Future of the Food-Chain

[labelwench]

Carbohydrates, Protein, fats and oils, in various combination, form the constituents of the food we eat. Though we may not often contemplate the fact, all of our food was formerly 'alive', not only the beasts, fowl and fishes. Each unprocessed kernel of grain is a seed with the potential to return to life and beget more kernels. Quite a fascinating concept, to me.

The planet provides the conditions that support the life that in turn nourishes our expanding population. Yet whether one is vegan or omnivore, our industrious efforts to feed our ever swelling numbers in growing, harvesting, processing and distributing the fresh product and processed commodities that we consume ever changes the world around us.

Nature is ever-changing regardless, yet we need now to factor in our own effects when modeling our thoughts and actions toward feeding the present and future population. In this age of technology and urbanization, there is great danger, to my way of thinking, if we continue down this road of disconnect to the land and waters which nourish us. LW

http://foodsecurity.stanford.edu/res...stock_systems/

Crop and Livestock Systems: Pressures, Projections, and Consequences

Explosive growth in the global demand for meat and seafood is changing the nature of food production and putting increasing pressure on natural resources throughout the world. Crop and livestock production operations are growing in intensity and scale, changing their location as a function of population growth and environmental regulation, and increasingly sourcing their inputs (such as feed) and sending their finished products abroad. These changes have important implications for environmental resources (e.g. water, nitrogen, and land), implications which are often hidden by the complex nature of global trade.

[labelwench]

Food in most of North America is abundant and relatively cheap, and our governments and NGO's have many initiatives to assist in distributing food to those who are disadvantaged in our society.

Most of us take food so much for granted that we are unable to imagine anything greater than a temporary shortage of a commodity as a result from a deficiency in the supply line, or fruits and vegetables that may be only seasonal, with even those seasons greatly extended by import from other countries.

Yet, there have been times in our history when food, and some other commodities have been rationed.

Food. Rationed. Horrifying thought!

Certainly, it could never happen again, as our technology is so much more advanced, is it not?

On the bright side, there is a large portion of society that could benefit from such community support, lol, as there is no doubt that many of us consume far more calories than we NEED, or that may even be healthy.

Some FOOD for thought, taken from Britain's historical rationing experience.

http://www.thespec.com/go/food/article/820443

Typical minimum weekly rations for an adult consisted of about three pints (1.5 liters) of milk (but not always) 2 ounces (60 grams) of loose tea, one egg if available, and 2 ounces (60 grams) of butter and cheese.

[labelwench]

For my own edification, I am interested in the types of foods that were rationed in England during the second world war, as my ancestry on my mother's side came from across the ocean.



Food was strictly rationed in World War II. On average, the weekly standard rations during the Second World War were as follows:

Bacon:

Maximum: 8 oz (227 g)

Minimum: 4 oz (113 g)

http://www.yourdiscovery.com/dni-med...4262-37492.jpg

Many sweet-toothed British citizens found sugar rationing a real problem, and it was in short supply for many years afterthe war, finally becoming freely availably again in September 1953.

Amount allowed:

Maximum: 16 oz (450 g)

Minimum: 8 oz (230 g)

[labelwench]

Meat was scarce in World War II, but liver and offal were sometimes available, and there was always SPAM, which became the main meat for many families.

Food rationing in Britain finally ended on 4 July 1954, with meat and bacon the last foodstuffs to go.

Amount allowed:

Maximum: 8 oz (227 g)

Minimum: 4 oz (113 g)

I question the historical accuracy of using a boneless prime rib steak in any discussion of food rationing, as such is considered second only to tenderloin in quality and tenderness and there are very few of the cuts per animal. Even today this cut of meat is self-rationing by cost, and is usually found priced at $10.00/lb and upwards. Unless one has a significant income, these would not be your average household staple offering.

And then there is Spam, or mystery meat in a can, lol. From my childhood, I can recall the clever ways in which my Mother learned to make this 'product' more appealing. Every time I change the label for Spam (and Spam 'Lite', and Klik, and the No Name variant), I can't help but wrinkle my nose. May the future never again be that dark....

LW

[labelwench]

I came across a short video that puts matters into perspective much better than my cut and paste method.

[labelwench]

Life on the farm, is not what it used to be. The era of mixed family farms is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. A bit of farm policy being discussed by the boys prior to a musical interlude.

