Celebrating the Heritage of Corn on National Popcorn Lovers Day

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March 7, 2025

Happy National Popcorn Lovers Day!

In honor of popcorn and natural foods, we're embarking on a stroll down the cornfield lanes - not just through any ordinary cornfields, but through the incredible heritage of corn and its significant role in our history and daily meals. You've probably heard a lot about GMO corn and its controversies, but let's dive deeper and explore corn from a fresh angle, especially our favorite snack - CHEMICAL-FREE POPCORN!

Corn: More Than Just a Crop

Did you know that corn, or maize as many Native Americans call it, is not just another crop? It's a cherished heritage food, deeply woven into the fabric of Native American life and culture. For indigenous communities across the Americas, corn was more than just a food source. It symbolized life itself and formed the cornerstone of their civilizations.

Imagine this: Native Americans cultivated a vast variety of corn, each adapted to different climates and soils - this proved their deep agricultural wisdom and ecological understanding. Corn wasn't merely eaten; it played a crucial role in their social and spiritual lives, central to their ceremonies and festivals, embodying fertility, renewal, and the interconnectedness of life.

They even had ingenious farming methods, like the Three Sisters technique, where corn, beans, and squash grew together in harmony. This method wasn't just about maximizing land use; it created a natural, sustainable ecosystem, enhancing soil fertility and offering a balanced diet.

Native Americans also prepared corn in a special way. This is just how they did it. But modern science shows that it makes corn easier to digest and more nutritious. It's called nixtimalization. Dried corn is steeped in alkaline water (you can put ash from a fire or lime in water to make alkaline water). Then it's drained and rinsed. The outer cover of the kernel is removed, and it's stone ground for use.

The GMO Corn Puzzle

It's no secret that GMO corn has become predominant in corn production, with estimates indicating that as much as 92% of the corn grown in the U.S. is genetically modified! But here's the thing – not all corn is created equal. The primary concern with GMO corn is how it's modified and grown. These modifications often cater to large-scale agricultural practices that focus more on quantity than quality and/or profit over ethics, sometimes leading to environmental and health concerns.

WHY GMO Corn is a Problem

Below is a brief overview of our key concerns with GMO corn, but keep in mind, this list is far from exhaustive!

Heavy Pesticide Usage: Extensive use of pesticides like Monsanto's Roundup, containing glyphosate, raises significant environmental and health concerns.
Allergies and Intolerances: Concerns over the potential link between GMO corn and the rise in allergies and food intolerances.
Soil Health Degradation: Decreased soil health impacting microbiology and increasing erosion risks.
Topsoil Loss: Significant loss of topsoil due to intensive farming practices (and not regenerative farming).
Increased Fertilizer Use: Heavy reliance on fertilizers, leading to environmental challenges like water pollution and ecosystem imbalance.
Impact on Pollinators and Biodiversity: The use of GMO crops and associated pesticides can negatively affect pollinators like bees and butterflies, crucial for ecosystem balance and crop pollination.
Cross-Pollination with Non-GMO Crops: There's a risk of GMO crops cross-pollinating with non-GMO and organic crops, which can compromise the integrity of non-GMO farming.
Genetic Diversity Reduction: Over-reliance on GMO varieties can lead to a reduction in the genetic diversity of corn, making crops more vulnerable to diseases and changing environmental conditions.

The abundance of cheap GMO corn coupled with government subsidies has made it so corn is everywhere and in everything - from corn meal to corn starch to citric acid to maltodextrin. But this is, in my opinion, is "affordable" in the short term. The abundance of improperly grown and prepared corn has done a lot of damage to our land and bodies in the US, and that is expensive to fix.

Popcorn: A Timeless Treat

Ah, POPCORN! This beloved snack has its own incredible tale. Not all corn can pop - did you know that? Popcorn is a special kind of maize. When heated, it transforms into the fluffy, crunchy treat we all adore. This snack isn't new; archaeologists have found evidence of popcorn dating back to 4700 BCE in Peru!

Fast forward to today, popcorn is a must-have for movie nights and gatherings. And fun fact - March 13th, 2025, is National Popcorn Lovers Day, a perfect day to celebrate this beloved snack in all its yummy forms.

Here at Miller's Bio Farm, we take pride in offering Chemical-Free Popcorn Kernels. They're more than just a snack; they're a tribute to corn's traditional, non-GMO roots. Our approach ensures you get the most natural popcorn experience - free from additives and modern agricultural complexities.

Why Choose Non-GMO?

Opting for non-GMO, especially for corn products like our popcorn, is about more than just personal health. It is a promise to prioritize sustainable, ethical farming practices and to promote responsible and conscious food consumption. Non-GMO crops are grown as nature intended, helping preserve the natural genetic diversity and soil health crucial for food security and environmental health.

