Does our #1 top customer question show how disconnected from food we’ve become?

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October 14, 2022

I need to preface this by saying - we LOVE our customers. We love helping them, we love hearing their feedback, and we love answering their questions.

We learn from every customer question. And, when the same question pops up again and again, we can draw some interesting conclusions and try to provide that information proactively. There is so much truth in the saying, “No question is a bad question.” So, please, keep the questions coming!

OK, now that we’re clear that ALL questions are awesome, let’s move onward…

At Miller’s Bio Farm, there is a clear #1 most asked customer question - “How long does it last?” Or, another variation of this question is “Has it gone bad?”

It’s been this way for years. I mean, that’s why we made our amazing Shelf Life Guide for Farm Fresh Food and share it often. And, that’s why we choose to include “best by” or “sell by” dates on our perishable products.

Given that we receive soooo many questions along these lines, it really makes me think. Is the reason people are asking because, as a society, we’ve become disconnected from our food?

I mean, let’s say you were a homesteader and had your own cow. You’d learn pretty quickly how long the milk lasts and how to make it last longer. You’d learn how much milk your cow produces every day (FYI this varies, but it’s usually between 6-8 gallons per day). You wouldn’t want to waste a drop and would start making dairy products.

You’d learn how much milk it takes to make 1 pound of butter (FYI it’s 2.5 gallons). You’d learn how much milk it takes to make 1 quart of yogurt (FYI it’s 6 cups). You’d learn how much milk it takes to make 1 pound of cheese (FYI it’s 1.2 gallons).

And, you’d learn the difference in smell of fresh milk, week-old milk, and soured or clabbered milk that you’d probably make into clabber cheese (here’s a short story about my clabber disaster from years ago).

In addition to your cow, you might produce meat, eggs, produce, and grain. You’d learn how to dry it, can it, ferment it, freeze it, and store it.

After a while, you’d just know how long each food lasts and if it’s gone bad. And, if you raised your kids this way, it would be embedded in them. They’d know it in their gut.

But, homesteading is not a common modern reality. A grand majority of Americans do NOT produce their own food.

Farmers and ranchers are less than 2% of the American population (compared to 90% at our nation’s founding) [1]. Only 25% of Americans have a garden that produces food [2].

And a surprising amount of Americans don’t know where their food comes from.

One in five Americans don’t know that hamburgers are made from beef. Half of kids don’t know that pickles are cucumbers or that lettuce is a plant. Three in ten kids don’t know cheese is made from milk [3]. 54% of Americans have never experienced the joy of seeing a cow in real life [4].

You get the idea. Americans are becoming ignorant eaters.

If people in general don’t know where their food comes from, then how can they innately know how long something lasts or when it’s gone bad? And, even if you understand the process of how foods are made, how do you know exactly how that farm or business does it?

I think this is a big reason why people are obsessed with food labels, expiration dates, trendy diets, certifications, and government regulations. It makes them feel safe in a constantly changing world.

Miller’s Bio Farm is flipping the script by allowing you to buy directly from farms. It’s a food revolution.

Leave the labels behind and choose transparency instead. Leave behind blind trust and get informed.

At Miller’s Bio Farm, we are proud to be in direct connection with the foods we sell. We’ve personally visited every farm and every processor behind our foods.

And, we do our best to relay that information to you on our website, in our emails, and on social media. And, of course, if you ever have a question, just ask! Remember, ALL questions are awesome, and we love answering them!

I’d love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - start typing for the guest option to appear) or contact us.

Opinion

Farming Practices

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Let’s take a look at what rennet is and why it’s used in cheesemaking, compare the different types of animal and vegetable rennets, check out the labeling requirements for rennet, and consider the potential health consequences. Keeping all this in mind, Miller’s Bio Farm aims to produce the most nutrient-dense, natural, A2/A2 cheese we can and gives you all the info you need to make the choice that’s best for your body!

Is yolk color is no longer a great indicator of the egg's nutrition?

It used to be true that, if your egg yolks were darker in color, then the better the egg's nutrition. Conscious consumers of the past would look for that deep orange yolk and stray away from lighter yellow yolks. It's sad, but this simply isn't the case anymore. Here's why you can't trust cheap store-bought eggs with orange yolks and need to know your farmer instead.

How did pork get a bad rep anyway? Why is Miller's pork exceptional?

