Diet for a Dead Planet

[Ohiorganic]

"We need a whole new way of thinking about food, one that
encompasses health, affordability, accessibility, ecological
sustainability, and an economics that enables farmers to keep
farming."
----------------------
"Just about every arm of our food production system has a heart
monitor beeping with the warning signs of death. Cook's title, it
turns out, isn't the exaggerated scare tactic it at first seems to
be."

DIET FOR A DEAD PLANET
http://www.dietforadeadplanet.com/

A new book by Christopher D. Cook

About the book

More than 75 million Americans fell sick last year from the food
they ate, and 5000 of them died. Obesity and diet-related diseases
are soaring to record levels. Mad cow disease has spread to the
United States. The issue of food safety has never been more stark.
Now, Christopher D. Cook's riveting and timely investigation takes
us beyond fast food and GMOs to explain why our entire food system
is in crisis. Corporate control of farms and supermarkets,
unsustainable drives to increase agribusiness profits, misplaced
subsidies for exports, and anemic regulation have all combined to
produce a grim harvest. Food, our most basic necessity, has become
a force behind a staggering array of social, economic, and
environmental epidemics. Yet there is another way. Taking heart
from the promising surge in organics, farmers' markets, and slow
food, Cook argues cogently for a whole new way of looking at what
we eat -- one that places healthy, sustainably produced food at
the top of the menu for political change.
----------------------
http://www.dietforadeadplanet.com/food.html

Food by the Numbers: A Few Facts from the Book

CONSUMER HEALTH

* Some 325,000 Americans are hospitalized each year for
food-related illnesses; more than 5000 die annually.

* Two thirds of Americans are overweight, and 30% are medically
obese. The rate of obesity among children and adolescents has
risen from 4% in the 1970s to nearly 15% today.

* Diet and physical activity are now the second leading cause of
preventable deaths in America, after tobacco.

* Medical costs to treat these diet-related ailments, such as
diabetes and heart disease, run $78 billion a year -- nearly 10%
of all US medical expenditures.

ENVIRONMENT

* Factory farms, packing thousands of animals into barns and
feedlots, produce more than 1.3 billion tons of waste each year --
enough to fill 52 million 18-wheeler semi trucks.

* US agriculture dumps nearly 500,000 tons of pesticides -- many
of them carcinogenic -- on food crops each year.

* Agricultural pesticides kill an estimated 67 million birds
annually.

* Over the past 30 years, nearly half of all pesticides studied
have been found in stream sediment and in 64% of edible fish and
other aquatic life.

* In California's Central Valley, 2.6 million cows have become the
region's top emitter of reactive organic gases, a major smog
ingredient.

WORKERS

* Roughly 20% of meatpacking workers are injured on the job each
year, many crippled by carpal tunnel syndrome.

* Sixty-one percent of farmworkers earn incomes below the poverty
level.

* Nearly 500 farmworkers suffer acute pesticide poisonings every
year -- in California alone.

* The federally approved line speed limit for chicken processing
plants is 91 birds per minute.

FOOD AND FARMING, INC.

* More than 17,000 farmers go out of business each year -- one
farmer every half an hour.

* Four corporations control 80% of the American beef business;
four firms control 67% of the US seed market.

* The top five food grocers in America, led by Wal-Mart, take in
nearly half of all retail food sales.

* Supermarket markups of farm produce run as high as 900%. For
instance, farmers in February 2004 were getting $.19 for a pound
of lettuce for which consumers paid up to $1.92.

* There are now as many prisoners in America as there are farmers.

(Note: All source information is available in the book.)
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.lipmagazine.org/articles/revicontent_deaddiet.htm

[Cliff Timmons]

I guess that leaves more pork products for me then. <grin>

[johnsonjrbm]

Hey, Cliff -

I've got a great recipe for pork tenderloin in Chinese oyster sauce.

It's even better for caribou backstrap...

[Cliff Timmons]

You're gonna get us both killed. <grin>

[LaRae]

We (4 of us) took a couple hogs into the processing plant about 2 weeks ago...expecting the phone call anyday now to go pick them up!

I am looking forward to the German Brats!

LaRae

[johnsonjrbm]

Caribou is some of the best-tasting meat on the planet. It's not gamey at all (unless you shoot a male in rut).

Adak Island in the Aleutians is way overstocked with them as they have no other natural predators. They were brought to the island in the 1950's by the Navy as an emergency food supply, and have become severely overpopulated.

With the blessing of U.S. Fish & Wildlife, on that island only it's open season, year-round, with no limit. They estimate the island can only maintain about 250 caribou long-term, and there are over 1,000 with a birth rate of 30%. Plus there are no hormones, GMO-grain, or anything else as they mostly feed on lichens.

