C. James Strutz wrote:
> "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.
>
Yes they can add things, but they are risky. Roundup ready products.
Products with their own toxin. /And they are not as nutritious and
don't encourage crop rotation.

>
>>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.
>
>

Yes, but it predominates our spawling suburbia.
>>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.
>

And people are alergic to corn starch. Why should it be subsidized?
>
>>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.
>

They are high in fats and sodium.
>
>>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?
>
Both.
>
>>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.

True.
>
> 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.

Grumman proposed that in the 60s.
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.
>

Not when the oil industry rules the government.
>
>>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.
>
>

I love nature. But I'm realistic. We can make things better.
>
>
>