Fellowship of Iron and Earth

A poem by Tim McGreevy

We do not seek fortune or fame. We work the land until we need a cane. We understand the face of pain. We feel the sting of judgment and shame. And we do our best to hide the strain of too much water or too little rain.

We are the people who plant and seed. We feed the world and those in need. The unsung heroes of death and birth. We are the fellowship of iron and earth.

We are the medics of our soil's health, the stewards of our planet's wealth on the front lines of drought and flood, battling the elements with flesh and blood. We are the first to feel the rising temperature range because we are the first responders to climate change.

We are the people who plant and seed. We feed the world and those in need. The unsung heroes of death and birth. We are the fellowship of iron and earth.

Our job is to put food on the table. And when people eat, the world is stable. We feed everyone who comes ashore. Black, white, brown, and more. So, we take an oath to feed the poor. For if we don't, there will be war.

We are the people who plant and seed. We feed the world and those in need. The unsung heroes of death and birth. We are the fellowship of iron and earth. 

Tim McGreevy’s Pulse Breakfast

• Cook lentils 30-45 mins (no need to pre-soak)
• Add a little bit of butter and salt and pepper to taste
• Serve in a bowl with an egg on the side

Research mentioned in the episode: Prospective evaluation of echocardiographic parameters and cardiac biomarkers in healthy dogs eating four custom-formulated diets

Show Notes:

00:00 - Introducing Tim McGreevy and the Power of Pulses

01:57 - How Tim Went from Farmer to Farmer's Advocate

06:20 - Research from the Pea and Lentil Council

08:26 - New Study Debunks Misunderstandings Around Pulse-Inclusive Diets

10:38 - The History of Pulse Ingredients in Pet Food

13:11 - Pulse Industry Impacts from DCM

16:47 - How Did the FDA Announcement Affect Farmers?

19:40 - Damage to US Crop Ecosystems

21:10 - Selecting the Right Pea Varieties for Pet Food (And Why This Is Critical For Research, Too)

27:03 - Demands Fueling Pulse & Plant-Based Innovation in the Pet Food Industry

29:10 - Pulses Proliferating at Natural Products Expo West, And Your Local Grocery Store

30:45 - The Age of Pea Proteins

32:21 - The Health (And Planetary) Benefits of Pulses for Pets

34:38 - A Poem by Tim McGreevy

37:04 - Tim's Pulse-Powered Breakfast Recipe

39:00 - Conclusion and Farewell

Stephanie Clark: Have you ever stared into the soulful eyes of your furry friend and wondered, hmm, what exactly makes that kibble so darn tasty? The answer, my pet loving companions, might surprise you. It all starts with a tiny, but mighty seed bursting with potential, the humble legume. Today, we're peeling back the layers on the fascinating world of pet food and the heroes behind it, our farmers.

Jordan Tyler: If you've been following with us through our DCM series, buckle in for another exciting episode. If you're new, welcome and enjoy. On today's DCM series, we'll focus on the farmers that were impacted by the FDA announcement regarding grain-free pet diets.

Stephanie Clark: Joining us is Tim McGreevey, a passionate advocate for the powerhouse plants, peas, lentils, and chickpeas, and the role they play in nourishing our beloved companions. We sit down with Tim McGreevey, the CEO of American Pulse Association, and the US Dry Pea and Lentil Council. We will talk to Tim about his background and beginnings in the agriculture industry, as well as his role and work with pulse farmers, and even dive into some of the latest research on pulses and pet food.

Welcome to Barking Mad, a podcast by BSM Partners. We're your hosts, Dr. Stephanie Clark and I'm Jordan Tyler.

Stephanie Clark: Tim, welcome to the show. We're eager to dive into the world of pulse crops and their impact on the pet food industry. But first, Tim, tell us a little bit about your journey on the farm. How did you become a champion of these mighty pulse crops?

