Shownotes
Do you know where your food comes from? Most of us buy and consume food every single day without understanding who grew it, how it was raised, or what the labels actually mean. What if the fear driving your grocery store decisions is based more on marketing than reality?
On this episode of Salad With a Side of Fries, Jenn Trepeck welcomes fifth-generation dairy farmer and environmental scientist Tara Vander Dussen of Discover Ag Podcast and Discover Ag TV for a grounded, no-nonsense conversation about the food system, family farms, organic versus conventional choices, and how consumers can make smarter decisions without the overwhelm. From antibiotic use in dairy farming to the truth about grass-fed beef, water recycling on modern farms, and the impact of imports and tariffs on local agriculture, this episode reframes the conversation and replaces fear with facts.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
✅ How the food system is divided between agriculture and big food, and why understanding that distinction helps you shop smarter and reduce unnecessary food fear
✅ What the organic label actually means as a farming practice, and how conventional dairy farming maintains strict quality and safety standards that often go unrecognized
✅ Why most cattle in the United States spend the majority of their lives on pasture, and what the real difference between grass-fed and grass-finished beef means for your plate
✅ How sustainable farming practices like water recycling, on-site veterinarians, and cattle nutritionists reflect a level of animal care and environmental responsibility that rarely makes it into the public conversation
The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast, hosted by Jenn Trepeck, explores real-life wellness and weight-loss topics, debunking myths, misinformation, and flawed science surrounding nutrition and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Breaking down the differences between agriculture and the food industry
06:17 Understanding pesticides, glyphosate, and bio-engineered crops as tools in the farmer's toolbox
09:13 Why food labels shifted from consumer information to marketing, and how to shop by personal values
14:29 The truth about factory farms versus family farms and why 98 percent of dairies are family owned
19:10 Conventional dairy quality: antibiotic protocols, testing standards, and why milk is one of the most tested products in the food supply chain
25:45 How animal welfare and farm transparency have improved, and the water recycling system on a dairy farm is explained step by step
29:29 Grass-fed versus grain-fed beef unpacked and why most cattle spend two-thirds of their lives on pasture
36:42 How tariffs and global markets affect dairy farming prices and why grocery store milk prices can mislead
38:57 The complicated relationship between consumer demand, imports, exports, and the modern food supply
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
💎 The organic label is a farming practice, not a health guarantee. Understanding what it means operationally helps consumers make decisions based on values rather than marketing.
💎 The majority of farms in the United States, including large-scale operations, are still family-owned and operated. The idea that factory farms have replaced family agriculture is largely a myth built on online rhetoric.
💎 Every tanker of conventional milk is tested for antibiotics at the parts-per-trillion level, both on the farm and at the processing plant, making it one of the most rigorously tested products in the food supply chain.
💎 Consumer spending drives the food system. When purchases do not align with stated preferences, food companies follow the dollar, making intentional buying one of the most powerful tools available to consumers.
ABOUT THE GUEST:
Tara Vander Dussen is a fifth-generation dairy farmer, environmental scientist, and co-host of the podcast and TV series Discover Ag. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Soil, Water, and Environmental Science from the University of Arizona and spent more than a decade working as an environmental consultant for dairy farms. Through Discover Ag, Tara blends food, agriculture, and pop culture to make conversations about the food system accessible and engaging.
Natalie Kovarik is a fourth-generation cattle rancher, entrepreneur, and co-host of the top-ranked podcast and TV series Discover Ag. She holds a Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of Montana and, alongside her husband, owns and operates Kovarik Cattle Co. in Nebraska. Through Discover Ag, Natalie helps reconnect consumers to their food by sharing the stories of farmers and ranchers in an engaging, modern way.
