Dear Friends,

{Before I discuss a scientific experiment involving feeding puréed pork to babies — and no, I’m not making that up — please take a minute to support the First Nation – Farmer Climate Unity March. Even a donation of $10-$20 will make a difference.}

Competition is good, right? That’s been America’s mantra since White settlers “out-competed” nearly every other life form on the continent. Competition is the cornerstone of our national identity, confirmed by prophets like Charles Darwin, Adam Smith and Ayn Rand.

Well, it turns out competition’s only good until the top competitor owns and controls it all. Energy monopolies. Ag monopolies. Financial monopolies. Amazon. The unholy consolidation of Bayer and Monsanto. That sort of thing. Once it’s theirs, the Big Guys turn sour on competition.

(Ask the good people of Decorah, who earlier this month fell only three votes short of beating Alliant Energy, the regional power Goliath.)

Consolidation has rocked the public information sector as well. Ownership of radio signals by a few corporate giants — most notably iHeartMedia — has skewed the public airwaves so far right that if Genghis Khan were a guest on Simon Conway’s show he’d look like a snowflake liberal. Small, independent operators like me have to scrape and scrap for access to even low-power signals.

“I’m not too sure about that.”

Newspaper ownership is increasingly skewed as well. Gannett now owns over 100 dailies (including the Des Moines Register), plus 1,000 weeklies.

When ownership is skewed, so is coverage. Take the Des Moines Register’s front-page story this week about the study showing that babies fed pureed pork grew nearly an inch more than babies who were fed “dairy.”

Casual readers probably saw just the headline — “Pureed pork for babies? — New study touts benefits of meat” — and then rushed off to blend bacon for their baby boy. Only diligent readers who persevered to the rest of the article, on page eight, learned that the study involved a sampling of only 64 formula-fed infants and was supported by the National Pork Board, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and Leprino Foods (makers of processed cheese “products.”)

Which brings us to Q and A time:

Q: Why would a newspaper run a front-page story about an industry-financed study of a statistically meaningless sample with a conclusion easily refuted by objective science?

A: Because that’s what corporate newspapers bought-and-paid-for by industry do.

Q: Does Big Ag own the Des Moines Register?

A: Yes, but not exclusively. See the so-called Iowa Life section, a.k.a., the HyVee page, for detail on another Register “owner.”

Q: What kind of parent lets their baby be part of a scientific experiment?

A: Probably a poor parent desperate for whatever money the study’s backers are willing to pay. I called the study’s principle author, Minghua Tang, to learn that parents received $20 per visit.

Q: Was there a dissenting voice in the story, you know, to provide some semblance of balance?

A: Sort of. Sarah Francis, an Iowa State University nutritionist, expressed concern that “five months is too early to feed meat to infants.” The story also referenced the American Academy of Pediatricians, who recommend breast milk or formula (italics and bold mine) as a baby’s sole nutritional source for about six months.

Q: Why were breast-fed babies not included in the study?

A: I asked Tang about that. She agreed that breast-fed babies are stronger and healthier than formula-fed babies, and that formula-fed babies were at higher risk of obesity later in life.

Q: So, given that, why were breast-fed babies not included in the study?

A: Because, I was told, breast-fed babies are too healthy and would’ve skewed the study. To find young infants facing comparable health challenges to those fed puréed pork or “dairy,” the study needed to find less healthy subjects. Enter babies fed with formula.

Q: Does being an inch longer as a one-year-old really matter?

A: While I haven’t seen any studies on the subject, I doubt a one-inch-longer, puréed-pork-fed baby has a better shot at being the high school valedictorian, sports sensation, or head cheer leader than a baby fed processed dairy products. But what’s not refutable is that a breast-fed baby’s overall happiness inclines him/her to be happier and healthier as an adult.

At this point, I don’t even know where to go with this blog. Let me simply share full disclosure: My talk show, the Fallon Forum, also has business sponsors, and the bar I set for my partners is high. They must be:

– Locally owned;

– Run by men and women of high integrity, both personally and as business owners; and

– Provide an important service that doesn’t exacerbate societal injustice or destroy the planet.

My business sponsors include a grocery store, a coffee shop, three restaurants (one, two and three), a car mechanic, a solar installer, a caterer, an accountant, an insurance company, and a veterinarian.

I’m open to partnering with a new business sponsor or two — perhaps one that promotes breast feeding or natural birth? And while I certainly have my opinions, I try to make sure they’re thoughtful and well-researched. If you think otherwise, I’m happy to entertain criticism. Democracy depends on the free exchange of ideas. Unfortunately, when the media and academic research are sponsored by deep-pocketed corporations more concerned about their profit than good policy, democracy loses.