Changing the world one soybean at a time

After almost a week here in Iowa, I can safely say that my views on food and farming will never be the same. While I have had brief farm experience and watched a few foodie documentaries, nothing can compare to farm lectures by Kelvin, visiting a co-op filled with local and organic goodies, and getting splashed with pig semen while watching artificial insemination. This is most definitely a May X where new experiences and dinner time stories abound. The newest experience of the day was a day long trip to the Iowa Soybean Association followed by a short view of incumbent Sweeney's debate. However, I shall focus on the former.

One thing I must remark about the Iowa Soybean Association is the chairs. We were led into a long conference room filled with snacks and sodas and were then invited to take a seat. I have never been so comfortable in a rolling chair in my entire life; I was tempted to try and sneak one out and take it back to Furman. But back to more important matters. I was happy to find that the Soybean Association employees were a bit more unbiased shall we say than previous speakers. While our stack of papers, business cards, and pamphlets was rising by the minute, the facts and ideas that were present were both interesting and thought provoking (though unfortunately due to lack of sleep, I can't say my fellow students were as intrigued). One thing that I struck me, though not explicitly related to soybeans, was the fact that many of us may change our minds about what we eat or think about our food in a more sophisticated light, many people around the world can only simply think about when or if they are going to get another meal. While I know that this revelation may seem cliche to some, I found myself ashamed that I would have to be reminded of this yet again. I am so used to being surrounded by food, that I've forgotten how precious it really is. Local agriculture, while important, is not our only concern, but also how our local agriculture can contribute to global food exports. In fact a major argument in favor of GMO's is that these allow for food such as soybeans to be mass produced in order to feed the hungry in other countries. In Farm, we will learn about the costs and benefits of food, but I hope that we (mostly myself) remember how blessed we are to be able to learn about how our food gets on our plate without actually having to worry about if it will be there. I hope that not only will my personal outlook on food change, but I will also be inspired and guided to help those not as fortunate as myself.