This one tells me that people DO want to discuss the issues and the book, which is good news for me, because my grad project will have an emphasis on discussion.
I like how each interview and each article are different. Will We Ever Eat Well Again?
I love this comment in response to a vegetarian’s response to the original poster:
Truman,
Your story brings back another one from the early postwar years.
A missionary went to a cannibal tribe and was preaching them the horror and sin of eating human flesh.
The chief spoke up : “You’re telling us Father that it is a sin to eat human flesh, yet you white people just had a big war, where you killed and ate lots and lots of people!”
“Oh no, my son – said the missionary- it is true that we had a big war and lots of people were killed, but we didn’t eat them!”
“White man big fool- said the chief- if you don’t want to eat them, why kill them?”
So they ate him.
Cheers, Ed.
(Truman, unfortunately, can’t simply take a joke for what it is, so you can stop reading then!)
This man is my new hero. Now Chapters, please, hurry up and ship my book!!!
I’ve been talking a lot about organic and home-grown fruits (“eff arr double o tee”) and vegetables. I’ve noted that I’m doing my grad project on it. In doing some research today, trying desperately to find some blogs on related topics, I came across this interview at Gremolata with Canadian Thomas Pawlick, author of The End of Food: How the Food Industry Is Destroying Our Food Supply — And What You can Do about It.
Continue reading Gremolata interview with Thomas Pawlick »
Hands-on learning is a great way to get kids excited about food, where it comes from, and how to eat healthy. Growing up, we were given seeds for tomato plants, cucumber, etc. I enjoyed watching my mom’s tomato plants grow, and then savouring the tasty fruit when it ripened. In the fall, we picked granny smith apples from the old tree (RIP). Now the effort to curb obesity in the United States has produced some juicy, fun education. Ohio farm family teaches kids nutrition
Mmm… carrot cake… ahem.
Eleven-year-old Timothy Thomas, of Norwalk, carefully seasoned his fish with salt and pepper, but he wasn’t too sure about adding strips of zucchini and squash. “I’m a picky, picky eater,” he said.
Still, he enjoyed learning about vegetables. “It’s cool to see where it comes from,” he said.
(That makes me think about the detachment between where fruits & vegetables actually come from, and where we acquire them. The grocery store has absolutely nothing to do with the farm, or my mom’s tomato plants in the back yard.)
Continue reading Veggie U »
MMM!!!
We were given some peaches from a fruit stand/store near Keremeos, BC (close to Penticton & Osoyoos — yeah, I’ve never heard of it, either!). Ohhh my. I just ate a nicely ripe one, and it was DRIPPING with juice and flavour! Unbelievable!
The last peach I had tasted like nail polish remover, if one could taste a smell, and it was absolutely awful. This peach, tonight, is what peaches are supposed to and do taste like! You know when you enjoy it incredibly so that it’s a real peach, and not some combination of pith and chemicals.
Mm, mm, mm, mm, mmm!
We were also given home-grown potatoes and tomatoes. I can’t wait to sample them. The home-grown grapes we tried were incredible, too. Currently I am also enjoying plums from my parents’ front yard, and friends have enjoyed them, too. When I get a house, I want fruit trees!
Featured in this week’s 24 Hours newspaper is a series on environmental toxins. Today’s was “Toxic nation, toxic families.” Tests done across the country revealed that, “of 68 possible toxic chemicals tested for, a staggering 39 were detected in our children.” The amount of toxins in children were higher than their parents! For more information, including helpful tips, suggestions on how to improve the health of your home environment, and a petition, please visit Toxicnation.ca
What I’m doing to reduce my risk of cancer and other diseases, by making healthy choices (according to the list on the website above, plus some extras):
– replacing my polycarbonate (#7) Nalgene water bottle with polypropylene or polyethylene
– choosing steel and cast iron over Teflon
– choosing fresh and frozen foods, or foods canned in glass jars, instead of canned foods in tin
– using biodegradable, natural dish soap, and avoiding cleaners with chemicals and antibacterial formulas
– opting for wax paper and safe plastic containers instead of plastic wrap, especially in the microwave
– using the stove and oven instead of the microwave whenever possible
– choosing natural materials (cotton, linen, solid wood)
– using The Keeper cup (women only!)
– avoiding store-bought microwaveable popcorn and movie theatre popcorn; using instead organic popcorn kernels cooked in a pot over the stove, with real butter
“Fat Factors”, by Robin Marantz Henig. Posted by Andrew V. Uroskie.
This article is about the role of gut microbes and viruses in determining a person’s weight. The researchers concluded every person’s menu of microbes is different, therefore the way in which they use calories varies, as well.
“A diet has a certain amount of absolute energy,” [Jeffrey Gordon] said. “But the amount that can be extracted from that diet may vary between individuals — not in a huge way, but if the energy balance is affected by just a few calories a day, over time that can make a big difference in body weight.”
It is a long but very fascinating article that provides insight into the complexity of obesity and its causes.