By supporting non-GMO, you're also championing more eco-friendly farming practices and helping sustain small, independent farms that form the backbone of rural communities.

Conclusion: Embracing Corn's Legacy

Next time you enjoy a bowl of our CHEMICAL-FREE POPCORN, remember, it's not just a snack. You're connecting with a legacy that goes beyond modern agriculture, a tradition of honoring and cherishing our planet's natural resources. Every kernel tells a story, rich with history and cultural significance.

So, let's not overlook this amazing crop because of its GMO variants. Let's celebrate corn in its purest form and keep its rich heritage alive. Every bite is a chance to connect with history and a tradition that respects and cherishes our planet.

Stay healthy and happy, and a big thank you for being part of the Miller's Bio Farm family!

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*Originally posted on 1/18/24. Updated on 3/7/25.

Raw milk or fermented dairy and lactose intolerance. Why might it help?

I was misinformed. At some point, I read that raw milk contains lactase. As it turns out, this is not true! It is true that raw milk contains many live enzymes that are inactivated during pasteurization. But, what about lactase? I’ve heard many anecdotal stories from people who are lactose intolerant... but can handle raw milk or fermented dairy. If raw milk, yogurt, kefir, or cheese doesn’t contain lactase, then why is that?

Our bone broth tested A+++ for heavy metals 🥳 NATURAL AND CLEAN

*Originally published on 3/14/25. Updated on 4/15/25. Over the past few months a bunch of people asked us if we tested our bone broth for toxic heavy metals. When we get the same question a lot, we of course look into it. My first question was --- Is there an issue with toxic metals in bone broth? As it turns out, yes, there "can" be an issue! Heavy metals are naturally present in our environment. We need the "good" heavy metals to thrive: iron, zinc, magnesium, copper, etc. But, we can 100% do without the toxic heavy metals: arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, etc. Too many toxic heavy metals can lead to a host of pretty awful issues: nervous system damage, cardiovascular issues, cancer, endocrine disruption, kidney damage, and so on. Our body is designed to excrete heavy metals through urine (and a little bit through sweat, hair, and breastmilk too)... but only so much. There's a limit. If you're overloaded, your body will store those heavy metals in your bones, blood, tissues, and organs. Similarly, if an animal is exposed to heavy metals via food, water, air, dust, or soil, those heavy metals accumulate in the bones. Maybe the farm's soil or air is contaminated from a nearby factory. Maybe the pipes for the water has lead solder connecting them. Maybe the feed a farm is buying was grown on contaminated soil or processed on contaminated equipment. And, of course, a main purpose of bone broth is drawing out as much as possible from the bones. If there are heavy metals in bones, they will make their way into the broth. This is especially true when you use apple cider vinegar to draw everything out and make it thick and gelatinous (like our broth). And that led me to my second question --- Should I be concerned about every bone broth? Where is the fear coming from? Well... it seems it might be a little political. There was a study done in the UK in 2013 that scared a lot of people. It's titled "The Risk of Lead Contamination in Bone Broth Diets". This study found high levels of lead in organic chicken bone broth, which is quite concerning. And, in fact, this one study is still cited in articles written today! Let's dig a little deeper. Let's go farther than the short abstract. Here are the broths tested in the study and their test results for lead: (9.5 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus skin and cartilage(7.01 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus bones(2.3 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus meat(0.89 parts per billion): Tap water alone cooked for the same amount of time as a control. But, they only used organic chicken from one farm. And, there's zero information about that farm, their practices, the feed, and the broth recipe. Did they use vinegar or wine in the broth? Was the chicken's water contaminated with lead? What was the quality of the feed and the soil? Were the chickens raised indoors or outdoors? So many unanswered questions! All we get is that it was one "organic chicken" that created a lead issue with broth. Another curious thing is that the broth with skin and cartilage contained more lead than the broth made with just bones. Bones are where lead is stored, so why wouldn't the broth made with bones only contain more lead? It's an odd result. Moreover, the abstract of the study specifically called out "bone broth diets" like GAPS and paleo. They even go so far as to write, "In view of the dangers of lead consumption to the human body, we recommend that doctors and nutritionists take the risk of lead contamination into consideration when advising patients about bone broth diets." That's quite curious. Why are they worried about these diets? Are the researchers anti healing through food? Who funded the research? Is it political? My opinion? This study is not comprehensive. It does not speak to all bone broths. But it does cover a potential issue if the water or animals are overloaded with heavy metals. And, as we know, our poor planet is becoming more and more contaminated with toxins like these toxic heavy metals 😢 What I glean from this study is that we need more research. We need to stay vigilant and test from time to time. We don't need fear to spread and people to stop drinking broth from this one study. Regardless of whether the fear was fabricated or legit, we tested our bone broth anyway. After all, it's always nice to validate that your food choices