"Beach Runner" > wrote in message
om...

> The amazing thing is you see how American's eat, and it's not real food.
> It's all this highly processed food, made with increasingly
> genetically engineered products, filled with Chemicals.

Genetically modified organisms (GMO) have a bad rap among the
environmentally conscious. It's true that we don't know much about how it
could impact the environment but there is also a huge upside potential that
shouldn't be ignored. It's okay to be cautious but have an open mind.

> Fresh, local or best home grown food is the best alternative, but what has
> become America's largest crop? Grass. And the grass consumes a huge
> quantity of limited ground water and we pump tons of chemicals and toxic
> chemicals to make gold course like lawns. To get a picture, go to
> Wallmarts and see the pallets of grass growing toxins and think about the
> huge multinational effect.

I have a small grass lawn but I don't water it and I don't treat it in any
way. It doesn't look like a golf course but it usually looks okay. BTW,
there are native grasses and other alternatives to grass lawns.

> Why is corn in almost everything? There were farm subsidies at one time
> to keep the market price profitable for small farmers. Now huge
> corporations get those subsidies, and grow huge amounts of corn and put it
> into everything. See corn syrup and corn starch in most products. I know
> people allergic to corn and it creates a nightmare. Not to mention, what
> does it contribute to health.

Corn in and of itself isn't bad. I think you must be referring to High
Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) which has found its way into many snack foods and
beverages. Most of the reports that I've read on it are very condemning.

> Health, except for a small market doesn't drive food, the most important
> medicine. Even most of the vegetarian prepared foods are full of salt and
> fat. Don't think buying Tuffitis, Amys, or Linda McCartney's products are
> healthy.

I've bought Amy's canned soups before and the ingredients look pretty
healthy to me - all natural ingredients and no trans-fats. I have never
bought the other two brands.

> Genetically engineered products will and do escape the confines of their
> plantings, and can become super weeds.

Super weeds reminds me of Reefer Madness! :^)

> We also see the production of seeds and food go into fewer and fewer
> hands.

Is this a statement against "factory farms" or are you talking about
automation in agriculture?

> Usual Suspects, does make a very valid point that the collateral damage
> of growing produce using modern methods is heavy.

Take what those guys say with a grain of salt (not literally!). They try to
minimize the fact that most of the corn produced in the U.S. directly
supports the cattle industry. Cattle are extremely inefficient converters of
food energy. It takes something like 80 calories from corn to produce just
one calorie from beef. One way to think about it is that much less corn
would have to be produced to feed the same number of people if it weren't
for the cattle industry. Not only would the lives of the cattle be spared
(or not created in the first place) but also a large number of the so-called
"collateral deaths" would be avoided.

Of course, the trolls here will challenge this notion as a "numbers game" as
an attempt to obscure the truth. That followed by accusations of hypocracy
that ANY lives are lost as a result of a vegan's existence. Get real. You
don't have to count deaths to know that the basic tenets are absolutely
true. They will also claim that grass-fed beef obviates all of the corn-fed
pitfalls. It's true but just not the way things are in the cattle industry.
Corn-fed beef accounts for a vast majority of the market. Face it, the
cattle industy is a cornerstone of vast environmental damage and a primary
source of health concerns among carnivorous consumers. It's so pervasive in
our culture that it can't and won't change anytime soon.

> We all know the meat manufacturing industry consumes vast quantities of
> water, produces tremendous pollution, and produces very unhealthy foods.

The care and preservation of the world's fresh water supply is an especially
concerning issue. I think the jockeying that we see today to control oil
supplies will pale in comparison to what we will see with fresh water.

> We need real change. Being a vegan does make a point and does reduce our
> impact on the world and is a start. But only a start in the big picture.

Being vegan doesn't solve all of the environmental issues.

> Overpopulation is a root cause of world problems

Yes.

> We should be making a Manhattan Project to make solar, wind, and
> geothermal viable to sustain our energy.

You should get the current issue of Popular Mechanics. There is an
interesting article about alternative forms of renewable energy. One is
using the motion of waves in the oceans to power generators. Another is
using bacteria in waste treatment plants to produce electricity. Another is
organic (not silicon based) materials that convert sunlight to electricity
which can be embedded in clothing, etc. to power personal appliances.

> We keep making houses that require extensive amounts of energy. Our
> refrigerators and hot water heaters give off heat, which we than air
> condition. The entire system needs to be designed to use the heat of one
> appliance for the next.
>
> Our educational system is antiquated, with the latest emphasis being on
> testing. The sad fact is children go to school and are bored because the
> teaching is horrendous. So much busy work. Schools can be made exciting
> and interesting. Music and art stimulate young brains, yet are cut out of
> the budgets. For example, MRIs show that students trained in music grow
> structures in their brains that assist in all abstract thinking. Schools
> need not be boring.

You have a lot of negative energy. The world is not all doom and gloom.