RESOURCES:
Become a Happy Healthy Hub Member
A Salad With A Side Of Fries Merch
A Salad With a Side of Fries Instagram
Text ‘Book’ to 833-801-0500
GUEST RESOURCES:
DISCOVER AG ON THE ROAD - Instagram
Discover Ag 'On The Road' - YouTube
Tara Vander Dussen - Instagram
QUOTES:
07:22 "GMOs, pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, all of those things are tools in farmers' toolboxes. Different farmers are going to use different tools in different ways, and that comes down to management decisions." - Tara Vander Dussen
09:55 "I don't want people to fear the food in their grocery store. I think we have gotten to a really bad place in this country where people have real fears around their food." - Tara Vander Dussen
12:01 "I believe changing our food system is about how we spend our dollars. The onus is not going to be on these food companies, it's on us as consumers to tell them what we want." - Jenn Trepeck
13:55 "We are even having this conversation so we can make informed choices versus the choices based on the fear mongering or the marketing or whatever is coming at us." - Jenn Trepeck
38:18 "So much of our food is local and there is so much that goes into creating that food source, even if it is not marketed to us or on that label." - Jenn Trepeck
SEO KEYWORDS:
Jenn Trepeck, Salad With A Side Of Fries, Nutrition Nugget, Health Coach, Weight Loss For Real Life, Food System, Family Farm, Big Agriculture, Local Farms, Dairy Farming, Organic Label, Conventional Farming, Grass Fed Beef, Grain Fed Cattle, Pesticides, Glyphosate, Genetically Modified Organisms, Bio-Engineered Crops, Food Labels, Grocery Store, Farm To Table, Agricultural Sustainability, Water Recycling, Soil Science, Environmental Science, Food Supply Chain, Import And Export, Tariffs, Food Safety, Antibiotic Use In Dairy, Milk Quality, Cattle Nutrition, Pasture Raised, Grass Finished, Feedlot, Regenerative Agriculture, Consumer Food Choices, Food Fear, Farm Tours, Discover Ag, Direct To Consumer, Cotton Seed Feed, Citrus Feed, Food Pyramid, Fifth Generation Farmer
Transcripts
[00:00:19] Natural fertilizer from our cows. And so we're able to grow our crop. So it's, it's fascinating. It's anywhere between four and five times is what? They've kind of done some different research on to see how many times it gets recycled. Welcome to Salad with a side of Fries. I'm your host, Jenn Trepeck, talking wellness and weight loss for real life.
[:[00:00:58] And since I [00:01:00] first met today's featured guest, I have been looking forward to this conversation. And then since that time. A lot of things have changed in the economy, in the US relationship with other countries. We have a new food pyramid. All of those things kind of impact this conversation. Like every time something happened.
[:[00:01:45] Through Discover Ag, she blends food, agriculture, and pop culture to make conversations about the food system accessible and engaging. Please welcome Tara Vander Dusen. Hi. Thanks for having me. Yes, I'm so excited you're here. Like I said, I've [00:02:00] been very much looking forward to this conversation. And to your point, a lot has changed since we first talked about having this discussion and coming on the podcast.
[:[00:02:25] You get a recipe each week delivered to your inbox, curated articles and additional discounts from me and our partners interview episodes like this one and full video, including some behind the scenes content, access to the community board where we can interact, ask, and answer questions, and so much more.
[:[00:03:02] And then of course, maybe add some super high quality cheese too. So anyway, I love it. Yes, these are super yummy. Even if you're not a mushroom fan, I think you're gonna like these. So, to get this recipe plus this episode in full video access to our community chat, where you can ask me anything, go to a salad with a side of fries.com/membership.
[:[00:03:38] Okay. So Tara, I think the place to start is maybe even understanding like the food industry versus agriculture, right? So from your perspective, what are sort of the similarities and the differences there? Yeah, I feel like that is a big part of the conversation because I think right now online when we're [00:04:00] looking at food, so often it's just all lumped kind of together, like, and there's so many, I mean, it's obviously a huge industry.
[:[00:04:25] And it's very similar within the food system. You know, I kind of always like to think of it as like the potato. The potato is at the farm, you know, a potato farmer. Grows the potato, then that is agriculture. To me, that is the farming side of things. From there, that potato may go into a restaurant and be, you know, a baked potato.
[:[00:05:01] Yes, I completely agree. And we obviously like need each other. I was actually just on the account of someone, um, that was a corn farmer who produced for Doritos, and I was like, oh, that's so cool to see that they know for a fact that's their end product. And so obviously it is like a symbiotic relationship where a lot of cases farmers don't want to be the farmer, the marketer, the direct to consumer sales.
