What's the hidden ingredient in "pure" maple syrup? FIND OUT HERE.

How and why our corn & soy free chicken has a perfect 1:1 omega 6/3 ratio!

written by

Marie Reedell

posted on

June 7, 2024

broiler-chickens.jpg

Our pastured corn & soy free chicken is delicious and as natural as can be. It's grown regeneratively on top notch soil. It's free of chemicals, vaccines, drugs, and GMOs. It's low PUFA. It's air chilled (washed in water and only water). The chickens drink well water (with no added fluoride or stuff like that). 

People choose our chicken for many different reasons, but it seems that the #1 reason is that it's corn & soy free. I had always been on the fence about this. I mean, how much does the feed matter? Does the soil matter more when it comes to nourishing your body?

A few weeks ago, my question was answered. A local farmer told me that Miller's chicken was mentioned in episode 91 of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast called "You Are What You Eat: Examining Beef and Plants". If you give it a listen, around minute 38:00, Dr. Stephan van Vliet talks about our chicken... and now I know that feed ingredients matter A LOT!

Dr. van Vliet tested our chicken, and it has a perfect 1:1 omega 6/3 ratio. 

Wow!!! He didn't even know that was possible with chicken. Conventional CAFO chicken, living indoors and fed GMO corn and soy, has a 30:1 ratio. Most pastured chicken has a 7:1 ratio. But, ours has the ideal 1:1 ratio. Wow again!!!

The omega 3/6 ratio matters for your health.

For some reference, the conventional American diet typically provides a 20:1 omega 6/3 ratio overall. But, humans should eat a 1:1 - 4:1 ratio for optimal health.

Before I go any farther, it's important to note that both omega 3s and omega 6s are polyunsaturated fats, AKA PUFAs. Yes, a low PUFA diet is trendy right now. And overconsumption of PUFAs (especially highly processed ones) can have a detrimental affect on your health. However, your body needs a certain amount of certain kinds of PUFAs for optimal health, and those include omega 3s and 6s.

The human body is capable of producing all the fatty acids it needs... except for two: linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid) and alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid). You need to get those through food, and they're super important. This is why they're called "essential fatty acids". 

Omega 3s and 6s make up parts of cell membranes and are precursors to many other substances in the body. They're involved in regulating blood pressure and inflammatory responses (among many other things). They work hand in hand. 

But, as with anything in nature, balance is imperative. When you have too much omega-6 fatty acids, it can lead to awful health outcomes. The first that's likely to appear is inflammation, which can then lead to a host of other issues. A too high omega 6/3 ratio can result in heart disease, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, asthma, depression, fatigue... the list goes on and on.

I mean, given the standard 20:1 omega 6/3 ratio for the average American, it's no wonder Americans are sadly in such poor health. 

Too much omega-6 is mainly coming from seeds and seed oils.

Modern America just loves its seeds. I mean, the government literally pays us to eat them by subsidizing GMO corn and soy. We feed it to animals to make cheap meat and eggs. We make alt milk with it. We process it like heck to make strangely affordable processed food that lasts forever and always has the same consistency.

I've heard it said that, if you could simply eliminate seed oils from your diet, you'd be good. But, now that I've heard this podcast, I fear that's not enough. You need to eliminate it from the diets of the animals your food comes from, too.

What's in an animal's feed affects the omega 3/6 ratio.

The higher the omega 6/3 ratio in the feed, the higher the omega 6/3 ratio in the meat, eggs, and milk. As they say, "You are what you eat."

We can see this clearly in the general stats out there. Conventional chicken is around 30:1, eggs are 20:1, milk is 6:1, and grain fed beef is 8:1. But, their more natural pasture raised counterparts have much better ratios. Pastured chicken is around 7:1, eggs are 1:1, grass-fed milk is 1:1, and grass-fed beef is 1:1-2:1. 

Why is this? Most animals in the US (even organic or pasture raised ones) are predominantly fed corn and soy. Look at the omega 6/3 ratios:

  • Corn ≈ 50:1
  • Soy ≈ 7:1

It seems that it's really corn that's the culprit here. What's interesting about that is that, from a farmer's perspective, it's much easier to remove soy from the feed than corn.

In comparison, look at the omega 6/3 ratios in our chicken feed:

  • Wheat ≈ 9:1
  • Peas ≈ 2:1
  • Barley ≈ 20:1 (but 4:55 when sprouted)
  • Fishmeal (from Sardines) ≈ 1:2
  • Flax seed ≈ 1:4
  • Kelp ≈ 1:1

It seems to me that the blend on a whole must have around a 1:1 ratio (with lots of help from fishmeal and flax). And this is why our pastured corn & soy free chicken has an outstanding 1:1 omega 6/3 ratio. I mean, it's honestly perfection. 

