http://www.dairyherd.com/editorial/megan-pierce RSS Feed for Megan Pierce en-us Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:12:45 GMT http://www.dairyherd.com/editorial/megan-pierce/Commentary-A-refreshing-experience-131816063.html Last week I while I attended World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis., I had the pleasure of eating dinner at a restaurant downtown called Graze. http://www.dairyherd.com/editorial/megan-pierce/Commentary-Do-you-know-the-answer-130349323.html Q. Which industry has the biggest impact on job creation in California? A. Wine B. Dairy C. Film & TV The answer is B, the dairy industry. http://www.dairyherd.com/editorial/megan-pierce/Commentary-Lessons-from-my-garden-128901243.html I have to admit, like most Americans I have become enamored with the local food movement. I know exactly where food comes from and my job as agricultural journalist puts me in contact with farmers almost every day. But the idea of growing my own food with my own two hands was a thrilling idea to me and still is. http://www.dairyherd.com/editorial/megan-pierce/Commentary-Stop-and-listen-127553628.html Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a forum on farm animal welfare that was hosted by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). A variety of stakeholders were invited to participate from the dairy, beef and egg industries, as well as from the Humane Society of the United States, Whole Foods and the Center for Food Integrity. http://www.dairyherd.com/editorial/megan-pierce/Commentary-One-less-thing-to-worry-about-125986018.html If you were worried about teaching your kids good eating habits, don’t be. There is absolutely no need to worry about instilling good eating habits into your children anymore because the government is going to take care of that for you. At least that appears to be the gist of some potential regulations on food and beverage advertising for children. Oh, and if any business tries to sell your child anything unhealthy, it will probably be sued. http://www.dairyherd.com/editorial/megan-pierce/Commentary-Dairy-industry-pioneer-thwarted-by-regulations-124810264.html When it comes to dairy industry pioneers, one probably thinks of Stephen Babcock who developed the butterfat test that was the basis for DHIA testing, Gail Borden who received the first patent for condensed milk, or even Louis Pasteur who invented pasteurization and is considered to be the first person to discover that bacteria causes food spoilage and disease. John Fiscalini might not be as famous as these pioneers. But, when it comes to renewable energy, he is paving the way for the dairy industry. He started down this path because he believes in the future of renewable energy and dairy digesters. http://www.dairyherd.com/editorial/megan-pierce/Are-we-our-own-problem-123572574.html As I was searching the internet this week, I came across a blog post by Food Mommy. The post was titled: Agriculture’s worst enemies may be farmers. I had never run across this particular blogger before and the title piqued my interest as I have this same thought quite frequently. http://www.dairyherd.com/editorial/megan-pierce/Milk-victorious-at-Indy-500-122831399.html When Dan Wheldon pulled into Victory Lane at the Indianapolis 500 this past weekend, Indiana dairy farmers Richard Thomas of Leann Acres, Middlebury, Ind., and David Forgey of Foerg & Forgey’s River-View Farm, Logansport, Ind., were there to greet him with a bottle of ice cold milk. http://www.dairyherd.com/editorial/megan-pierce/Penny-for-your-thoughts-122236734.html Have you ever wondered what consumers think about when they go the grocery store? http://www.dairyherd.com/editorial/megan-pierce/Card-check-the-bill-that-just-wont-die-121662939.html Despite the fact that the card-check bill cleared the California legislature four times and was vetoed each time during Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration – it is back.