[:[00:05:51] You guys on your podcast, discover Ag did a three part series about pesticides, and I get that you guys are not crop farmers, but I [00:06:00] think you're closer to this and especially given your background, you know, and studying soil and those kinds of things. So can you speak to a little bit of like pesticides and genetically modified, or I guess now they're called bio-engineered crops and like, you know what people really need to understand about some of these things?
[:[00:06:36] Certain way. And that is obviously again on like a variety of things. If that is in dairy, it means, you know, your cows have to have access to pasture so many days out of the year. You know, it can mean whether you have to have organic pesticides or you know, not organic pesticides, right? Like it's all of those conversations.
[:[00:07:19] And so to your point, I think one of the things to think about is. GMOs, pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, all of those things. And a whole scale of other things are like tools and farmers toolboxes. And so different farmers obviously are going to use different tools, going to practice using those different tools in different ways, and I think that's what comes down to like management decisions.
[:[00:08:07] I found that just like fascinating that they were like, you know, just for our piece of land, this is what actually makes the most sense. And they were direct to consumer, a wine distributor. And so they were talking, they were like, we just have conversations with our consumers about why we're choosing to not be organic, why we're choosing to use that quote unquote chemical.
[:[00:08:46] Yeah. What you're sharing is also making me think of a few different pieces here, because as a consumer. I suppose like this wine company or grape grower is direct to consumer, but for many [00:09:00] of us, like if we don't necessarily live with access to a farmer's market or some of these places, like how can you recommend people get some of this information?
[:[00:09:30] And so I wish there was like a straightforward answer to this, but it's often a lot of nuance and a lot of conversation. You know, I'm a conventional. Dairy producer. So my milk goes into the most conventional supply chain. There is a lot of our milk actually goes towards cheese, but that's a whole nother conversation.
[:[00:10:04] Spear Fisher, a woman who does spearfishing. And I remember asking her this exact question. I was like, how do I know what fish to buy at the grocery store? Like, because I, again, I'm not to make a pun, but like I'm a fish outta water when it comes to Yeah. Buying fish at the grocery store. Like I know nothing about it.
[:[00:10:34] You have to take into account like how high does environmental impact rank on your scale? How high does nutrition rank? Like are you trying to get more protein? Are you trying to get less sugars? Like there's just like a whole host of things that people care about. And I think for me, again, going back to like that fear of food in the grocery store.
[:[00:11:15] I can know exactly. What grass fed means to them. What does grass finish mean? Like there are, even within that terminology, there's a whole host of things. And so that may be like, if that is something you are super passionate about, then like figuring out a way to buy direct from the farmer I think is important.
[:[00:11:46] And again, like I think that that is like important of being able to have those choices and being able to like, I don't know, kind of understand like the value system, what matters to you, and then spending your dollar in that place a thousand percent. I was having this conversation recently [00:12:00] about, you know, I believe changing our food system.
[:[00:12:20] I don't know which company it was. It was a cereal company and I wanna say it was Fruit Loops, but like, I can't be for sure. But it was one of those type of cereals and the manufacturers actually took out synthetic food dyes and they weren't as bright color. Their sales went down. And so like consumers can say they, you know, they don't want X, Y, Z, like you can put anything in place of synthetic dyes, but if the dollar doesn't show up, their food companies aren't gonna like, they're gonna follow the dollar, right?
[:[00:13:02] So I think we have to be very intentional as consumers of being like, okay, what is it we want? I will say one caveat is a lot of times there is research on this that consumers will say they're like voting with their dollar and they are, are making decisions at the grocery store. And at the same time, a lot of cases they don't know.
[:[00:13:44] If you are a consumer that doesn't know all about all those tools, it's really hard to like make that decision. I hope I'm saying this in a way that makes sense. Yeah, for sure. And I'm with you because I think. Again, like why we're even having this conversation is so that we can all make [00:14:00] informed choices.
