the bounty of family farms via modern agriculture. Thank a farmer whether he or she grows thousands of acres of wheat or 20 acres of pumpkins, because without farmers there would be no food day.