Feeding our Barnyard Friends - Part 6 of 6

   Many of our customers are very concerned with soy in the feed. When I ask why they do not want soy in their feed the answer is always “I don’t want any GMO’s (genetically modified organisms). I believe everyone should be concerned with GMO’s as the conventional industry is splicing fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides into the grain on a genetic level. They are also splicing DNA from varying organisms into grains and seeds (for example, frog DNA into tomato seeds to make the plants and their fruit more cold hardy). Additionally, companies are genetically splicing a wide variety of seeds and grains not just soy. And much of it is used for human food products not just animals. Plus this GMO laden soy, corn, wheat (and many more) are being added to most frozen, boxed or canned goods you buy in the grocery store. All of this occurred without testing the long-term effects of GMO’s.

   I do believe soy is a problem for people not animals. Remember that old adage “If it sounds too good to be true it probably is?” Current research is indicating that this may be the case with soy. In 1999 soy was the miracle food that would lower bad (LDL) cholesterol, treat menopause, and its high protein level was a great way to replace meat products. Unfortunately, recent studies are now showing that you would have to ingest a great deal of soy to reap any of its reported benefits. The thing no one talks about is Isoflavones. And if you eat a lot of pre-prepared foods, you could be ingesting extremely high levels of Isoflavones. And it is Isoflavones that are the real danger as recent studies are showing that Isoflavones can affect men’s fertility, that they increase breast cancer in women, they are producing allergy symptoms in those allergic to nuts, and hypothyroidism in girls that are entering puberty.

   So, what to do? We use our certified organic, Non GMO Project Verified grains to feed our livestock. We also use our soy based complete feeds as it is cost effective to feed our barnyard friends and it is good for them. Am I worried about isoflavones? Only in pre-prepared foods. Any things coming out is my kitchen is organic. Plus, certified organic soy has not been tampered with by man and it has been used in animal feeds for generations. Add to this the fact that the digestive system in animals and poultry have processed the soy and therefore the isoflavones and I am not worried about it. I firmly believe that any that might be in the meat or eggs is much less likely to effect humans than the GMO grains and additives in our conventional food supply.

   GMO’s are not in our grains or complete feeds. All feed products are certified organic through MOSA and also through the Non GMO Project Verified. And for those of you that are still concerned about soy we offer fish meal (to replace soy for the protein) and complete feeds that do not contain soy. Go to rcrorganicfeedstore.com to learn more.