Future of the Food-Chain

[labelwench]

All of us require nourishing food to survive, and in this age, the majority of North Americans acquire their food through purchase from a grocery retailer. As people aggregate in larger centers, that food travels great distances to the consumer, and perhaps it is this separation in time and space between product and end user that has left many people with a disconnect in the knowledge of how food is grown and processed.

My work in retail grocery has been a real eye-opener. As I have an interest in food and nutrition, it seemed a natural fit, and something that I should be able to do with purpose and pleasure. How unprepared I was!

From hunting, fishing and gardening, home preserving and baking, I came to the world of 'processed food.'

"What's the difference?", you might ask.

READ THE LABELS!!!

In my home canning, freezing and baking, there are very few ingredients, and you can pronounce every one. Then again, I don't process my food to last several years on the shelf, and proper preserves are always kept in a cool dark place and not in a warm bright retail location.

Still, the customer has the option of choice, and they may select healthy options from the offerings or not. Live and die by the sword, I afford you all equal opportunity.

Yet, that choice is no longer as obvious as it once was.

How many of you have eaten genetically modified foods?

70% of Americans, according to one survey, are quite certain that they NEVER have eaten GM foods.

That tells me that a lot of people are not very well informed on the topic of genetically modified foods and the constituents they are rendered unto and the processed foods they are put in to.

With that thought in mind, I feel that a thread on food, and where it is headed, might be timely, and it is my consideration that any and all aspects of food, past, present and future may find a welcome here.

It has long been said, that we are what we eat.

To start, then, do we really know what we are putting in our mouth each day?

A short video to stir the pot.....

97% of the vegetables that were grown at the turn of the century, are now extinct, according to this video.

Now that's food for thought......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNezT...eature=related

[labelwench]

Are you aware that many varieties of seeds have been patented?

The laws of the land formerly did not permit the patent of naturally occurring organisms.

So what does this tell us?

Has the law been rescinded, circumvented, or are these seeds not 'natural'?

Check it out. You decide.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/res...off&sort=chron

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto

Diversity is losing out to economic viability. The mixed farm has all but disappeared in the wake of the factory farm, and soon all of our food will be 'sourced' rather than 'grown'.

Who are the players in this game, which affects us all?

Whose interests are driving the agenda?

More importantly, do you care to know, or do you prefer to remain in the dark on this topic?

[Graybeard]

I'm interested ..... but only in support .... I have no opposition.

From hunting, fishing and gardening, home preserving and baking, I came to the world of 'processed food.'

By processed do you include preserved (not home-preserved)... ie: gherkins, dill pickles, sardines, mochetta, cheeses ... I like preserved foods and do not consider them 'processed'

How many of you have eaten genetically modified foods?

Ummm ... it may be accidental, but this is included in the 'negative' part of your post. I don't oppose GM foods across the whole board. I believe that GM foods are the way of the future if we are to feed the entire population. GM foods are neither processed nor preserved ?


cool bananas ... greg

[labelwench]

This is going to be much tougher than I thought, lol........

Canola and corn are among the most used of GM foods. They are then processed into canola oil and high fructose corn syrup, which are ubiquitous in the food chain.

As for pickles, some are minimally processed while other contain color for consistency and other ingredients that are considered to be controversial. Most cheeses contain added color and then there is the use of BGH or Bovine Growth Hormone, which is banned in Canada.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/1999/...bgh990114.html

My purpose in starting this thread is to educate people about what is in their food, so that they can make informed decisions. Regulations vary from country to country and it is a wide-ranging, and interesting topic to study, as everyone eats food, though few have any direct input to the decisions which are made regulating the foods which are available to them.

Avoiding processed food, even if one so chooses, is not an easy undertaking.

The EU has long been opposed to GM products and there are a lot of politics surrounding the existing ban, which may soon be partially lifted. Europeans want clear and concise labeling of the presence of GM foods and those which contain GM ingredients.

The American Agricultural Department officials answer that since the United States does not require labeling, Europe should not require labeling either. They claim mandatory labelling could imply there is something wrong with genetically modified food, which would be also a trade barrier. Current U.S. laws do not require GM crops to be labeled or traced because U.S. regulators do not believe that GM crops pose any unique risks over conventional food. Europe answers that the labeling and traceability requirements are not only limited to GM food, but will apply to all agricultural goods. Such labelling has been mandatory for many years in Australia where the U.S. is also arguing against identification of GM products.

The American agricultural industry also complains about the costs implied by labeling.

[Graybeard]

I myself try to stick to the Paleo Diet ..... not always successfully. The Mediterranean diet is similar ..... but diet, IMO, includes more than food. To be true to a diet such as the Paleo diet, you must also go without reasonably often. Hunter-gatherers probably only had meat once or twice a month, and then gorged, and for the rest relied on berries, nuts, grasses etc.

As well the paleo diet requires diverse exercise, I don't mean body building or workouts ..... but day to day hunter-gatherers would have crossed many different terrains and exercised involuntarily, many parts of they're bodies.

Unfortunately I still smoke roll-your-own cigarettes .... my only serious vice ... sigh

There is much to be said for the Med diet

CLICK

cool bananas ... greg

[Graybeard]

Yes .... the pros and cons .....

GM food is such a wide subject .... and in the main receives negative press because it can be controlled. But 'control' can be beneficial .... no chemicals, no environmental harm, plentiful supply, etc ...... these are all pros for GM food .... but rarely heard in the almost universal opposition to GM products.

I feel GM suffers is surrounded by a huge amount of mis-information.

cool bananas ... greg

[labelwench]

Many crops require bees for fertilization, and for the last few years, there has been a mystery surrounding the demise and disappearance of large numbers of bees.

Even here in the North, gardeners have been observing a huge decline in the numbers of the indigenous bee population, and speculating on what may be the cause.

For a bit of background, here is the bee-keeper who first noticed and reported the circumstances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRBJf...eature=related

[labelwench]

Yes .... the pros and cons .....

GM food is such a wide subject .... and in the main receives negative press because it can be controlled. But 'control' can be beneficial .... no chemicals, no environmental harm, plentiful supply, etc ...... these are all pros for GM food .... but rarely heard in the almost universal opposition to GM products.

I feel GM suffers is surrounded by a huge amount of mis-information.

cool bananas ... greg

Greg.

Do me a favor and research 'Round-up' and 'Round-up ready' crops.
Monsanto owns both of these.

Round up kills anything green, unless it has been genetically modified, to resist the chemical.

This was not my first planned topic on this thread, but you are leading it in that direction......

[Graybeard]

Many crops require bees for fertilization, and for the last few years, there has been a mystery surrounding the demise and disappearance of large numbers of bees.

But here in Australia they're still going strong ....... and we are actually exporting them to you ... and others.

Also honey keeps indefinitely ....... and many keepers store honey rather than money ... lol ... or gold.

Recently, not far from me a very talented beekeeper, was murdered for his honey ... CLICK

Found Guilty.. CLICK

cool bananas ... greg

[Graybeard]

Greg.

Do me a favor and research 'Round-up' and 'Round-up ready' crops.
Monsanto owns both of these.

Round up kills anything green, unless it has been genetically modified, to resist the chemical.

This was not my first planned topic on this thread, but you are leading it in that direction......

Oooops ... I'll take a back seat ......


greg