Tim McGreevy: I was raised actually very close to where our office is on a small farm. I'm one of nine siblings. See, I'm the second of nine. God bless my mother and father, but I was raised on a small farm, and so, we had dairy animals. Of course, we had all kinds of dogs and cats because especially cats, because we had a lot of mice problems and our hay and they were outside cats. My parents never believed in inside pets. Unlike my adult life where we have inside cats in a big way here. So raising our farm, dairy, we raised pigs, we raised the beef cattle, we raised peacocks, we raised chickens. We did our own butchering as, again, a small farm with neighbors. So, while we were definitely a farm to fork operation, and we also had some crop ground as well, which I own now.

I'm actually a farmer and raise pulse crops, peas, lentils, and chickpeas. I raise wheat in a rotation. Also some oil seeds, usually canola. Big agricultural background. My whole dream in life was to be a farmer. And so, if I am one on a very small scale, or pretty small, less than a hundred acres, I got a degree in agricultural communications at Washington State University and a master's degree in agricultural economics. And that was just a terrific education. I farmed full-time out of school for a little bit unti wheat prices went down to $2.50 a bushel, peas were at five cents a pound, and I just couldn't make it. And so, my mom, love my mom, right? She shows me this ad in our local paper, the Lewiston Tribune that said, “Hey, there's that we are looking for someone to be the executive director of the Idaho Wheat Producers Association.” I put on a tie for the first time in my life. I didn't even get married in a tie and I got on an airplane for the first time in my life, because I’d never really been out of the area, and flew to Boise. And lo and behold, they had a weak moment and they hired me.

Stephanie Clark: Thank you for that. I actually come from a family of farmers, so I can definitely appreciate the work and dedication that goes into farming. You know, Tim, last year I had the opportunity to discuss particular studies with the individuals within the council. But I know the Pea and Lentil Council is involved in much more research projects. So what research is the council all involved in?

Tim McGreevy: We have done quite a bit of research, of course, on human consumption, both on nutrient quality as well as health outcomes; beef cattle, pork, and chicken. We hadn't done a lot of work on companion animals. So, everything we've done both on the animal side, more for the commercial animal protein markets and also for human consumption.

I mean, gosh, it doesn't get any better than these crops. They are incredibly nutrient-dense, a great source of vegetable protein, high in dietary fiber. And on top of it, they're also really climate friendly. And so, as we're trying to reduce our carbon and water footprint in our food system, these are really critical crops in every diet, whether it's animal or human diets. If we're going to achieve our climate goals, and the companies are responding to that and responding to what consumers want as well. And so, pulses are a really important food for human health, for animal health, and also for the health of the planet.

And so that was, of course, really great news for the farmers that I represent because these crops are some of the healthiest crops that you can consume. They are high in protein and dietary fiber. They're high in many essential nutrients. And so, it was such a shock to us as an industry to have this report that the FDA came out with saying we should be aware about these crops. And so, it was really great to have this extensive study. So that's what we're most proud of that we're helped invest in the most extensive DCM research that's ever been done.

Stephanie Clark: It can surely take a village to do highly-controlled, prospective research. And just in case you're wondering what that even means, we've got a future episode for you. So be sure to stay tuned.

Jordan Tyler: So Tim, how long have pulses been utilized in making food for pets?

Peas are the least costly pulse that you can purchase today. They yield pretty well and they are at a low cost point. And so that was attractive to the pet food companies. But so they really took off first. And we had good acceptance of lentils in that timeframe. Now today, what we're seeing is this kind of rapid expansion of chickpeas into all different types of formulations for pets, mostly cats and dogs. Of course, the folks that I represent, the processors, are just going, "Oh, wow, this kind of fun." They are taking chickpeas, which we consume in the U.S., primarily as hummus or in their canned form because they're just a terrific product and their taste profile is great. But chickpeas are not the least expensive pulse. They would be towards the higher end because the demand for those has been pretty strong domestically and internationally. They have a neutral flavor profile. They have a little bit more oil in the chickpea than they do in peas and lentils. Not a lot, but a little bit more. And so, it is really attractive for a lot of reasons for human consumption and pet consumption as well.

Jordan Tyler: And just to build on that a little bit, how much of the pulse crop industry would you estimate is actually utilized in pet food today?

