What’s your favorite food?
Ahh, the age-old question that’s been asked of our peers since we were children. It’s a fun insight — the little things we learn about our family and friends.
My favorite food is sushi. But sushi is derived of so many ingredients, which may come from a farm or be wild-caught fish. On the flip side, who doesn’t love a good cookie? Or maybe pizza? We are all “foodies” to some extent.
But when we think about “farm fresh” foods compared to “store bought” or “processed” foods, what does all of this mean? Well technically all foods are “processed.” It’s a process to get food from farms harvested, washed, stored, and transported. But of course there’s a difference between foods that come direct from a farm and something processed like say … Doritos. But, oh man … how I’d love a good Dorito tree! Ha.
In an effort to understand food trends, I posed the question on my Facebook page: What is your favorite food that comes direct from a farm?
Looks like beef was the winner, but of the 473 people who responded at the time of this artlce, here are the results in order of popularity: (my favorite is lamb!)
- Beef: 96 votes
- Sweet corn: 82
- Eggs: 64
- Milk/dairy: 50
- Pork (emphasis on bacon!): 34
- Strawberries: 28
- Peach: 21
- Tomatoes: 16
- Lamb: 10
- Raspberry, goat, potato, maple syrup, apple, watermelon: All tied for 6 votes
- Honey, blueberries: 5
- Cherries, cranberries, lettuce, spinach: 3
- Rhubarb: 2
- Peppers, green beans, pear, orange, popcorn, Brussel sprouts, squash, onion, okra, peanuts, asparagus, carrots: All tied in last place with 1 vote each.
So what do you think of the results? One thing I found interesting is that chicken isn’t here! (Some people mentioned it, but not as their No. 1 pick.) Billions of chickens are eaten each year and is the most consumed animal protein in the world, so I was pretty surprised to see it didn’t make the cut. When wondering why, could it maybe be that it’s so common, we don’t always think of it? Chicken is so versatile — fried, grilled, processed, there are just so many ways to eat it! As delicious as chicken is, maybe it just doesn’t come to forefront as our first thought.
Regardless it was a fun little question to ask. I must agree with the beef aspect as well when it comes to the winner. Beef, it’s what’s for dinner!
Michelle Miller, the Farm Babe, is an Iowa-based farmer, public speaker, and writer, who lives and works with her boyfriend on their farm, which consists of row crops, beef cattle, and sheep. She believes education is key in bridging the gap between farmers and consumers.