[:[00:14:28] A local family farm man, I think this has gotten so skewed, this whole idea of the factory farm. And I don't say that to make light of it. It's just like overwhelmingly in our country, the majority of agriculture of a farm on the farm basis is family farms. I think in dairy it's 98% of all farms are family owned and operated.
[:[00:15:04] Like some of it is like geographically how things are set up and how close you are to cities and all of these different things, how much access you have to, to land. You know, the flyover states are obviously famous for having a lot of land, so things are going to look different than say, like heavily populated areas.
[:[00:15:42] But then at the same time, I think consumers so often hear about like the big packers. You know, and that is, I mean, four companies have over 80% of the market supply of actually packaging up the beef and shipping it to the grocery store. And so again, it goes back to the, what we started this entire [00:16:00] conversation on is the different segments.
[:[00:16:23] That there is no family farms and that it's all like factory farms. And a lot of times on the podcast, we'll actually interview farmers. I interviewed a potato farmer. I'm gonna pick on a potato farmer again. Sorry. Potato farmers twice in one. Say We love a good potato around here, so you know. Yeah, that's true.
[:[00:16:52] Where can we buy it from your website? And it's like. Family farms provide the grocery store with food also. And there's a lot of other systems in there with [00:17:00] imports and exports and all of those complicated things. But like this farmer was like, there's no place you can buy my potatoes besides just at the grocery store, you know?
[:[00:17:30] Because I think it's this whole like agriculture and our, I hate using the phrase food system, but you know what I mean, and like the food supply is such a microcosm of our little individual lives in the grand scheme of things too, in that interplay. You wanted to talk about quality, so maybe we can start there and we can get into the bigger conversation.
[:[00:18:15] It's not a motivation problem, it's definitely not a willpower problem, even though that's what you always ask me. It's what happens when health is built on rules instead of on understanding. So that's exactly why I wrote Uncomplicating Wellness, not to tell you what to eat, how to move, or what to eliminate.
[:[00:18:53] The book is for you. Text the word book BOOK to 8, 3 3 8 0 1 [00:19:00] 0 5, 0 0. To learn more, again, text the word book to 8 3 3 8 0 1 0 5 0 0. Okay, Tara, let's talk about quality. Okay. So I feel like I'm gonna pick on dairy for once, since I'm in dairy, and it's an easy one for me to talk about. But I feel like I always get asked about like organic versus, uh, regular.
[:[00:19:41] So we have a number of different things we test for on our farms that relate to quality, even on conventional side. So, you know, a lot of times people ask about like. Antibiotics on a conventional dairy, we are able to give our cows antibiotics if they're sick. It's prescribed by a vet. We have a vet that comes out once a week and does herd health checks, and when that cow [00:20:00] is on antibiotics, she's actually milked in a separate like milking pen and she has a withdrawal period.
[:[00:20:25] And so it's not only tested at the farm, it's actually tested again at the plant. And then throughout processing there is milk is one of the most tested products. That's actually really fascinating when you get all of it was gonna ask, why is that? I think it's like an easy thing to test, right? Like if you think about another product, like if you were to test an Apple, you'd be testing that like single apple, where in a tank of milk you're able to take like a, what would it be called?
[:[00:21:09] So it is like very serious for that to happen in our farm. And so obviously every gallon of milk on the shelf is free from antibiotics. Again, it's the farming practice. Organic does not ever give their cows antibiotics. Again, if that's important to you, organic is a great option. If that is something that's not as important to you, you know, maybe conventional milk is the right option for you.
[:[00:21:52] We actually have a nutritionist for our cattle that plan all of their meals depending on what stage of life they're in, which I, A lot of people think that's. Wild, but [00:22:00] it's really down to a science of making sure they're getting the right combination of, you know, fats, proteins, vitamin minerals. On a more basic level that's making sure they get the right combination of grasses and, and vitamins and all, you know, whatever's available to us.
[:[00:22:33] And the seed has a lot of protein. And so it's a great thing to be able to feed cows. And so again, that probably isn't getting fed in other places, but that's what's. Local to us. Next month we're actually going out to a citrus farm in Florida for Discover Ag TV series to unpack exactly how an orange goes from farm to the packaging plant.
