by Carie Moore
This week, I asked my nine-year-old son 12 food-related questions. He’s a third grader in a small, rural school. He lives with us on the farm and helps his grandma and grandpa with a variety of chores because they live on the same farm in another house. He has been in 4-H for three years. He’s familiar with poultry, sheep, and pigs. He is also aware of the meal plans and fitness programs I do and helped meal prep, workout, and buy groceries. His loves salads, mac and cheese, nuggets, apples, and oranges. He attends a variety of Farm Bureau and other ag meetings and knows how important ag is to our family. He watches everything and learns quickly. He’s very responsible and informative.
- What is a food label? Tells ingredients and stuff
- Is there a difference between a food label and nutrition fact? Yes - facts tell how healthy and labels tell you the date you should buy it before
- What makes something “nutritious?” If it helps and makes your body grow
- If you are skinny does that mean you are healthy/fit? Yes
- Are you worried about anything when it comes to your food? No
- Where does food come from? a. Trees, ground, vines, cows
- Do farmers take care of their animals-generally speaking? Why or why not? Yes - to keep them healthy so we have good meals
- What is a GMO? I don’t know
- What does “organic” mean? Healthy???
- What’s “CRISPR”? Don’t know
- Is Almond Milk really “milk”? Maybe-but I think it’s a yes. I asked, “So you think it’s like cow’s milk then?” His reply: “Remember that video we watched, ‘Those are healthy almonds.’” “So you think yes?” “Yes,” he said.
- Do farmers and ranchers need agronomists and veterinarians? Yes - so they can check for broken bones and fix them. So they can check our plants for diseases.
Overall, I wasn’t surprised by his answers. As with my daughter, I was curious to see his answer for #9.
Funniest answer: #11. As soon as he started talking I was trying not laugh. Apparently, that video made QUITE the impression in our house. (View the Nut Milking Exposed video here: https://youtu.be/JJCTIPWPNtw )
I went through all the answers with him and took this time as a learning opportunity and went through labels and facts and why I always look at them in the store and what I’m looking for and why. I look at the protein and sugars mostly.
I showed him eggs and egg whites since I had those out to make an egg sandwich after my workout. I explained how I can get more protein by adding egg whites to an egg rather than adding another egg. I also explained that adding egg whites makes scrambled eggs fluffier, but it comes at a higher price than a whole carton of eggs. So, I use it in addition to, not in replacement of. It’s about budgeting and functionality and that’s why I look at the labels and the price to make my decisions.
He was very receptive and I am glad I’m doing this little experiment with my children!
Next week: My six-year-old first grader.