What do you look for when shopping for chicken? Is the omega 6/3 ratio something you'll consider (especially after reading this)?

I'd love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us.

    -----

    References

    ChickenTestResults.png

    More from the blog

    Food web vs food chain. I'll use the crazy egg recall as an example.

    Food web vs food chain. I'll use the crazy egg recall as an example.

    At Miller's, we're building a food web. This is a lot different than the modern food chain most Americans rely on. A food chain is a factory-filled engine.  Here are the links that usually make up the food chain. Mega feed mills and fertilizer plants --> mega factory farms --> mega processing plants --> mega distributors --> mega supermarkets. And in between all of those things are mega supplies and transportation companies.  When one link breaks, the whole chain goes down! Sure, it's made food more affordable. But, it's also made our food system fragile. Let's use the egg recall that's happening right now as an example. It's a conventional egg recall (NOT our eggs, which we have plenty of btw). The current salmonella outbreak has sickened at least 89 people to date. It's affected 1.7 million cartons of eggs in 9 states, starting in March. Hundreds of thousands of people have eaten contaminated eggs. Wow, I mean, that's awful on such a big scale. But, here's what's interesting to me - there are 29 different products affected. How could that be? How could they be related? Well, those products come from 10 different egg brands who all have their eggs packed at 2 facilities. Talk about mega ag! Now, I don't know this for sure, but I would bet that all of those millions of eggs come from one mega-farm that has a salmonella outbreak inside one of its mega buildings. Keep in mind that a CAFO (confined animal feeding operation) is defined as having a minimum of 82,000 laying hens. In other words, it's plausible for those millions of eggs to come from one "farm". And the saddest part? All of those hens were likely culled to stop the outbreak quickly. One last note here -- the egg recall example is actually a small one. It's even worse with beef. Did you know that 85% of all grain finished beef is processed by just 4 companies? Geez! And, I mean, we all saw the food chain break during COVID.  On the flip side (and gosh, I'm happy there's an alternative), a food web is a collection of small feed suppliers, farmers, processors, etc.  They are all independent, and each has an important role in getting your food to you. When one intersection in the web breaks, it's fairly easy to repair it and find someone else to fill in. It's a resilient way to produce food. The downside to a food web is that the food does cost more. Let's take our egg farmers as an example. They work in small "pods". They all get their feed and cartons from the same place. They all follow the same farming practices. But, other than that, they work independently in "pods". Right now, we have 2 egg pods. A "pod" consists of 1-5 family farmers with small flocks (no more than 3,000 birds each). And that group of farmers has their eggs packed at one small family egg packer. If we need more eggs, then we need to start another pod. If one pod (or a part of a pod) goes down, another can likely fill in.  What do you think? Is it worth it to pay more for food from a resilient food web? Do we need the food chain to supply affordable food? What does our food future look like? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required) or contact us 😊 ----- PS: Did I mention we have plenty pastured, honest yolk, corn & soy free eggs right now? There's no outbreak or shortage for us! ----- Sources Eggs sold at Walmart, other grocers in 9 states recalled amid salmonella outbreakExplainer: How four big companies control the U.S. beef industry

    Read more
    Hidden ingredient in pure maple syrup? Yup, a defoamer! Ours is PUFA free.

    Hidden ingredient in pure maple syrup? Yup, a defoamer! Ours is PUFA free.

