My great grandmother's roast and the importance of asking why.

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September 1, 2023

Have you heard this story?

I asked my mother, "Mom, how do you cook a roast? I want to make it just like I remember it growing up." She replied, "Well, first you cut it in half, and then you put it in the pan..." I interrupted, "But wait, why do you cut it in half?" My mom said, "I don't know, ask Grandma. She's the one who taught me how to make it."

So I quickly dialed my grandmother and asked, "Grandma, how you you cook a roast? Your roasts are just so delicious." My grandmother replied, "Well, first you cut it in half..." And there I went interrupting again, "But Grandma, why do you cut it in half?" My grandmother replied, "Honestly, I don't know. It's how my mom did it. Why don't you call Great Grandma?"

So onward I went. I called my great grandmother and asked, "Great Grandma, how do you cook a roast?" She started out as expected, "Well, first you cut it in half..." And of course I interrupted, "But Great Grandma, why!? Why do you cut it in half!?"

She replied, "Well, because the ovens back then were so small a whole roast couldn't fit. So, I had to cut the roast in half, and I've been doing it that way ever since." 🤦‍♀️

This is a folk tale, but it holds so much truth.

We often do things a certain way simply because that's how they've been done or we've been doing them for a long time. You absolutely do not need to cut a roast in half when using a big modern oven! In fact, a larger roast is better since it's more forgiving and cooks more evenly.

We were all born curious. Think about how many times a fiery 3-5 year old asks "why" in a day. But somewhere along the path of becoming a grown-up, we lose that curiosity. The system trains us to do as we're told, believe what we're told, to fit in and find our place. Our fire dims, and maybe we even lose a piece of ourselves in that process.

At Miller's Bio Farm, we say no. We have to ask questions, and we do it all the time. It's the only way to work towards a better food future. We can't be satisfied with what's handed to us. We have to fan them flames of curiosity back to life.

It's a big reason we don't get certifications like "grass fed" or "regenerative" or "certified organic". We want to be able to ask why and figure out the best way forward ourselves, not just because a certifier says so.

All that being said, asking why is one thing, but coming up with an answer to inform a decision is another thing. So, how do you find those answers? Well, research of course.

That's why Miller's Bio Farm provides you with so much info on our website and goes above and beyond to answer questions. If we don't know, we'll do everything we can to find out.

And, honestly, some answers you may not want to know. Do you know how disappointed I was to find out that there are trace amounts of lab-produced additives in our cheese cultures and that there aren't any other options out there? What was the farm to do? Ignore it? Nope, we added that to the honest disclosure on every cultured cheese we offer.

This is how we enable and empower you to be a smart natural food shopper. We want you to ask why, too!

So, anything on your mind? What are you wondering about lately? I'd love to hear from you!

Ugh greenwashed labels. What does it take to get ___ on a label anyway?

Not a fan of the confusing, greenwashed labels in store? Yea, me too! And it's especially real for me, because I'm responsible for getting our labels approved with the "powers that be". Here's a little story with a big inside scoop... I made new labels for our bone broth a little while ago. It didn't go as smoothly as planned. Why? I put the little icons about our farming practices on them. They look like this: Yup, despite being 100% accurate and true, they were denied!! We're not allowed to put those statements on our food labels. So, I asked the USDA guy, "What would it take to get those claims on the labels, anyway?" The answer was kinda shocking. First off, there's some guidance on wording. Silly technicalities in my opinion. For example, you can't use the term "No Spray" but you can say "Produced without the use of synthetic pesticides." Or another example is that you can't say "No Routine Antibiotics or Vaccines" but you can say "Raised without routine use of antibiotics or vaccines." Second, the processor needs to update their documents to provide traceability. In other words, they need to document how they make sure the bones for our bone broth don't get mixed up with bones from other farms. I mean, this is pretty simple, especially with small batch foods like ours. But the documentation needs to be meticulous. Drafting it in government-approved language can be time consuming and/or costly. And lastly, once you get the wording and process right, you need proof. This was the real shocker for me: Want to know what proof would suffice for all the claims above? A 2-3 sentence affidavit (AKA a super short letter) signed by all farmers that supply us. That's it!? This lead me to a bunch of questions: What if a company submits a letter from one farmer but actually has other farmers that supply them, too? What if a company changes farmers? Will they submit new letters?What if a company's farmers change their practices in the future? Will they immediately update their labels?Are the "powers that be" checking on this? Is anyone checking on this?Is this why most farms and food facilities don't allow outside people coming in? It seems to me that, if a business isn't doing what the label says, the only way to find out is via a whistleblower. And the only way to make them stop is to take them to court. You know, like what's happening with Vital Farms and their pasture raised egg claim right now. It seems to me that, all that good natural stuff on labels - grass fed, pasture raised, antibiotic free, etc - doesn't mean it's true. Certifications are a little better, but the same kinda thing can be said about those, too. This is why, at Miller's, we choose to NOT sell in stores. No wholesale for us. In fact, we don't even have an on farm store. We only sell directly to our customers via our website. And, we choose to only get certified for what's required. This way, we can make our own natural standards. And, we can provide you will all the info and proof you need. Descriptions, photos, blog posts, test results, and more. So, what do you think? Should we do the affidavit thing to get claims on our bone broth labels? What proof do you need to feel confident in your food choices? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - just start typing) or contact us 😊

My great grandmother's roast and the importance of asking why.

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Miller's Bio Farm, 523 Valley Road, Quarryville, PA 17566