Face to Face with America’s Food Chain

By my nature and professional training, I tend to be a skeptical person when claims are made. This comes to about everything except food. If I read something on a menu or see it on a label, I’m likely to take it at face value. I think part of this relates to the fact I have no connection to the food chain. The farm-to-table movement is the big thing right now but I wouldn’t even be able to find my way to a farm to start the journey.

My eyes have been opened. I recently visited the Wild Idea Buffalo ranch as guests of Dan and Jill O’Brien. I love  wildlife but have never been as up close-and-personal as I was with the herd of bison on their ranch including the very intimidating male buffalo (I don’t recommend such a personal encounter unless you have a great guide like Dan).

The trip helped me understand that there is a difference between “grass-fed buffalo” and “100% grass-fed buffalo.” The former is what any producer can say even if the buffalo has had just a few weeks of grass before going off to the feedlot. The latter means literally the animal has spent all its life living and eating off of the Great Plains.

What about taste? Jill was kind enough to share her incredible cooking with me and I can vouch for the fact their buffalo does taste better and healthier.

This was my first trip to South Dakota and to the Great Plains. Back home in Washington, D.C., it’s easy to think one has a handle on America and what makes it tick. But this country is more than just big cities, suburbs and highways. It’s also the places a bit off the beaten path that play an incredibly important role in our history and in the sustainability of our fragile planet.

I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to visit the ranch because it taught me a lot about our country and has made me more questioning of what’s in my diet.

-Adam Shapiro