My Thoughts on Lary King Live and IS MEAT SAFE? Story

I realize I am a little late on blogging on the Larry King Live, Is Meat Safe?, story. However, I cannot seem to get this story off my mind. I know that we (beef advocates) have heard this type of garbage before and will continue to hear it. Beef Advocates across the country are working diligently to get the true message out about the beef industry. Something else that I cannot get off my mind is a story that I heard on The Early Show last week, The 10 Risky Foods. Do you know what number one was? Leafy Greens. Yes, that is right, not beef, or meat products, but leafy greens. These greens were the number one risky food because of their contamination with E.Coli. The story stated: Between 1990 and 2006, The Center for Science in the Public Interest used data collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as other sources to identify 363 outbreaks linked to iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach and other leafy greens “variously contaminated with E. coli, Norovirus or Salmonella." This caused at least 13,568 people get sick.



So what it boils down to, to me, is that there is risk in everything that we eat, but there are risks in everything we do too. Every time you get in a car you have a chance of losing your life, but does that stop us from getting in our cars? So, why not enjoy a properly cooked old fashion hamburger, with maybe COOKED spinach on the side.



*Side-Note* As many of you know Arturo and I’s goals and dreams are to make our living in production agriculture, once we have completed our time at K-State. The beef industry has always been important to me and my family, however as we get closer to our dreams coming into realization I grow more passionate about the industry every day. Our blog will continue to showcase the “going-on’s” of the Pacheco household, but I also plan to write more about the beef industry and be a more active advocate. One day when we are living and breathing ranch life, I hope to have a dedicated blog to our daily interactions of on the ranch and our daily duties of production agriculture.

And what is a blog post without pictures?

Arturo counting calves and cows to make sure no one was left behind.

Weaning Time at the Cow/Calf Unit

This morning I got to go out with Arturo and his crew to the Cow/Calf Unit to take pictures. We left to go out to the first pasture, the Pinch Belly, at 5:45. Yes it was early but it was worth it for the great sunrise pictures. Then shortly after the sun came up the clouds moved in and it got chilly. Here are some of the pictures I took. Be aware there are loads...so it is going to be a long post. Some I have processed in Photoshop and some are just straight-out of the camera.

Have a great day everyone!

 

The Chaps!

Blue...Arturo's favorite horse!

Friday Night Dinner, A Game of Chase and some Other Random Things

Last night we made the Pioneer Women's Chicken Scallopine and man was it good! I got my camera out and took some shots of the ingredients and the chicken cooking!

The recipe, I thought the light was cool, and the mushrooms! 

Parsley from our garden and the chicken cooking!

Poncho loves to play chase with Max, I think it is because he knows that Max cannot catch him. It is pretty funny to watch. Well Poncho has figured out that Max will pretty much chase him all afternoon if Poncho has Max's ball. I was outside playing with my camera and they started a game of chase. Here are some of the pictures I captured!

Poncho stealing Max's ball.

Poncho tantalizing Max with the ball…

And there off!

Max intent on getting the ball back!

Poncho still tantalizing Max with the ball! 

This will go on for some time and then they both will get tried, give up and curl up and take a nap.

The Randomness of this post!

Our pot of Oregano, Thyme and Rosemary!

My pumpkin that the Damn squirrels are snacking on!

And a little sun flare!

Today has been GREAT! I ran this morning, started at 5:30 and got to see a beautiful full moon go down and the sunrise over the flint hills! What a great way to start your day! It was such a beautiful site! I also ran with some great ladies...they are one of the main reasons I pull myself out of bed on Saturday.

After I got home from my run we went to eat at The Chef and then did a little grocery shopping. We then straightened up around the house and the rest of the afternoon we both have been playing with our hobbies!

So all in all it has been a beautiful day with great running company and of course great company in Arturo!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Loving My New Camera

So I got my camera on Friday and I LOVE IT! I still have a ton to learn, but it is soooo cool! Here are some pictures I took around the house this weekend. I was hoping for more, but I ran 22 miles yesterday and I am a little tried...so this is all that I got. I hope to go out around sunset sometime this week and play...I will share if I make it out!

We have had such a great weekend! Arturo had to work yesterday morning and I ran 22 miles yesterday. The run was really good, most of all my nerves are gone for the race. Less than three weeks I will be running 26.2 miles! How crazy is that? Today I helped at a road race and then came home and have been doing laundry and knitting. Arturo has been working on his chaps all day that are going to be way cool! Here are some of the pictures of the chaps!

Cutting out the bell or the bottom of the chaps.

Working on putting our family brand on the bell.

The bell after it has been stamped. Pretty cool, huh?

I bought this coffee cup for Arturo when we were in MT. It says Cattleman on it...I thought it was cool and he must think that it is pretty cool too, because he uses it almost every day.

This is the yok of the chaps. I think that this is just beautiful work. I will share pictures once they are complete!

Have a great week everyone!

Changes in the future...begining with a new toy!

Look what I ordered today...

That’s right my very first DSLR camera! I am so excited...I cannot wait for it to get here. It should arrive on Friday! So look for lots of pictures this Sunday...I hope to be shooting like a mad woman!


I posted a while back about wanting a change...well this is the beginning of that change. I will share more and I am sure most of you will guess what I am talking about, but I am not ready to reveal my plan, dreams and goals just yet! Stay tuned, it will be soon, when I am strong enough to share those with you all! 

DARE

Last night I took a Yoga class. At the end of the class the instructor read a poem for an inspirational thought. I am not much into poems or quotes for inspiration; I am inspired by many things. People, places, and much more.  Anyway, the poem that the instructor read was really good, it was titled DARE, I think! What I took from the poem was dare to be great, dare to be you, dare to be happy! There were lots of other dares, but those three are the ones that really hit home for me. So I dare you to be great, dare to be you and truly you, and dare to be happy!

Have a great day everyone!

Meet Your Meat

This morning I picked up the K-State Collegian. I usually do not read the school newspaper, but this morning I got here early and decided to give it a once over. Well it sure did get my day off to a fiery start! An opinion column basically bashing the livestock industry is what really got my day off to the fiery start.

Here is a little from the Meet Your Meat by Beth Mendenhall:
Bacon is delicious. I know it, you know it, even the pigs probably know it. Despite its tastiness, however, eating meat is bad for the environment and human health and causes billions of animals to suffer needlessly.


Albert Einstein once said, “Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet,” and he was right. This is especially true today as mechanized industrial farming has become the norm for poultry and swine production, and cattle feedlots have increased drastically in size and number.


Livestock agriculture is the leading cause of soil and water pollution, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. This is due in part to over fertilization of food crops — there is simply too much excrement and not enough land to absorb it without causing massive runoff into the water table. Waste from processing facilities, like Tyson’s meatpacking plants, adds to the problem. A U.N. report also identified factory farms as the leading cause of anthropogenic (human-caused) greenhouse gas emissions, more so than all modes of transportation combined. Simply put, our environment was not meant to handle the massive amounts of waste produced by industrial livestock operations or the fossil fuel emissions required to ship meat from rural communities to cities.

You can read the rest of the article by clicking here.

We have all heard these "stories" and myths before, and we all know that they are not true. We all know that the industry that we love and work in is full of hard working, compassionate, caring men and women. We know that farmers and ranchers care for their land and their animals because they are their livelihoods. We know that these farmers and ranchers work so hard to provide a safe, wholesome and delicious product for this country and the world.

I am asking you to make a comment in the comment section of this article to help correct the "stories" Beth is telling in her opinion piece.

Thank you and remember to EAT BEEF!