[:[00:23:07] What does that look like in a healthy diet for a cow Is. Super critical and important. I love how like regional it is and yet it's so lost in the conversation when we hear about these things for sure. It definitely is and like, I don't know, I compare it to any other industry you don't know anything about.
[:[00:23:44] It's impossible for every person to know every backend of everything that's going on. I don't know how my cell phone works, like I don't, I don't know how my car works, you know? And so it is really like, and yet at the same time, I think food is so personal, people, it's literally what you serve on your table.
[:[00:24:13] But when I give a keynote speech, I actually have a slide that shows a picture of my grandfather hand milking cows in Holland, and then it has a modern day milking barn. And for me, when you think about how far removed people are from agriculture, most people are grandparents, great grandparents removed from the farm, and it's really hard to catch people up on.
[:[00:24:48] They do wanna know where their food comes from. So how do we catch them up to where we're at now? Just like our cell phone doesn't look like the old rotary phone. Right? But like, how did we get here? Like imagine waking [00:25:00] up. And the last phone you saw was like a dial phone and now we have a cell phone, right?
[:[00:25:21] Better or worse, right? Absolutely. Absolutely. I think a lot of times when our barns and our farms and our fields look different, uh, the equipment we use looks different. It can be very jarring. I mean, there's a lot of research showing people don't love, like technology in relation to food, right? Like that's not something that they love hearing about.
[:[00:26:00] And I think those are all really good things. So I always like tell people when you come like. You're gonna be surprised, but I hope you leave being surprised in like a really great way. And that's what we found. We do a lot of actually on-farm tours on our farm and it's almost always like people just leave with feeling so much better about knowing where their food comes from.
[:[00:26:38] You know a cattle rancher? Yeah. Yeah. My co-host is a cattle rancher. I would say standard. Most farms you have to have a vet. Obviously majority of farms also have a nutritionist. It's funny, when I started sharing online, so I'm very much not on the cow side. I always joke that I'm the backend of the dairy.
[:[00:27:08] And I was like, well I think it's fascinating. The dairy farmers like recycle their water. Like we use one gallon of water on our farm up to five times. And he was like, yeah, but everybody does that. And I was like. That's the point though. People don't know that. Yeah. Had no idea's. Really cool idea. Can ask a dumb question.
[:[00:27:39] I think when I was a kid, you only had to cool it down to like 45 degrees. So like, again, rules just keep getting more and more strict because we know so much more about quality, quality controls. So we actually use the groundwater to cool the milk, so they will run and pipe side by side. So the water takes the heat from the milk, the milk.
[:[00:28:13] We're gonna be able to then take that water once it's sanitized equipment and flush out like the, say the back of the barn is kind of what I would imagine. And as you can imagine, when cows are standing around, they're going to do certain things and we need to flush out the back of the barn. And so we use that water for that.
[:[00:28:43] And we will actually apply it out onto our crops to grow the crops to feed the cows. And so it's not only water, but at that point has fertilizer in it as well. Natural fertilizer from our cows. And so we're able to grow our crops. So it's, it's fascinating. It's anywhere between four and five times is what they've kind of done some different research on to [00:29:00] see how many times it gets recycled.
[:[00:29:23] What's your understanding of that and then how that sort of plays into this quality conversation? Yeah, grass fed versus grain fed is an interesting conversation. I think it's only like ramping up more and more, and I think there's still a lot we don't know on the macro level for milk and for beef.
[:[00:29:57] That the majority of cattle in this country spend up to [00:30:00] two thirds of their life out on pasture. So I talked about cow-calf operations. Those are what you think of as the family cattle ranches. In most cases, the most efficient way to feed those cattle is out on pasture. So they are out on grass for the majority of their life.
[:[00:30:30] And so I think that's something that a lot of times when people think about grain versus grass fed, they think that like this grain fed animal has been, you know, grain fed. Its, you know, entire life. It's never seen a piece of grass. And that's usually not the case at all. And then with grain fed, you know, again, this is where labeling is crazy.
[:[00:31:13] I think a lot of times it comes down to people having, you know, different preferences, different budgets, different, so many different things, but even those cattle that are receiving grain, they continue to receive grass. They do have a nutritionist that's working with them that understands, you know, ruminant animals and how their different stomachs.