Tim McGreevy: Yeah, that's a super hard question to nail down first because there's no public data available for that right now. But we're seeing here just from our kind of internal surveys, probably approaching 300,000 metric tons could be three to 400,000 metric tons.

Tim McGreevy: We had a period when we had a dip in sales. We were just going straight up to the sky were really pet food, especially any new innovation, pet food offerings. Over 50% of the new innovation and new pet foods coming on the market had some sort of pulse crop. They had some sort of pea, lentil, chickpea, or dry bean, and that's the definition of pulses is those four crops. And they were just on a rocket rise. And then the Food and Drug Administration put out a cautionary note and we saw an immediate drop in sales and they were cut at a minimum in half because of all of the social media explosion and dog owners really being concerned as they should be when a big scare comes out and you're feeding these animals these diets that include peas and lentils.

And so, wow, I mean, it was like the spigot shut off. Our prices dropped appreciably below our 10-year averages almost immediately when this announcement over three months, when we saw sales really, really drop, it was contracts that were canceled, the longer-term contracts with pet food manufacturers that were canceled from suppliers in our industry because of this scare. And it was a huge damage to our reputation as a healthy ingredient in pet food and that's still lingers today.

Even though this new research has come out. We still have a lot of work to do to repair the damage within the vet community, who some as early as last week, a board member told me they went into their vet with their dog; and this farmer is actually on my board. And he asked the vet, well, you know, what about feeding the grave free diets with peas and loaves? He says, “Oh no, I don't recommend that.” There's concerns that it could cause the DCM and I wouldn't feed them to my animals. And I went here's a farmer in rural America, surrounded by pea fields, who's telling that to pet owners. And that's a real concern for us. So, we have a lot of ground to make backup to redeem our reputation. And so, yeah, it had a big impact on our industry continues to have an impact. And we're still clawing back from it.

And the current research that came out from the University of Guelph when Dr. Kate Shoveller and her work was a much smaller study but confirming very similar things that the BSM Partners found with their research, it's starting to go the other way now and say, we do have research. You can't malign these ingredients, the pulse ingredients, peas, lentils, chickpeas, and dried beans. They're not the cause of DCM.

Jordan Tyler: That's really awful. So Tim, based on, you know, that observation from Stephanie, and also what you've seen in your experience, how did farmers struggle to maintain their farms or what was it like maybe on a smaller independent farm level?

Tim McGreevy: What we saw is that farmers, because of the drop in pricing, had to move to other crops that were more profitable, which again, these crops are really important in a cropping system. And this is why. They're one of the few crops in the plant kingdom that actually fix their own nitrogen in the soil, which means basically they actually create their own lunch and then they leave an extra sandwich behind for the next crop. And so in terms of their carbon footprint and the cost of production is quite low They lower our need for synthetic fertilizers in the next crop, like wheat or corn or minor oil seeds. And so they're really important to the cropping system.

And so we saw a significant drop in acreage because of the demand for the product drop. You have to consider that the pet food industry with that kind of tonnage, a couple hundred thousand metric tons, is just about 20% of the pea production in the country. We have about a million tons or so production and 20% of that production was impacted in a loss of sales, which translated to lower prices, which means we have lower acreage and was a really big impact on our industry. We're building back from that.

Stephanie Clark: And that's a great point too, Tim, is that when you disturb an agricultural cycle, like these crops that do not only seem to be very self-sufficient, but are also giving back. If you can change that up, you can actually impact on other crops.

Tim McGreevy: It's an ecosystem, right? It's a cropping system. Every farmer, in order, a good steward, they are going to have a good solid cropping system in order to control weeds and diseases and soil health. You have to have a good biodiversity on your farm in order to make sure that your soils are healthy. And pulses are a really big part of that. And this particular incident that happened when there was a big shadow cast over them with really unsubstantiated research behind it had a real impact on the cropping system in the United States. And it just so happens that this particular crop that was targeted has not only been shown repeatedly over the course of introducing agriculture to us as humans over 12,000 years ago.

These were some of the first cultivated crops in the world as humans, and as well as wheat and corn and rice. And we believe that feeding pulse crops, peas, lentils, chickpeas and dry beans are healthy for your pet in combination with a good balanced diet.