are as clean as you think. For Miller's, here were my concerns before testing: What if there's mercury in the fishmeal in our chicken feed?What if the soil that our animals live on is contaminated?What is the well water that the broth is made with is contaminated?What if the Celtic sea salt has lots of heavy metals? We actually tested twice. As it turns out, the first test results from March had too high a LOQ (limit of quantification). So, we sent new products in April for testing at a lower LOQ. The results are in! Our bone broth tested A+++ for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. You can find the actual Eurofins test results right here! For easy reference, here's a chart summarizing the results: You'll notice that, for every sample, the results are "<1.0 μg/kg" and "<4.0 μg/kg". The "<" indicates the limit of quantification (LOQ), the lowest concentration that can be accurately tested using the test procedure in that sample type. So if a "<" result appears, it means that none of that metal was found in the sample above the specific reporting LOQ. Whether or not they were present below this LOQ is information that's not provided by the test. It's also important to note that a μg/kg is a part per billion (ppb). So, for 1 μg/kg, in every billion grams of that food, there would be one gram (or 0.0000001%) of that particular heavy metal. This small numbers matter when it comes to toxic heavy metals, since it doesn't take all that much for your body to become inundated and start experiencing issues or damage. These results are excellent. It means the broth definitely isn't overloaded with toxic heavy metals and are within safe levels. Our amazing customers mentioned Mike Adams to me numerous times after we released the first set of broth results. Mike Adams is an outspoken consumer health advocate, investigative journalist, activist, and science lab director. It turns out Eurofins, the lab we used, is a lab that he recommends. Moreover, our results land us in his highest rating when it comes to heavy metals! I think we're doing pretty great when it comes to providing clean, natural food. But, the results did make me pause. You might be thinking what I first thought -- "But wait, you got a positive reading for arsenic. Isn't that bad?" Let's dive in -- Where would arsenic in food come from? First off, it's important to note that there are organic forms of arsenic as well as inorganic forms. Our body can handle the organic kind pretty well. But, the inorganic kind is carcinogenic. Our test results show the level of all arsenic, and it doesn't divide inorganic and organic. Second, it was a mystery to me how arsenic had a reading in the ground beef but not the beef bone broth. Thankfully, that has a pretty easy explanation. Whereas lead mainly accumulates in the bones, arsenic accumulates more in the organs and muscles. And, of course, meat is muscle. It was also quite perplexing how arsenic showed in our beef as well as our chicken. You see, our beef and chicken are grown on two separate farms (hours apart) and are processed at two separate processors (also hours apart). They're fed two completely separate diets, too! My only explanation is farmland in general or maybe even our environment in general. Organic arsenic has always been naturally present in the soil and water. It's just there in small amounts. But, levels nowadays are likely higher due to overuse of products laden with inorganic arsenic over time. Starting in the 1940s, conventional farmers would include drugs filled with inorganic arsenic in the feed for pigs and chickens and turkeys to encourage fast growth and prevent disease. Ugh. This actually led to concerns about arsenic poisoning, and that that practice was banned recently, in 2016. It makes me think that all the agri-waste has contaminated our farmland a bit, perhaps in both the soil and water. And then of course there are synthetic pesticides and herbicides and fertilizers that may contain inorganic arsenic. And their use on conventional farms might runoff everywhere else. Now, let's compare our results to food in general. Ours are extremely low. The data below is based on a few scientific studies: Arsenic: Rice contains anywhere from 90-450 ppb (that includes that rice cereal for babies, too). Meat and poultry in general typically contain 100-200 ppb.Cadmium: Spinach contains 1117-222 ppb. Rice contains 6-19 ppb. Meat and poultry in general contain about 10 ppb.Lead: Meat and poultry in general contain about 25 ppb.Mercury: The larger the fish, the more time it has to accumulate mercury. Swordfish and king mackerel can have about 1,000 ppb. Meat and poultry in general contain about 10-50 ppb. Wow! Putting that into perspective, it looks like our broth and meat are quite clean and extremely low in toxic heavy metals! Are you satisfied with our heavy metal results? Do you think we should take further action? Should we test other products? Do you worry about toxic metals (or other junk) in your food? Where have your fears stemmed from? I'd love to hear from you. You can comment below (no account required) or contact us 😊 ----- Sources The risk of lead contamination in bone broth dietsBone Broth and Lead Toxicity: Should You Be Concerned?Bone Broth and Lead Contamination: A Very Flawed Study in Medical HypothesesBone Broth, Collagen, and Toxic Metals: A Research ReviewInorganic arsenic toxicosis in a beef herd Consumer Wellness Center Labs Heavy Metal RatingsArsenic in Meat and Animal ProductsInorganic arsenic toxicosis in a beef herdArsenic in brown rice: do the benefits outweigh the risks?A Survey of the Levels of Selected Metals in U.S. Meat, Poultry, and Siluriformes Fish Samples Taken at Slaughter and Retail, 2017–2022Arsenic in your foodDietary exposure to cadmium from six common foods in the United StatesMercury Content in Commercially Available Finfish in the United States Author links open overlay panel