[:[00:31:53] So in most cases, a lot of the cattle in this country starts out all the same again at those cow calf operations out on [00:32:00] pasture. And so then the finishing quote unquote, is what changed. And so that terminology is like grass finish means they continue to be fed grass all the way till the end. Yeah. And so it's kind of confusing.
[:[00:32:31] And so it, it's really interesting how, you know, I feel like when you're a farmer, you, yeah, you do, you get your blinders on for your little, you know, sector of the industry. Yeah. So I wanna take this sort of more macro. Okay. We've talked about the food system, the food supply, imports, exports. For you or you and Natalie, I'm, you know, how has all of this impacted you?
[:[00:33:14] And then Natalie and I research them and we have a conversation on our podcast about them. And so I spend a lot of my time researching things. In the food industry, food system agriculture that are so outside of anything I would've ever learned about. And it has taught me very quickly how nuanced these conversations are and how much ins and outs there are.
[:[00:33:47] At the same time, you know, there was a time not that long ago where you only had avocados at certain times of the year. They weren't something you had every single day. And we as consumers, I'm gonna lump myself into this too, realize how much we loved them. We wanted them [00:34:00] all times of the year. We wanted them no matter where we lived in the country.
[:[00:34:23] If Mexico decides to flood the market, it is going to be, have a huge impact on avocado farmers here. And we actually interviewed one of our episodes right now on our TV series over on YouTube, discover Ag on the Road is where you can find it. We actually interview an avocado farmer and she talks about some of the challenges that, you know, imports an X.
[:[00:34:55] And I'm sure his answer is. It was probably much more complicated than his single line answer [00:35:00] to me, but it, you know, we are in a global market is the point of this, and it makes it very complicated. As dairy farmers, we're exporting anywhere from 15%, 20% of our milk to other countries. So I obviously feel passionate about exports to other countries.
[:[00:35:34] System and we've gotten to where we're at again for a reason that we as consumers want what we want all times a year at the grocery store, no matter where we're located. And so it, it creates a system that it is complicated to be able to supply consumers with those, you know. We actually spoke at South by Southwest at the food track.
[:[00:36:13] Um, and it's just kind of wild that that's the world we live in and. Going back to imports and exports. A lot of that is because of imports and exports and being able to bring products from around the world to us on any given day. Yeah. Do you guys see the impact of tariffs or changes like on your local farm?
[:[00:36:58] It is so complicated [00:37:00] that it's not always like directly, like I, I don't know how many times I've been standing in a grocery store and someone grabs a gallon of milk and being like, must dairy farmers must be doing really good right now. And I'm like, oh, our prices are really low. You know, like, and like it is.
[:[00:37:28] That is like a fact of life, it seems like, and it's a marketing ploy that grocery stores know. So they're gonna have you walk by every single thing they can have. You walk by. To get those loss leaders in the grocery store. So again, going back to the, whether it's direct or indirect, yes, there's absolutely cases where the market is a direct impact on farmers and they feel it absolutely at their core, and it is really difficult.
[:[00:38:08] Yeah, and it's like we're certainly not gonna solve the world's food supply and this food system here, but I think to help everybody understand that so much of our food is local and there's so much that goes into. Creating that food source, even if it isn't marketed to us, even if it isn't on that label or those kinds of things.
[:[00:38:49] It's very complicated. But I think that if something that's very important is, I don't know if 10 years ago I would've had the chance to come on a podcast like this. I think we're in such a unique experience [00:39:00] where people, again, are asking the questions. They do wanna know where their food comes from, and I don't think.
[:[00:39:20] How do we bridge that gap? I don't know how many conferences I sat through and it's like, I feel like COVID was a huge accelerator in this conversation and we've only continued to ramp it up since then. So now we're, you know, we're six years into that and that's. Actually, I think a really positive that's come out of that is people started asking questions.
[:[00:39:54] Conversations not to end like on a political note, but I think that in the political landscape, one of the [00:40:00] things I'm excited about is at least people are talking about food and farming on a national scale. You know, you mentioned the food pyramid at the beginning of this, like if it's right or wrong or indifferent.
