Ep 056 Julie Gauthier, DVM: Honey, I Shrunk the Turkey...the Belstville Small White, that is


Episode Artwork
1.0x
0% played 00:00 00:00
Mar 29 2020 29 mins   1
Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address from November 1863 was a document that outlined Lincoln’s attempt to unify the country in a time of war. It might feel a little like that right now, during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, where we are discovering that we can work together, or not. As in the time of Lincoln, people are fighting a brave fight, and some are perishing. We often look to our governments to protect the public good, organize things and help us stay safe. That’s especially true now, from what we hear on the news. Sometimes it’s a discussion about the positives, sometimes the negatives, because there can often be a tendency for any large organization to degrade into a bureaucratic quagmire. But it’s not always like that, because governments are made of people. Today, we bring you Julie Gauthier, DVM, one of the many people we have interviewed who works for, partners with, consults with, or provides expertise to the government body we know as the United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA. Julie is a veterinary epidemiologist and co-author of “Chicken Health for Dummies,” and is the go-to expert on poultry, especially rare breeds. She gave us a tour of her North Carolina farm, including a great opportunity to see and film the Myotonic or “Tennessee Fainting” goat (Elara got up close and personal, but did not ask them to faint). Want a full-sized turkey that actually fits in a little 1940’s refrigerator? She’ll tell you about the Beltsville Small White, a heritage breed turkey developed by the USDA for just this purpose. Today’s monster fridge in most American kitchens has evolved from its tiny origin, and the USDA’s scientists keep moving along with our current needs, developing new breeds for our new lifestyles. Good and bad, we’re all in this together. That includes the USDA and the wonderfully gracious people we have met that are connected with that big government branch. Because while we’re all familiar with the phrase, “…of the people, for the people,” we’d like to add another part in there, with regard to the USDA. “Made up of working people…just like us.” Links: https://www.nass.usda.gov/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltsville_Small_White https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fainting_goat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Agriculture https://www.pastemagazine.com/business/almond-industry/the-billion-dollar-california-almond-industrys-blo/ https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/production-and-inspection/inspection-and-grading-of-meat-and-poultry-what-are-the-differences_/inspection-and-grading-differences https://www.producereport.com/article/new-mexico-now-top-us-pecan-producer https://www.grandin.com/ https://www.ars.usda.gov/people-locations/person/?person-id=479 https://www.ars.usda.gov/people-locations/person?person-id=33783