Did you know that, globally, pork is the #1 meat? According to the UN, 10% more pork is eaten compared to poultry worldwide. And, 50% more pork is eaten compared to beef worldwide. Wow! But, for some reason, this isn't the case in the US. According to the USDA, pork ranks #3 when it comes to meat. Americans eat 30% less pork compared to poultry and 15% less compared to beef. Why is this? Well, pork has gotten a pretty bad rep in the US. Of course there are some religions that prohibit pork, but that's not the leading factor. Some reasons why pork has a bad rep. 1- Too much saturated fat. The low fat craze started in the 1970s and fizzled out in the 1990s. It came from the belief that (1) fat makes us fat; and (2) that too much saturated fat = high cholesterol = bad things like heart disease and cholesterol. These myths have been debunked. Read more in fats and health blog post. The bottom line is that not all fats are created equal. Natural animal fats from happy, healthy animals are good. It's those highly processed hydrogenated saturated fats that are bad. In other words, eat all the pork fat! 2- Worry about disease. People still seem to think they can get sick from pork. There's fear of parasites (like the roundworm Trichinella spiralis that can cause trichinosis) or bacteria or other things. The reality is that getting sick from pork is really rare nowadays. If you cook pork properly, you don't need to worry about disease. Muscle meat (like chops or tenderloin) should be cooked to 145F. Ground meat and organs should be cooked to 160F. 3- Worry of bad ingredients. This only relates to processed pork like hot dogs and bacon and ham. There's truth to this one. Nitrates and nitrites, commonly used in curing conventional pork, have been shown to cause cancer and other health issues. And stabilizers, artificial colors, preservatives, and other additives have been linked to negative health outcomes, too. But, this isn't the case for all pork. How meat it's processed matters a lot. At Miller's, we don't put any of that yucky junk in our meat, even the salami and bacon and sausages (more on that below). 4- Worry that eating pork will have a negative affect on your blood. The Weston A. Price Foundation did a bunch of research on this. It's true that plain pork can cause blood clotting and inflammation. However, properly preparing pork (by marinating it in vinegar or naturally curing it) or by eating pork with fermented veggies like sauerkraut removes these negative effects. Read more about pork and your blood in this blog post. 5- The belief that pigs are "dirty". I think this one mainly comes from the fact that pigs roll around in mud. They do this to protect their nearly hairless bodies. It's like natural sunscreen. It doesn't mean the meat is dirty at all. It may also come from the fact that pigs are often treated as garbage disposals. They will literally eat anything. And that includes kitchen scraps, meat processing scraps, curdled milk, and more. But again, not all pork is created equal. When you source from trusted farms, you can actually know that the pigs are eating clean food and are rolling around in chemical-free mud. 6- Strange rumors that pigs are deformed. This one came from Nailea on the farm. At some point, she watched a video about how some pigs are born without buttholes or have odd deformities or become cancerous. Yet, despite their weirdness, they're still raised for meat. I don't know how true this is for conventional pigs. But, it's certainly not true for our pigs. They are intact and happy and healthy. And our processor would never give us meat that's weird or cancerous. Why you should eat pork. I'm here to inform you that, when produced naturally and properly, pork is pretty awesome. It's high in protein, zinc, iron, and B vitamins (particularly the "anti-stress" vitamin B1 - read more about thiamine and pork in this blog post). It's packed with quality, healthy saturated fats. And it's the most affordable meat and can be produced year round. This is why people around the world love pork. I think you should love pork, too! Miller's pork is not just any old pork. Here are 6 quick reasons it stands above the rest: 1- Woodland raised. Our pigs get plenty of exercise and forage for countless nuts and grubs and roots. This diverse diet gives our pork some extra flavor. And you can be assured that the environment is free of chemicals and is a happy place for our pigs to live. 2- Corn & soy free. This means low PUFA and no chance of GMOs. We haven't tested our pork like we did for our chicken and eggs. But, if we did, I assume we'd get similar results with our pork having balanced omegas and packed with vitamins and minerals. 3- Heritage breeds. Our pigs are Berkshire, Duroc, Red Waddle, and Black crosses. These heritage breeds are known for their intensity of flavor, juiciness, marbling, and tenderness. It's nothing like the bland, dry pork you often get at the grocery store. 4- No junk like nitrates or additives. We reduce toxins and anything unnatural as much as possible. Our bacon is cured simply with Celtic sea salt (in a store it would have "uncured" on the label). Our sausages have clean ingredients, no weird thickeners or preservatives. Our salami is cured naturally with celery juice powder. 5- Washed in organic apple cider vinegar. No harsh chemicals like bleach or citric and lactic acids touch our pork. We are so fortunate to have a naturally minded processor! 6- No drugs. We don't vaccinate. We don't give antibiotics or hormones or anything like that. Through a natural diet and lifestyle, our pigs stay naturally healthy. Do you eat pork? Why or why not? What do you look for when shopping for pork? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below - no account required (start typing for the guest option to appear). 😊 ----- SOURCES: UN Report: Livestock commoditiesUSDA: Chicken leads U.S. per person availability of meat over last decade False Facts About Pork Everyone Actually BelievesIs Pork Bad for You? Here's What a Dietitian Has to Say