[:[00:40:25] And so, like you said, this is a stupid question. I am really at the point in my life that I'm like, there is not a stupid question because let's just ask them, like, let's get them out there. I mean, I'm going to go learn about. Stone crab next week in Florida, and I guarantee it's my favorite. I'm gonna be asking my favorite.
[:[00:40:58] So thank you. Yeah. Thanks for [00:41:00] having me on. This was so much fun. Absolutely. Alright, really quick before I lose you are rapid fire off topic questions. Okay, great. What's the best thing you've done for your health this week? What's the naughtiest thing you've done related to your health this week? You know, like the salad and fries.
[:[00:41:35] No. What was the next question? Like, the worst thing I've done for my health is last night I was like, no, I'm having two glasses of wine while I take a hot bath. And so that's what I did and it was just what I needed. So I feel like there are two sides to every coin. I love it. Alright. If you weren't a dairy farmer, what would you do?
[:[00:42:10] Favorite book on any topic other than your area of expertise. Or you could give us a fiction book. I feel like I have so fallen into the trap of most millennial women where I got so into reading, you know, all the books that were helping you grow your business, self-help, all of those things, which were amazing and were so needed at the time of my life in like twenties, early thirties, and now I've just gone so far the other direction.
[:[00:42:52] I used to do the same thing and then now I'm just all audio book. If you could cure one ailment disease or sickness, what would it be? [00:43:00] I don't know if there's one. I feel like we've been talking about food this whole time. Obviously this is a food podcast, but I, I believe in like Whole Foods, you know, talking about the grocery store.
[:[00:43:35] And while I am a firm believer in modern medicine and I'm on medication for my high blood pressure, I do try to think about like what whole foods can I pick that can supplement what modern medicine is also doing? Amazing. If you were a superhero, what would be your superpower? Oh my gosh, this is easy. I wish I could like transport to different places.
[:[00:44:06] For sure. What's your biggest pet peeve? I think maybe the people that don't change, I, I don't know if that is like too broad, but like I really love when people grow and develop and I hate when you talk with someone and they're like, still in the same place. I don't like, I'm like, okay, so you don't like this about yourself?
[:[00:44:40] We were just talking about this on the podcast actually, that we were joking about the protein craze, that everything is protein right now. Yeah, and we were talking, I do think it's like here to stay, but I have decided the new frontier can, like foods kind of like stay in their lane like. I don't need a protein popcorn, but I'm super excited about my high protein yogurt, right?
[:[00:45:15] Agreed. I'm like, you don't have to have protein in your coffee. It's okay. No, but like, I'm not gonna lie, I love the high protein yogurts. Right. You know, like, I'm like, that makes sense. There was already protein there to begin with. Love it. Well, thank you. Thank you. Tara Van Juin. Tell everybody how to connect with you, where to learn more and stay in touch with everything you guys are doing.
[:[00:45:48] We're gonna be very much talking about what's trending right now and just bringing a farmer focus to it. And then we'd love to have you over on YouTube. Our new YouTube series is Discover Ag on the Road, and every month we drop a new episode [00:46:00] and we've discovered oysters, we've discovered finger lime, avocados, and then as I said, we're going to.
[:[00:46:24] What does it stand for? I know you're curious. What's it supposed to remind us to do? I'll fill you in on Friday and this week's a bite-size bonus episode. Be sure wherever you're listening, click the plus sign or the follow button so that your app will alert you on Friday morning when it goes live. Well, as always, everybody, I'm your host, Jenn Trepeck.
[:[00:47:05] Thank you again for joining us. And friend, if you are not already a member, join us in the Happy Healthy Hub. You'll go to a salad with the side of fries.com/membership. This shows your support for this podcast, this community and above all supports your health. On top of this week's episode, in full video with Behind the scenes content, your 24 7, ask Me Anything on the community board, you'll get this week's recipe for wild mushroom and grass fed beef meatballs.
[:[00:47:53] Share us with a friend and we'll be back next week. Always remember you deserve it and you are worth it. Happy, healthy.