If animals eat wheat, does the gluten transfer to the eggs and meat?

We've been getting this question a good amount lately --- If your chickens and pigs eat wheat, which contains gluten, then do your eggs, chicken, and pork contain gluten, too? Super interesting question. I mean, the saying "you are what you eat" holds true to some extent. But... digestion is the opposite of simple. The short answer is --- Gluten in animal feed does NOT transfer to eggs or meat. Eggs are meat are naturally gluten-free. You see, just like you, when an animal eats gluten, the gluten is broken down into amino acids during digestion. Then, those amino acids are reassembled into a variety of things that support life and growth - proteins, hormones, neurotransmitters, etc. We have anecdotal evidence, too. There are many Miller's customers with Celiac disease or gluten sensitivities that handle our eggs, chicken, and pork without any issues. In fact, some say that our eggs and meat are the only they can tolerate - wow! A little caveat --- cross contamination. Here are two scenarios: What if a butcher uses products on meat or surfaces that contain gluten? I mean the list of approved sanitizers is loooong. This isn't a worry with our foods. Our eggs and chicken only ever touch water. And our pork is washed in organic apple cider vinegar.Can gluten be added to foods like sausages or pies or lunchmeat? Yes. Some baking sodas and spice blends contain gluten. And some trace ingredients (that don't need to be on the label) like maltodextrin or modified food starch may contain gluten. This isn't a worry with our foods. We try to keep things as pure as possible. Intolerances and sensitivities can be complicated. Some people react to parts of gluten, not the whole molecule. During digestion, gluten is broken down into peptides in your intestinal tract. Then, those peptides are broken down into amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of life. They're reassembled (with other things like broken down vitamins and minerals) into important stuff that your body needs - proteins, tissue, enzymes, hormones. People with confusing (and sometimes inconsistent) reactions might be having a reaction to a specific peptide or part of a molecule. It might now be the whole molecule that's giving you trouble! That's why many people with gluten sensitivity do fine with sourdough and/or einkorn (in fact, we even have a customer with Celiac disease that loves our sourdough einkorn crackers). Sourdough partially digests the gluten for you and possibly changes the way your body breaks it down. And einkorn is a heritage grain that contains a completely different kind of gluten compared to conventional wheat - gluten AA. There's actually a certain test you can take to give you more info. It's called a Zoomer test. Instead of simply seeing if you're reacting to a whole protein, it sees how your body responds to individual peptides. Neat! Or maybe people aren't reacting to wheat itself. Rather, they're reacting to chemicals sprayed on wheat. Many people with gluten sensitivity go to Europe and eat all the bread. Why is this? Well, maybe it's because glyphosate is banned in Europe. But here in the US, we're still spraying it on conventional wheat to dry it out quickly and get it ready for harvest. It could be that some people are reacting to a chemical on wheat... not the wheat itself. I mean, glyphosate is known for disrupting the gut! This could explain why some people don't do well with some eggs and meat but do just fine with ours. After all, we have the highest natural standards and aim to give you the purest food possible, down to the nitty gritty. What have you experienced? Are you sensitive or allergic to gluten but can handle eggs and meat? How do our eggs and meat feel for you? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - just start typing) or contact us 😊 ----- Sources Are Eggs From Grain-Fed Chickens Safe to Eat on a Gluten-Free Diet?Zoomers Food Sensitivity Testing 101: Your Path to Food Sensitivity AwarenessIs RoundUp Giving You a Pain in the Gut?

Celebrating the Heritage of Corn on National Popcorn Lovers Day

Happy National Popcorn Lovers Day!

Corn: More Than Just a Crop

The GMO Corn Puzzle

WHY GMO Corn is a Problem

Popcorn: A Timeless Treat

Why Choose Non-GMO?

Conclusion: Embracing Corn's Legacy

More from the blog

Raw milk or fermented dairy and lactose intolerance. Why might it help?

Our bone broth tested A+++ for heavy metals 🥳 NATURAL AND CLEAN

If animals eat wheat, does the gluten transfer to the eggs and meat?

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