Do you appreciate your parents – the things they have done for you, life advice, or traditions they passed down? Now is a good time to ponder these things as every year, on the fourth Sunday in July, we celebrate National Parents’ Day!
Our parents affect our lives in so many ways, including influencing the food we eat. For many people, our diets are somewhat based on how we were raised and the foods our parents ate growing up.
Rice is a food staple found in many family recipes. This product that can be steamed, fried, served as a side dish or as the main meal. America produced over 228 million hundredweight*, or 22.8 billion pounds, of rice last year alone. Arkansas accounted for 47.5% of that total by producing 108 million hundredweight (10.8 billion pounds). Looking for ways to replicate mom’s flaky biscuits or dad’s fluffy pancakes? Buttermilk is a crucial ingredient found in many family favorite comfort foods. I am sure the 127 million pounds of buttermilk produced in 2020 kept breakfast fans happy.
Some family activities have ties to food and agriculture. For example, my dad always took me fishing. I love fishing and fish is one of my favorite foods. According to the 2018 Census of Aquaculture, the United States produced 716 million pounds of food fish in 2018.
National Parents’ Day is right around the corner, but every day is a good day to appreciate parents, just like every day is a good day to appreciate the work of America’s producers.
*100 lbs. = 1 cwt (hundredweight)