And so one of the carbohydrate sources that was used in the study did have low digestibility was two different types of wrinkled peas. So, when it comes to types of ingredients that are used in pet foods, is wrinkled pea a type of pea that would normally be used in pet food? Or what type are you seeing more that is going into that direction of pet food?

Tim McGreevy: Wrinkled peas are not used in pet food. So, when you go to the grocery store, often you'll get the flash frozen peas in your freezer section, right? Those are wrinkled peas. These peas are really high in sugar content, low in protein. And they're still a pea. Okay. They're part of the pea family. We, we still love them, but they're a relatively low acreage compared to smooth green peas that are harvested dry. So, wrinkled peas, they're harvested fresh. And most of them go immediately to packer that flash freezes them and puts them in your bag, you know, that you pick up in the store, they are not used in. pet food or if they are, it'd be pretty small amount. And so, what is used is the smooth dried peas which have a higher protein content, they're high in dietary fiber, they have a carbohydrate component of course, much, much different than wrinkle peas. Wrinkled peas are high in starch, they're high in sugar. That's why we love them. In our frozen pea section, they're also, some of them are canned as well, but mostly they're flash frozen and they're a terrific product, but they're really not used in the pet food industry. They're quite a bit more expensive and smooth dried peas are just an entirely different product. And so the research project that came out, I think there was a lot of problems with it.

It was really disappointing that they used. wrinkled peas, which really aren't used in the food industry. And I think they had some other issues with that study because they were using wrinkled peas, probably assuming they were dry peas, that they didn't get the protein content right. They didn't get the dietary fiber right. And so it really wasn't, at least in our reading of it, it really wasn't a balanced diet because they probably assumed they were using. the smooth dry pea nutrient profile when actually they should have been using the regal pea nutrient profile. And so we don't even think their diets were balanced. You need to talk to the people who are actually formulating and say, "Well, what are you actually using?" Because gosh, the pet food formulators that we talk to, these are serious companion animal nutritionists now, and they have to meet really high standards in terms of their pet food formulations that are regulated.

Stephanie Clark: Absolutely, Tim. When we reviewed the paper, the diets utilized were not complete and balanced per AAFCO guidelines. They were actually deficient in important sulfur-containing amino acids that are needed to make taurine. It's interesting that the study, a 28-day feeding trial on grain-containing versus pulse-based diets on cardiac function, levels and digestibility in domestic dogs was a secondary study to a very small seven-day study that was actually funded to specifically look at the glycemic index and pulse crops. Which only makes it more fascinating to me that the authors concluded DCM-like changes when the study was not even designed to assess this, and the parameters collected were all within normal reference range, which means that the dogs were actually clinically normal and healthy.

Jordan Tyler: Yeah, that's super wild to me. Just thinking about how this study is basically parading as something that it was never intended to be and how confusing that is for consumers and how harmful that can be to farmers of pulse crops.

And this kind of reminds me just talking about research of a study that I read recently, that basically showed scientists are finding out that through the domestication of dogs over hundreds of years, they can actually digest plant-based proteins better today than their ancestors could or better than we originally thought.

Stephanie Clark: Exactly, Jordan. And research and innovation is going on. And more and more, we're seeing creative ways of doing more plant-based diets in pet. How about you, Tim? What are some of the innovations that maybe you've seen that you're most excited about in this industry?

Tim McGreevy: I've been doing this for a little over 28 years now, and I don't think there's any more exciting time to be in the industry than right now. The millennial generation, the Gen Z generation, I'm telling you what, they are changing the way we eat. And I know that because my kids are, they're letting me have it. I think a real paradigm shift. in the younger generation really being way more conscious about what they're eating in terms of their health, in terms of their nutrition. But especially the younger set, the Gen Z, what we're seeing in all of our surveys as well as in the marketplace is they have a growing interest in really having an impact on the climate regarding what they eat. And so we see that as a growing trend.

