From the Editor

If you like to comb through numbers and data, this year’s 2016 Beef Statistics poster, found inserted in the center of this issue, is a trove of goods. Here are just a few that are worth your close attention:

Some people feel the anxiety of aging around the holidays or maybe with their birthday. For me, the stark reminders that I’m growing long in the tooth come in June, when my kids finish another year of school.

Given how little the American public wanders into an honest discussion about its food policy, when a news story does broach the topic, you have to pay attention.

Having listened to the opposing sides waging a fierce debate over genetically modified organism (GMO) food labels in the U.S., it’s painfully obvious who’s winning the battle. And it isn’t the family farm or ranch.

It is a pattern as predictable as it is hollow. In every U.S. presidential election year, the guys in polished suits scrambling to get like-minded voters to the polls throw out a tired old claim that this is the most crucial election our country has ever faced. 

With the new year came news that the USDA and Department of Health and Human Services approved new 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines and an endorsement for red meat as a healthy protein.