Book excerpt: Don't believe everything you're told about food—most of it is highly misleading or completely untrue. Written by a farm and food advocate, this book identifies marketing half-truths and guides you through the aisles of the grocery store to simplify smart food shopping and restore your freedom to enjoy food. What is the only "food" on your dinner table that does not contain hormones? How can animals raised for food also be treated with respect? Is it true that a typical serving of broccoli has more estrogen than a serving of steak? Why is more than 40 percent of food wasted in the United States? Food Truths from Farm to Table: 25 Surprising Ways to Shop & Eat without Guilt answers all of these questions and many more, bringing an unheard voice into the highly emotional food debate. Authored by Michele Payn, a leading farm and food advocate with an in-depth understanding of both sides of the plate, this intriguing book helps readers understand how food is really produced, answers food critics, and points out how food marketing and labels are often half-truths or even "less-than-half truths." These 25 food truths enable an understanding of how food is grown, providing a transparent window into today's farming and ranching practices that empowers you to make informed personal choices and determine what is right for your family. Each chapter presents a farm or ranch story, answers questions around a major issue, provides science-based information, and includes a sidebar section of food truths and myths. Readers will gain insights from a food expert who offers a viewpoint that stands in stark contrast to the typical sensationalist and often negative perspective on fashionable food—accurate information that will help you to better trust the intentions and processes in farming and ranching. The revelations in this book will simplify food shopping, reduce guilt about being a consumer, and give you the freedom to enjoy your food again.