And the good news is these pulses are just loaded in every single category. We are just completely nutrient dense, a good source of protein, an excellent source of fiber. We have high folate levels. We are high in iron. We just have this nutrition package, whether you're an animal or a human. that is just pretty awesome. And so, we are so well positioned, whether it's in human consumption or animal consumption, for those customers who are concerned about their health, they're concerned about the nutrition of what they're putting in their bodies, they want nutrient-dense foods, but they also want foods that are climate-friendly. And we have all of that, and on top of that, we're really affordable. And so the innovation because of that demand that's being generated from the young folks who are becoming the consumers who are really making the decisions on what we buy, it's my kids and my grandkids, and so that is driving this innovation.

I went to Expo West, which was down in Anaheim. And then like honest to God, five out of the 10 booths that you walk by had some sort of a plant, and I can tell you, because I've been to that show before, 10 years ago, no way. It was small scale starting to grow, but now it's like everywhere. It's in everything. I had plant-based bacon with pea starch. Pretty darn good. I had a little power bar with a black buffalo beetle and pea protein to help bind it together. But I took my farmers with me and I said, "You have got to try this because It has pea protein and you guys just created this pea protein." Okay. So you got to try this because this is your product and they, you know, they went, really? But yeah, that's really exciting to me. And of course all the pet food innovation and new formulations that are coming through with peas and lentils and chickpeas right now is really on the rise. Dry beans as well. It's just unimaginable when you walk into the store now and walk down the aisle and the pet food aisle, and you look at the back of the ingredients, which I do, and just see how many pulse crops and really are being included in those formulations. Plant-based is where it's at, and peas, lentils, chickpeas, and dry beans are good for you, so they got to be good for my pet. So let's feed them a little bit of those. Cause we want our pets to be healthy.

Pea protein is everywhere, right? Cause it's a non-GMO, it's a non-allergen. It has a lot of benefits and we're seeing that happen now in the chickpea side as well. There's more chickpea protein because it has a bit more of a neutral flavor. We're seeing a lot of pastas made and of course, most pet foods are extruded. So, they're also extruding whole pea pastas, whole chickpea pastas. And the only ingredient is that, is just chickpeas or peas. It's talk about clean label. It is the ultimate clean label. There's nothing else. And it's really a great product.

Jordan Tyler: Yeah, and speaking about plant-based pasta specifically, this was a couple of weeks ago, but I went to the grocery store and I had a super busy week. And so I was looking in the pasta aisle for something just like quick to make. I ended up buying a brand of like boxed mac and cheese. Please don't judge me.

Stephanie Clark: Esther’s favorite.

Jordan Tyler: Haha. And it wasn't until I got home and started actually making this myself that I realized I started reading the box more closely and realized that it was actually 100% plant-based and I was just like wow first of all great marketing second of all didn't taste any different, so if I didn't read the box I probably would have never known.

Stephanie Clark: Did your husband know?

Jordan Tyler: You know, I think I told him I made the mistake of telling him beforehand so next time I do that I'll have to do a little experiment on him I'm sure he'll appreciate that.

Stephanie Clark: As long as we don't tell Esther, she doesn't know.

So as we wrap up, Tim, is there anything else that you would like to share that maybe the average consumer might not realize with pea and lentils, either agriculture or the council? Anything that you would like to share that you think people should know?

Tim McGreevy: These crops are under consumed in our diets. My hope is, and our role obviously as an organization increased consumption of these really terrific crops. Whenever people talk about pulses recently, it wasn't even too long ago, it was on Valentine's Day, Stephen Colbert featured pulse crops on his little monologue saying, "Well, look at, I have Valentine's by consuming pulses and then it's a root-tooting affair" and all that kind of thing. It's very interesting. There are ways to mitigate that, right? But we don't consume enough fiber in our diet. So, it's not just pulses.

These pulses are an excellent source of fiber. So, whenever you're consuming foods which are high in fiber, you have to develop the microbiome, the biotics, to break down that fiber. And that's true of whether you're an animal or you're human, you've got to be able to figure out those enzymes and then the biology of breaking down that fiber. And when you consume them on a regular basis, and I know this because we have an office in India, okay? And they eat pulses three times a day because that's their primary source of protein; 80% of the population is vegetarian. And so, they're consuming a lot of pulses, and they have built that up and I don't notice that they're particularly stinky.