    I know you've seen it advertised everywhere - "PURE MAPLE SYRUP". But, is it really and truly pure? Not exactly. Why is maple syrup is advertised as "pure" anyway? Well, it's because it's being compared to the Aunt Jemima kind of syrup, which doesn't even have maple syrup in it! It's fake maple syrup made with corn syrup with colors, flavors, thickeners, and preservatives. It mimics maple syrup, but it's definitely not maple syrup. So... for companies that are selling actual maple syrup (you know, the kind that's cooked down from the sweet sap from a maple tree), they like to differentiate their syrup from fake syrups. They do this by calling it "pure". I've even seen it as "100% pure". But, that's not really true either. The dictionary definition of "pure" is "not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material." Well, in order to make real maple syrup, you kinda need to do just that. Enter defoamers... Here's how maple syrup is made, including when defoamer is used. First, you harvest the sap from the trees. This happens at a specific time of year. In early spring, as the weather starts to warm up, the sap starts flowing. Here are the lines that run through the maple forest in Vermont that our syrup comes from: Then, the sap (which tastes like sweet water), is pumped into a big stainless steel tank: After that, it goes into another big stainless steel pot in the sugar shack (yup, that's what an old fashioned place that makes maple syrup is called). And then, the heat is turned on. Our maple syrup is cooked over a wood stove! As the maple sap cooks down, it bubbles. Like a lot.  To prevent the pot from overflowing with maple lava, not only making a mess but also creating a dangerous situation, syrup makers use a little defoamer. A defoamer is a fat that breaks the surface tension on the bubbles. Only a little bit is needed. *There are all kinds of defoamers, natural and absolutely not natural. But first, let's finish making the syrup. Keep scrolling to learn more about defoamers. Here's what those bubbles look like as a defoamer is added: When the bubbles are smaller and the syrup has cooked down to the perfect thickness and specific gravity, it's done! It's drained into another stainless steel pot.  Final thickness and color testing is done before it's bottled. The Virkler family is serious about color distinctions. They always keep some super dark and super light syrup around to make it just right. Why is maple syrup different shades anyway? It's a natural thing! It has to do with the changes in the sugars within the sap as the season changes.  As the temperature warms up, naturally occurring bacteria become active and break down the sugar into glucose and fructose. These simpler sugars caramelize more easily during boiling, making a darker syrup. That's why lighter syrup is generally made at the beginning of the season when it's colder. But, just like the weather, the color varies throughout the maple syrup season. The Virkler family documents this every year. In the pic below, the first sap of the season is in the bottom left. And then every harvest after that goes to the right and then up to the next row. Pretty neat! And voila! That's how maple syrup is made! What's in a defoamer? A defoamer is a fat. It disrupts surface tension, breaking those syrupy bubbles down, because it contains non-polar molecules that are attracted to water.  Conventional Defoamers Conventional defoamers are a blend of who knows what kind of cheap oils. They can be mineral oils, silicone oils, vegetable oils (canola, soy, olive, etc), or other hydrophobic oils. Some contain up to 10% silicone. Did you know "pure" maple syrup can have that in it!? Conventional defoamers are a lab and factory made thing. And you know what that means - the actual ingredients are proprietary. That's 100% allowed, especially since the defoamer ingredients don't need to be listed on the label. It's less than 1% and considered a trace ingredient.  Natural Defoamers More natural defoamers are straight oils. For example, our old maple syrup used sunflower oil. I've seen other maple syrup makers use canola oil. But, the most common defoaming oils are seed oils, and that means PUFAs. Natural No PUFA Defoamers In an effort to reduce PUFAs whenever possible, we have a new no PUFA maple syrup! Virkler Farm & Forest uses organic coconut oil as their defoamer. We're so proud to offer it to you! *It's important to note that a really tiny amount of defoamer is used. Whatever is left in the final syrup is a trace amount. But, as I say again and again, if there's a trace amount of something bad in everything you eat, is it a trace amount anymore? So, what should you look for in a natural maple syrup? For the most natural maple syrup, you can look for a few things: From a pristine forest, free of chemicals.No added colors, flavors, thickeners, or preservatives.Boiled with wood to prevent any unnatural fumes from contaminating the syrup.A natural defoamer is used.Bottled in glass. This is particularly important with maple syrup since it's typically bottled hot/warm. Our maple syrup checks all those boxes! Do you use maple syrup? Did you know about defoamers? What's important to you when choose natural foods? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below or send us a message. ----- PS: Did you know that the maple syrup we sell is also used in a bunch of our products? That includes our ice cream, egg custard, maple sausages, chocolate and strawberry syrups, and more!

    Read more
    Here's the untold story of raw milk. Raw or pasteurized? It should be your choice.

    Here's the untold story of raw milk. Raw or pasteurized? It should be your choice.

    Raw milk has been a highly contested issue in modern history. Is it a healthy nutrient-dense “cure-all” for nourishing your body, or is it a dangerous vector for spreading life-threatening disease? The two camps are split. It is a complicated issue with mixed battles of bad science vs. personal testimony, morals vs. politics, education vs. advertising, and big agri-business vs. small farms. Let's dive in...

    Read more
    Return To Top


    Do

    Learn

    Uphold

    Connect


    OUR MISSION is to be an amazing and reliable source for farm direct, nutrient dense food.

    OUR VISION is to end sickness by enhancing health, nutrition, and happiness.

    OUR PURPOSE is to inspire a generation of healthy children and reduce healthcare costs.


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

     Contact us. Send a note to hello@millersbiofarm.com. Call us at (717) 786-7895.

     Copyright © 2023 Miller’s Bio Farm • Payments secured by Stripe 


    Powered by Stripe
    Privacy Policy