In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article
-se
ptember.org,
Dan L wrote:

Billy wrote:
In article ,
songbird wrote:

Billy wrote:
...
If you got to http://www.polyfacefarms.com/default.aspx and click
on
"Principles" there are 3 videos to watch. In the first video "Mimic
Nature", Daniel Salatin mentions that the turkeys get 20% of their
feed
from the pasture, so it isn't a closed system.

sorry, slow dialup, i don't watch video
or youtube here...


Today on "Democracy Now" http://www.democracynow.org/ there are 2
reports on food production. One is on egg production and the other
is on
meat production. They both fit nicely into the discussion that we we

having on the quality of food. They don't talk about increasing
supply,
but rather about maintaining quality.

yea, i read something the other day in
the WSJ about eggs being recalled and new
rules (FDA i think) that just went into
effect. we'll see if they actually help.
two producers and hundreds of millions
of eggs.


Since the food supply has become so integrated, just on supplier can

screw up the system for many others.

what ever happened to monopoly enforcement?


It's like the dog food scandal,
where one supplier provided the cheapest source of protein powder,
which
turned out to be adulterated with melamine and cyanuric acid to give
the
appearance of higher levels of protein.

that was outright fraud. which is a moral
and ethical issue apart from sustainable
agricultural practices. i didn't follow
up what happened back in China but i think
there were comments about, "facing possible
execution."


songbird

Relax, he was executed. The dog food was feed to steers, pork, and
fish.
Feel better?

"Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine" by Marion Nestle
http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Food-Polit...520265890/ref=
sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282796329&sr=1-2

She isn't the best of writers, but it is a good book.

Not just dog food! They were executed for putting the same stuff in
human baby food formulas which killed several babies in China. The baby
formulas was not sold in the US.
China's economy is growing at a rate of 10%/year. This would probably
come under the heading of deadly growing pain. I saw an interview with
some of the workers of the factory where the wheat flour was laced with
melamine and cyanuric acid (they are about 5 times more deadly in
combination than alone), and the workers smiled and said, "Yeah, it
looks like it has more protein." They obviously didn't have a clue about
its effects on a living organism. People thought that they were buying
wheat gluten (not laced wheat flour). There isn't one wheat gluten for
animals and one for humans. This was one of the points that Amy Goodman
was trying to make about the integrated global economy. No one knows
what's in the food anymore, because it has be made from a mish-mash of
ingredients from around the planet. In 2006, China ranked third behind
India and Mexico in the number of food shipments refused by the FDA.
These dame neo-nutcake-liberals don't want any government regulations
because it impedes business. But as we can see with the egg recall,
people are getting sick because business is on the honor system. The
least we can do is give the FDA the authority to declare a recall when
they see a health concern. The FDA also needs to be funded for what it
has been mandated to do. The funding for health concerns should be taken
away from the USDA, which markets farm products (conflict of interest),
and be given to the FDA.

I have sometimes wondered about wheat gluten. When I make my own
homemade breads I do not have stomach upsets. However I almost always
get heartburn and upset stomach from "added gluten" in store bought
products. I have been tested negative for celiac or wheat allergies.
I make my own foods and tend to stay away from packaged foods.
Why I have my own chickens and a Jersey milk cow.

Have you purchased cod, catfish in stores? Product of China.
Some have statements like "Carbon Monoxide added for flavor enhancement"
on the bags????

That is damn decent of them. Here in the good ol' U.S. of A., we do it
without any kind notification.
http://meatisneat.wordpress.com/2009...aging-meat-in-
carbon-monoxide/
The carbon monoxide binds with the hemoglobin to keep the meat looking
fresh (red), no matter how old and funky it may be. This is done to some
meat that is wrapped in plastic. It is also the reason that I won't buy
meat that is wrapped in plastic, like Saturday's, barbecue, pork ribs.
A very interesting site. You correct "Damn decent of them"! Other
companies have been doing it for years!!!! We are living on a new world.
I think I am going to get a boat a start fishing here in the great
lakes. I do miss the taste of good sea food, not just lake food. Only
thing in sea food markets are the bug foods, lobster, shrimp and oysters.

How's "Eaarth" coming along?
A very good book, currently on page thirty. He seemed to give up on
changing the world. Shifted to self protection. Seems like I have been
doing just that myself in the last few years. Just like the economy and
global warming, what can one do except, do our part and protect
ourselves.

We are living on a new world called "Eaarth". Learn to live with it.

--
Enjoy Life... Dan
Garden in Zone 5 South East Michigan.
Using a Laptop