The quality of fruits & vegetables served to themselves and, particularly, their children, concerns everyone. That concern naturally extends to the feedstuffs consumed by livestock when YOU and YOUR CHILDREN consume livestock production. It is unreasonable to expect top quality eggs, milk, cheese, and meat from animals fed on poor or average quality feed.
And, it is equally unreasonable to expect humans to be strong, healthy, and clear thinking if they are fed poor or average quality fruits and vegetables. Nor should we expect to take up extreme dietary regimens that fail to address quality without expecting negative, perhaps deadly, results somewhere down the road.
Many books, charts. and computer programs purport to show mineral & vitamin content of various foods. Libraries and bookstores have entire shelves of books reporting supposed food values. It may come as a shock to you to be told that information consists of average values collected by writers from sources such as the United States Department of Agriculture or the various universities.
Did you know that there are many animal feed testing laboratories across the US and throughout the world? Livestock farmers simply cannot work to "tables." There is little room for guessing. Their livelihood depends on knowing exactly what feed value is in the hay and other feedstuffs they produce, buy, or sell. Very few feedstuffs are sold where the actual makeup and inherent values are not actually tested and reported.
How strange it is that we base the nutrition for ourselves and our children on tables that many animal growers scorn.
The USDA performs some tests, but often uses results from approved private food laboratories across the USA. Sadly, the USDA is mainly concerned with size, color, and appearance grading standards. They must walk a political tight-rope for as surely as they would admit that some produce is of high quality they would be simultaneously confessing that most farm produce is of low quality.
The only agreement is that QUALITY varies tremendously. Some authors claim that the best quality fruits & vegetables have up to 1000 times (times, not percent) more vitamins & minerals than other fruits and vegetables that pass the same USDA size, color, and appearance standards.
Think about "average values." If YOU start testing your own food, YOU will soon dislike AVERAGE. It will have as bad a taste in your mouth as the average quality fruits & vegetables the grocer now sells you.
- Children who give an average response to average food will give a GOOD response to GOOD food because IT TASTES SO GOOD. The response is even better to Excellent food. Excellent is the taste that you perhaps fondly remember from your own childhood when, say, your favorite uncle appeared with a delectable apple, peach, or melon.
- YOU will start moving away from AVERAGE and gravitating to those growers or vendors who can deliver GOOD or EXCELLENT food.
Sure, you, the consumer, are free to send an item to a food laboratory. However, the report is not free and it only enlightens you about food consumed long, long, ago. A refractometer speaks to you about what you hold in your hand this very moment. The instant information it delivers allows you to buy more of what you really want and less of what you don’t.
Questions, questions---people do ask questions. The questions tend to change from time to time and, hopefully, the answers will, too. For the brix concept is as modern a science as can be---and it is evolving day by day. Many people who read the words on these pages develop an uneasy feeling. They begin to understand that most of what they have been taught about fruit and vegetable quality is far from the truth. It is a small step from there to a wonderment as to whether the food they have bought (or grown) has really been the best available for themselves and their children. Perhaps you have a question, too. If so, send it to Rex Harrill, PO Box 6, Keedysville, MD 21756. Or just call 301-432-2979 Cellphone 301-992-2979 |