Okay, and I have a cup of pulses every single day. Every morning, I have chickpeas or lentils because it's a low glycemic index. It really powers you through to the next meal without wanting to snack. You don't spike and go down like when you're eating just refined carbohydrates. And so I think the misconception is these crops are so terrific for your health on so many levels. And plus, if you care about it, they're also really terrific for the planet as well. But regular consumption of them will overcome any discomfort that you have.

And I think I want to share a poem with you that I wrote. It's more like a song, but I won't sing it to you, but I could. Well, but talking about the farmers that I work with, and I call this the Fellowship of Iron and Earth, and it goes like this.

“We do not seek fortune or fame. We work the land until we need a cane. We understand the face of pain. We feel the sting of judgment and shame. And we do our best to hide the strain. of too much water or too little rain. We are the people who plant and seed. We feed the world and those in need. The unsung heroes of death and birth. We are the fellowship of iron and earth.

We are the medics of our soil's health, the stewards of our planet's wealth. On the front lines of drought and flood battling the elements with flesh and blood. We are the first to feel the rising temperature range because we are the first responders to climate change. We are the people who plant and seed. We feed the world and those in need. The unsung heroes of death and birth. We are the fellowship of iron and earth.

Our job is to put food on the table. And when people eat, the world is stable. We feed everyone who comes ashore, black, white, brown, and more. So we take an oath to feed the poor, for if we don't, there will be war. We are the people who plant and seed. We feed the world and those in need. The unsung heroes of death and birth. We are the fellowship of iron and Earth.”

Stephanie Clark: Wow, that's a really beautiful poem. It gave me goosebumps. Who actually wrote that poem?

Tim McGreevy: This is a Tim McGreevy original, written to my farmer friends.

Stephanie Clark: You know, Tim, I can't think of a better way to end this episode than with that poem. Although, before we leave, I'm really interested — what's your breakfast? You had mentioned you eat lentils?

Tim McGreevy: It's pretty simple. Actually, I usually cook up — I have all the pulses because they're all part of my family, but I'm very fond of having lentils. I cook them usually on a Sunday. They don't take long to cook actually, because you don't really need to soak lentils. You can if you want, but they cook in about 30 to 45 minutes. And then I have them just in my little Tupperware thing. my wife and I both. And then I usually just have a couple of lentils with salt and pepper, a little butter, and generally an egg. And that's my breakfast. And it's terrific. It's our pattern.

And I just think it's in also chickpeas and black beans. It's just whatever pulse, but lentils I'm particularly fond of because they are just a really terrific food. And they're terrific for breakfast, especially breakfast because you need that kind of plant protein hit as well and that they just carry me right through sometimes the whole day because I have meetings and I don't get to have lunch. So, I'm glad I have my lentils today.

Thanks so much really to BSM Partners for being our partner in really conducting really independent, solid research on our crops to determine whether there's any issues that we have to address with our pet customers. And it's just so important. I just love you guys and really appreciate what you guys do because it's not what we do, but we appreciate all the work that you've done and that's things that are upcoming as well that we look forward to.

Stephanie Clark: So that wrapped it up for today. We learned that pulse crops like peas and lentils are a healthy, sustainable protein source for our pets and even ourselves. While there were some concerns a few years back, recent research shows they're safe for our canine companions. Plus, they offer a climate-friendly benefit and can reduce the use of fertilizer.

Jordan Tyler: Thanks for tuning in! Check out our show notes for more information on pulse crops, pet food, and a copy of the Tim McGreevey original poem, Fellowship of Iron and Earth. Also, if all this pulse talk has made you hungry, you can find Tim's breakfast lentil recipe in the show notes below.

Stephanie Clark: Thank you for joining us on Barking Mad, a podcast by BSM Partners. If you want to learn more about BSM Partners, please visit us at bsmpartners.net. Make sure you are subscribed to the podcast and share it with a friend. We'd also like to thank our dedicated team, Ada-Miette Thomas, Neeley Bowden, Paige Lanier, and Dr. Katy Miller. A special thanks to Lee Ann Hagerty and Michael Johnson.