About the only thing you can grow there is cold...

[Ohiorganic]

It's a real shame some did not get the message of this post and can only think about their own stomachs.

I'll bet the home raised pork will make tasty brats unlike the factory farmed pork that has to be injected with salt/sugar solution to taste like anything.

[johno]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but what I'm getting from this is that small-scale food production is safer than the stuff you get from the grocery store. (?)

[Ohiorganic]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but what I'm getting from this is that small-scale food production is safer than the stuff you get from the grocery store. (?)

yes, that's part of it also that small scale organic farms can produce a lot more food than a conventional/GMO mega mono cropped farm.

[johnsonjrbm]

It's a real shame some did not get the message of this post and can only think about their own stomachs.

I'll bet the home raised pork will make tasty brats unlike the factory farmed pork that has to be injected with salt/sugar solution to taste like anything.

OO - I happen to agree with you. I'm looking at raising chickens this spring for the very same reason.

I mentioned a potential man-made ecological disaster on Adak (in addition to the herd, certain rare plants are threatened due to enough food for the caribou) that can be alleviated in a way that benefits the herd and people who want good clean food.

And the recipe would be even better with home-grown pork. :)

[LoreD]

I was reading the latest Newsweek (or Time) and they a really good cover article about eating locally. Quoted This Organic Life by Gussow and talked about finding locally produced meat, vegetables and fruit,

Even in major cities, a short drive will put people in contact with CSA's and farmers markets that will allow them to get fresh, additive-free produce and meat.

A small community garden can provide enough vegetables to feed a family for at least six months and allow them to store winter squash and root vegetables for the rest of the year.

It is time for the Victory Gardens to return.

LoreD

[tsteven1]

I agree about Victory gardens, LoreD. We have a medium sized community garden here on my side of town.

[LaRae]

It's a real shame some did not get the message of this post and can only think about their own stomachs.

I'll bet the home raised pork will make tasty brats unlike the factory farmed pork that has to be injected with salt/sugar solution to taste like anything.


I bet everyone here got the point of the post. Some of us get tried of the 'vegans' telling us the 'evils' of rasing meat and eating it.

There is a reason we raise our own pork and buy a side of beef from a local farmer who raises organic/natural grass fed cattle (along with pigs and chickens/eggs).

If you want to talk about the commerical vs the small farm or local farm methods of raising livestock, great idea...but I will pass on the preachy articles.


LaRae

[lovetogarden]

I agree with LaRae. Lets watch the curt comments. Otherwise this forum will end up a nasty unpleasent place, like other forums have. This forum has too many nice people to ruin it with petty comments. Ohiorganic, I suppose you are a small farm owner?

[houseodessey]

I bet everyone here got the point of the post. Some of us get tried of the 'vegans' telling us the 'evils' of rasing meat and eating it.

There is a reason we raise our own pork and buy a side of beef from a local farmer who raises organic/natural grass fed cattle (along with pigs and chickens/eggs).

If you want to talk about the commerical vs the small farm or local farm methods of raising livestock, great idea...but I will pass on the preachy articles.


LaRae

There was nothing preachy in the original post or the link IMO. Please expound on what you are referring to.

[Cliff Timmons]

Lets watch the curt comments.

Yeah, lets find this Curt guy and stomp him into a mudhole! <grin>

[Eric]

I saw some numbers on earnings per acre and it seems most of the large agribuisnesses are a collossal waste of our nation's resources. Add to this equation that many don't even balance until they receive their subsidy check from our taxes and its becomes outright amusing.

[tsteven1]

I like breaded pork steak. How about harvesting feral hogs? I've got British roots, so I humbly and dutifully express my white male guilt, however, I also have indian roots, so I sadly express my victimhood.

[Ohiorganic]

I agree with LaRae. Lets watch the curt comments. Otherwise this forum will end up a nasty unpleasent place, like other forums have. This forum has too many nice people to ruin it with petty comments. Ohiorganic, I suppose you are a small farm owner?

Sorry about the curt comment, though I am not the only one making them on this thread

Yes I am a small farm owner who raises a lot of produce and meat (I get the feeling LaRae thinks I am a vegan for some reason) and I have also been known to start farmers markets and other local markets as well as buying about 90% of my food from local sources.

Sorry if the article is too preachy for you LaRae but you seem to like to do a lot of preaching yourself <grin>

[LaRae]

Sorry about the curt comment, though I am not the only one making them on this thread

Yes I am a small farm owner who raises a lot of produce and meat (I get the feeling LaRae thinks I am a vegan for some reason) and I have also been known to start farmers markets and other local markets as well as buying about 90% of my food from local sources.

