Jun. 22--Second in a series
WATERLOO -- Local farmers and food processors say they're not to blame for America's weight problem. In fact, they've been working for years to put the country on a diet.
Many producers are raising and selling a variety of food -- from low-fat meat and soybean oil to healthy dairy products and vegetables -- with the public's bulging waistlines in mind. Farmers are aware one-third of adults and 16 percent of children in America today are considered obese, which is linked to myriad health problems from diabetes to heart disease.
Treating weight-related problems isn't cheap. In 2000, the government said the bill was $117 billion.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call obesity an epidemic. Mike Albers of rural Waverly knows his grass-fed cattle aren't the cure, but he said the animals are part of the solution.
"I'm just doing my thing. It's leaner (meat)," Albers said.
The 44-year-old raises 900 acres of corn, soybeans, oats, wheat and hay -- about one-third organic. He started raising cattle eight years ago to utilize excess hay and realized he had stumbled
onto something good as news about the nation's obesity problem became more prevalent and many people opted for healthier diets.
In the mid-1900s, cattle once raised exclusively on grass in pastures moved to feedlots to be fattened more quickly with cheap corn. That resulted in more marbling -- fat -- in the meat, which many consumers crave for added flavor. It also contributed to obesity problems, some advocacy groups and medical experts claim.
wAccording to American Grassfed Beef.com., a Missouri-based marketer of grass-fed beef, a 3-ounce serving of grain-fed beef has 8.5 grams of fat while grass-fed beef has a little more than 2 grams of fat. A sirloin steak from a grass-fed steer has about one-half to one-third less fat compared to grain-fed counterparts.
"You probably lose a little flavor, but it is healthier," said Albers. Currently he has 15 bred cows, 10 steers and five calves. He sells animals directly to customers or to the local sales barn, and will even transport a steer to a locker if a customer asks.
Other sectors of the livestock industry responded to consumer demand for leaner, healthier food as well. Pigs are now predominantly raised in temperature-controlled confinement buildings and not outdoors, which required hogs to pack on fat to survive the winter.
Dairy processors added vitamins to milk and made low-fat products like cottage cheese available. The Jay and Jeanne Hansen family of rural Hudson, which sells Hansen Farm Fresh Dairy products in the Cedar Valley, is committed to making healthy food.
Jeanne said their milk isn't homogenized -- a process to make fat particles smaller to keep cream from separating upon standing -- which helps the body eliminate fat from the milk it doesn't need. They also sell reduced-fat cheddar cheese and put half the sugar in their chocolate milk compared to competitors, she said.
"Let's give them healthier chocolate milk," Jeanne said, describing the family's initial discussions about offering the product. "More people are concerned about what they're putting in their bodies."
Researchers also have found ways to make grain healthier. For example, an Iowa State University agronomy professor and plant breeding expert developed low-linolenic soybeans. The beans are bred to have a low amount of linolenic acid, which can make oil rancid.
Soybean oil is widely used for cooking and other foods like mayonnaise. To make oil last longer, it's hydrogenated -- adding hydrogen atoms -- which creates trans fats.
Low-lin soybeans are a heart-healthy answer. The beans are growing in popularity, ag experts say.
"As technology comes along, farmers are willing to adapt to help society," said John Hoffman, a Waterloo farmer and chairman of the American Soybean Association. "We're just as aware (of the obesity problem) as the general population and want to correct it."
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