[labelwench]

Many people are bound by the thought that growing fresh food requires a land base, and for people in urban areas, a community garden plot may not be available. There are several varieties of vegetables that have been developed for container growing, and a simple 'salad bowl' can provide an ongoing harvest of edible greens for a significant period over the summer. These can be grown on a balcony or deck, and even indoors in a window with sufficient lighting. Some greens are incredibly prolific, and individually harvesting the leaves merely stimulates these plants to further growth during their season.



Here in Yukon, I have grown parsley, chives, basil and lettuce under lights, with a timer, through much of the winter as the same conditions that suit myself and the cats, seems also to agree with these species. The lighting is that which lights our home office area for the most part, natural daylight florescent tubes, which are low wattage and economical to operate.

[labelwench]

It's been a while since I have purchased sour cream for use in a recipe and I took a moment to scrutinize the various offerings and brands, from 99% lactose free, through fat-free, low fat and 14%.

Horrors!

Every single one contained modified cornstarch as the second ingredient and the low fat ones contained gelatin and/or 'color' as well as an additional half dozen ingredients besides the bacterial culture.

Whatever happened to the 'cream' and culture?

I do believe that the next time I use this recipe, I shall try substituting plain yogurt in it's place, and there are only two brands of the many offered that are not laced with modified cornstarch, gelatin etc.

It seems like almost all of the natural foods are being replaced by 'food like products'.

Very troubling to my way of thinking.

[Meem]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100818/...s_tainted_eggs

228M eggs recalled following salmonella outbreak

WASHINGTON – An Iowa egg producer is recalling 228 million eggs after being linked to an outbreak of [COLOR=#366388 !important][COLOR=#366388 !important]salmonella [COLOR=#366388 !important]poisoning[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR].
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said eggs from Wright County Egg in Galt, Iowa, were linked to several illnesses in Colorado, California and Minnesota. The CDC said about 200 cases of the strain of salmonella linked to the eggs were reported weekly during June and July, four times the normal number of such occurrences.
[COLOR=#366388 !important][COLOR=#366388 !important]State [COLOR=#366388 !important]health [/COLOR][COLOR=#366388 !important]officials[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] say tainted eggs have sickened at least 266 Californians and seven in Minnesota.
The eggs were distributed around the country and packaged under the names Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma's, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemp.

I'm no math wizz, but I am pretty sure 226+11= not 200. I think the thing that bothers me the most about this is, 25ish cases a month is normal .... / okay??? How many fatalities are okay .. or normal .. from eating eggs??? This is the problem with big agro/food/meat/poultry plants processing the majority of food. One bad apple and wham, country wide problem, which only gets noticed .... two months later?

[labelwench]

Thank you for the post, Meem, and it explains why there was an empty space on the shelf at our store yesterday, where the Lucerne pre-scrambled with spices egg cartons are usually located. Interesting how one notices such things immediately after working in grocery retail. The products are slow to moderate sellers and would NEVER be gone entirely in 24 hours, as customers are frequently adverse to taking the last one of most things off the shelf, under normal circumstances. (Panic buying being one exception......) Even the labels were pulled, which is an extra precaution in the event there are any in the dairy back-stock or enroute on a truck, as the rule is no product goes on the shelf without there being a label for it.

The public is seldom aware of how many recalls are underway at any given time, usually just minor quality control issues related to texture, taste etc., packaging or number inaccuracies.

Ultimately, the responsibility for what one eats lies with the customer, IMO, and we were taught the importance of knowing how to select, prepare and store food from an early age, as food may easily sicken or even kill us. For that reason, I do not each much food of which I do not know the origins and handling, and rewash those so-called pre-washed salad mixes with my own deep well water.

Salmonella is ubiquitous in the environment and very often it is our handling practices that are to blame for the spread of food-born illness, which is actually contagious because it involves a virus. Many people suppose that if they did not eat the contaminated food, then they are not at risk.

This thinking is in error and one of the reactions to a recall is that an awareness of risk is reinforced and may do more to minimize the potential for illness and death than the actual removal of the 'suspect' food.

I would wager that if one looks for cause, one could find reason to remove a great deal of the food from our grocery shelves, when the far greater risk to human health lays with poverty, lack of education and sub-standard accommodation.

More info on Salmonella at this link: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/...monellae.shtml