I enjoy taking baking and fruit to school for my morning and/or afternoon snack. Months ago, I saw a friend eating a granola bar and thought, gee, it would be pretty cool to make my own to bring to school. I’ve finally found a recipe with ingredients I had on hand, and that I agreed with. (No “quick oats,” no margarine, no non-stick sprays, no fake peanut butter.) I realised I don’t have honey or icing sugar.
Continue reading Peanut butter oatmeal bars, yum! »
Thanks to my mother for sending me this link to Robert Brady’s post about Monsanto and the Terminator seed. Please read the full article here.
I knew about the Terminator seed from Ban Terminator, a campaign to ban, worldwide, Terminator:
Terminators, or GURTS (Genetic Use Restriction Technologies), are a class of genetic engineering technologies which allow companies to introduce seeds whose sterile offspring cannot reproduce, preventing farmers from re-planting seeds from their harvest. The seeds could also be used to introduce specific traits which would only be triggered by the application of proprietary chemicals by the same companies. (Excerpt from Ban Terminator.)
The other, bigger problem reported in the article is the government and corporations’ ability to completely control the people, farms, agricultural industries, and food supplies, GLOBALLY. Farmers who currently, and in the future, adopt the genetically modified way to increase food crops will see themselves having to fork over money in order to keep buying seeds every year — because the crops will yield sterile seeds. Oh, and, any farmers who are getting patented seeds “unlawfully,” will be unable to use them the next year through their traditional methods of saving seeds. The movement would render farmers penniless. (If you’ve seen The Corporation, you might remember the part about farmers doing much better by traditional, natural methods.)
D&PL [Delta & Pine Land] calls the thousand-year-old tradition of farmer-saved seed by the pejorative term, ‘brown bagging’ as though it is something dirty and corrupt. Excuse me?
Or what about what “Kissinger said back in the 1970’s, ‘Control the oil and you can control entire Continents. Control food and you control people…'” Are you scared yet?
With Terminator patent rights, once a country such as Argentina or Brazil or Iraq or the USA or Canada opened its doors to the spread of GMO patented seeds among its farmers, their food security would be potentially hostage to a private multinational company, a company which, for whatever reasons, especially given its intimate ties to the US Government, might decide to use ‘food as a weapon’ to compel a US-friendly policy from that country or group of countries.
Food as a weapon? Who are the real terrorists here — Islamic extremists, or the US Government and their corporate friends? Think about it.
Yeah I’m just rattling them off, tonight.
I might not be if I’d had enough butter, because I really, desperately wanted to make more apple crisp tonight. It’s funny… I go most of my life hardly ever baking. Oh, mom, you are so good at it I didn’t need to! And I put too much rum in the rum balls last year (and I don’t even drink!).
I made banana bread recently, and, well, you can read about that disaster here. I’ve wanted to make apple crisp for awhile because it’s just so damn good. I’ve started to like and consume oats quite a bit, and I knew I had all the ingredients (except cinnamon, but I rectified that pretty quickly).
Horrified, of course, to discover that we bought artificial vanilla extract… sigh… but I guess that’s what ya do when you’re living paycheque to paycheque. Tastes fine. Anyway.
I made some a few days ago, and not enough because it was gone the next afternoon. Yup. And no more apples. Got the man to pick up 12 today. He bought Galas… yum. The ones I used the other day were, uh, early something or other. I’d like to think early girl, but that’s tomatoes.
Here’s the recipe, from the book my sister so kindly passed down called “Cooking without Mom.” No kidding.
Continue reading Apple crisp! »
I found this article on Dr. Mercola’s website: “Politically Incorrect: The Neglected Nutritional Research of Dr. Weston Price”.
You know, it’s funny how seemingly misunderstood food, nutrition, and a “balanced diet” are, considering how important it is. I remember high school; the triangle. They were right about the sweets at the top, and perhaps the carbohydrates at the bottom have been challenged. HOWEVER, I’ve always found the low-carb thing to be somewhat preposterous because I was always told we gain a lot of energy from carbs. The painting contractor chickie makes an interesting point about the whole low-fat thing as well: “Fat free, lite and diet foods make people fat, by the way. Only fat people buy these products. Ever noticed?” If it doesn’t make them fat it might kill them, because aspartame is deadly, and will kill ants… in case you have an ant problem. (Might wanna try boiled potato leaves instead.)
But I digress.
The article I referred to above is about the findings of Dr. Weston Price. He discovered that Native peoples with their traditional diets were incredibly healthy, and had “on average, less than 1% of tooth decay”! (I’ve heard about this before, but what are we going to do in our society anyway, since we’re basically screwed.) Do read about his findings; I think they will surprise you.
My grad project will explore what the food industry has done to ruin nutrition. If I can, I’ll be a little more politically charged and criticize the pharmaceutical industry as well. I think they’re all in cahoots. It’s capitalism. “But we are a capitalist nation!” you say. I can’t remember the clever statement I had in response to that, but why should we deny our bodies what we fundamentally need, just because a handful of people are greedy? Are those people, too, eating foods abnormally high in sugar, and tomatoes that might as well be plastic? Cardboard potatoes?
Man, potatoes are so good, too. I want a vegetable patch! Is nothing sacred?