Sorry if the article is too preachy for you LaRae but you seem to like to do a lot of preaching yourself <grin>

No I don't think you are vegan, it's the article that is the issue...and I wasn't just referring to this forum. I'm talking the segement of people in the US that push that agenda.

I don't preach I talk and give opinions. Preaching is what articles do.

People (not meaning only you) need to stop using links and articles to talk to other people, start engaging each other in conversation.


LaRae

[LaRae]

I like breaded pork steak. How about harvesting feral hogs? I've got British roots, so I humbly and dutifully express my white male guilt, however, I also have indian roots, so I sadly express my victimhood.

Here in Missouri we have alot of feral hogs (some are true ferals others are domestic pigs that have gone feral). The Dept of Conservation requests they be shot on sight year round.


LaRae

[tsteven1]

Here in Texas they can also be shot year round. There is not a great load of public hunting land here, so the easiest route is to purchase a hunting package at a hog-rich ranch.

[LaRae]

Here in Texas they can also be shot year round. There is not a great load of public hunting land here, so the easiest route is to purchase a hunting package at a hog-rich ranch.


Lots of public use lands here....you can shoot all the hogs you want for the cost of a small game tag, which is under 20.00...might be under 10, can't remember.


LaRae

[Cliff Timmons]

I haven't hunted off my property in years but I think it's still about $5.00.

[Joan]

Thanks for a good eye opener, think I want to get the book.

[gulfcoastguy]

I think another problem is the over susidization of certain crops mainly corn and sugar. The corn crop subsidies lead to an over supply therefore the food industry tries to stuff it into every thing it can. Soft drinks, sports drinks, ketchup and many other things are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. HFCS is very bad for your metablism. Other things made out of corn are most citric acid, maltose, dextrose, modified food starch etc. The price supports for cane sugar agrevate the situation by making it more expensive then corn syrup.

Then you could get into transfats that lower your HDL and raise your LDL cholesterol. Real butter will only raise your LDL if you pig out on it. The Standard American Diet (SAD).

While I think that factory farms over use antibiotics and hormones I am not a vegetarian. I do prefer grass fed meat and free range eggs though.

[GeorgeSims]

I don't hunt, either, but I bought a Missouri hunting/fishing license to support the Department of Conservation, who put out some SUPER publications. By the way, for another two bucks, I bought a "Heritage Card" that got me 15% off those 200 cedar seedlings I bought from the state nursery in Licking.

[tsteven1]

GeorgeSims, you're an incredible American.

[prouddaddy]

I used to love to hunt wildhogs in the S.Ga. swamps. I thought they really (if handled properly) made great backbone and rice. We too can hunt them year round. I've made myself hungry... now that my son's home from OCS I think I may hit the swamp this afternoon( I want him to drag it out for me)

[LaRae]

I used to love to hunt wildhogs in the S.Ga. swamps. I thought they really (if handled properly) made great backbone and rice. We too can hunt them year round. I've made myself hungry... now that my son's home from OCS I think I may hit the swamp this afternoon( I want him to drag it out for me)


Good use of the son <G> I've had ours out helping me dig holes for berry bushes, fruit trees and grapes while he's on spring break!


LaRae

[johno]

Here in north central Arkansas [home of the Arkansas Razorbacks...] we can hunt wild hogs with whatever weapons are legal at the time. One time I found myself in the midst of them in some really tall grass in the national forest. I couldn't see them, just heard their jaws poppin'. I climbed a tree and still couldn't see them. It was frustrating, because I never shoot anything I can't see... Anyway, that's some gooood eatin'.

[Cliff Timmons]

Here in north central Arkansas [home of the Arkansas Razorbacks...] we can hunt wild hogs with whatever weapons are legal at the time. One time I found myself in the midst of them in some really tall grass in the national forest. I couldn't see them, just heard their jaws poppin'. I climbed a tree and still couldn't see them. It was frustrating, because I never shoot anything I can't see... Anyway, that's some gooood eatin'.

Not that I doubted you but it's good to hear from folks that see before they shoot.

I like to hunt, but I'm kinda picky about it. I feel before I hunt I should be familiar with my weapon, should be able to hit what I'm aiming at at twice the distance I will have to shoot, be able to kill with one shot and not cause any undue pain to the animal, and last but not least, eat what I kill, "unless we're talking cougars, coyotes, or other predators."

[LaRae]

Amen Cliff...I despise any sort of trophy hunting. Those 'hunting ranches' down in Texas (and other places) are deplorable for various reasons.


LaRae

[johnsonjrbm]

Amen Cliff...I despise any sort of trophy hunting. Those 'hunting ranches' down in Texas (and other places) are deplorable for various reasons.


LaRae


Yeah, you can shoot a friend while birdhunting... :D

[Cliff Timmons]

Yeah, you can shoot a friend while birdhunting... :D

Now that's funny. <grin>

[prouddaddy]

Dang if you can't shoot your friends while bird hunting who can you shoot? I'd never hunt birds with anyone that I wouldn't want shooting me. Being serious for a moment, as bad as it sounds it is common that that sorta thing happens while quail hunting. I am not trying to excuse it, only pointing out that is not really unusual.

[johnsonjrbm]

I thought that was only supposed to happen if your name was Bob White...

[LaRae]

Booo that is a bad one!


LaRae

[johnsonjrbm]

I quail at your criticism...

[LaRae]

That's even worse!

[johnsonjrbm]

At the rate I'm going downhill, I might have to try out for the Olympic Ski Team.

Although I never have been able to figure out how they get those ski boats up the mountain...

[prouddaddy]

I liked the Bob White one.

[LaRae]

I'm not even going to respond to that one, except to tell you I'm not going to respond....


LaRae

[prouddaddy]

LaRae, Back to using your poor kids that are home for college for hard labor. That's alittle extreme, don't you know that when they're home from college they are not to have to do hard labor. They have worked extremely hard at college and deserve some time sleeping late, hanging with their old high school chums, and staying out till 2 in the morning. CHILL ALITTLE!!!! Been there, heard that, didn't work. DEO VINDICE

[LaRae]

HA...there is no democracy at our house....hubby has been military 28 years <G>

Well actually our son is on spring break from highschool (he'll be 18 this summer) not college, however the point is the same.

He's a good kid, he does chores around the house. We raised our kids to have responsibilities from the time they were small. There is no sleeping all day, they have curfews also...mean parents that we are!

Our oldest daughter recently moved back home temporarily (she's 22)...even she is expected to follow some rules here and help out around the house. If you live at home, you attend Church, don't care how old you are.


LaRae

[prouddaddy]

Amen on that, same way here. That's not to say they didn't bring it up though. It just did not make it to the floor.

[stardust]

yes, that's part of it also that small scale organic farms can produce a lot more food than a conventional/GMO mega mono cropped farm.
I think Lucy makes some excellent points. Simply, a fix is for everyone to shop locally and buy direct from small family farms. Another fix is to save and share seeds before corps take over what can be grown. At the rate small farms are disappearing, you can count on a fact that pretty soon most people will not be able to get healthy food or grow it. And wouldn't it be ever so convenient for everyone to be dependent on corps so they can make and take whatever they want from thier dependents. We see it already in the rising prices.
Why should Jimbag D. Underpaid (who farmworks for Walmart) care if the steak he dropped on the floor then bagged up after he failed to wash his hands is what you eat. Jimbag does not get paid enough to even pay attention. And how could one ever find out about the real truth or lies of Walmart? Who would one ask about accountability?
Small family farmers HAVE to be more accountable because everyone know where to find them and can see what they do on their farms, and it is thier LIVLIHOOD to make sure things are done right.

[louanne]

I am going to step out of my usual role and say my peice here....
well because I have an opinion....
I would like to speak for joe smooe working for wally world( and others et al) be it in meat....bakery....deli...
in years gone by these areas of gorcery stores...were put in and used as perks for the customers...not expected to make a profit...in fact breaking even was considered a major deal!
over the years specailly in the last 20( my time in the biz) this has changed...in such a way...I cannot even support it in anyway...
so first...it may not be that joe smooe doesnt care AT ALL...it is the pace at which he is asked to MOVE..it is the fact that most of his superiors are totally uneducated in the hands on functions of the food process....sure they ahve been to classes...sure the graduated college....but they do not know how and why.....of actually doing the job...
its like someone setting behind a computer setting measurements for a magazine case in a store....you can have all the figures you care for....it just doesnt always work.....
any good tradesman will tell you....its like a great bakery...four hunderd different bakeries can produce the exact same products....and there will always be a few that will stand out...and possibly you will get four hundred different products from the same set of figures....
to move on...my opinion of many problems from nutrition to whatever IS the greed that the old bottom line serves....I know of many many families that EVEN I could not figure out a way to cram one more second of hours in the day fpr them...how can a parent teach a child anything if they are at work constantly...
it is a ral different world from even when I was a child....my parents had weekends off...
I NEVER spent a weekend with my children..cept for vacation time..if I got any....
I NEVER spent a hoilday with my children till they were in high school cause of the work I did....
but ya know it paid the bills and thats about it....
Who on earth is gonna pay a baker good wages anymore...the do hire in untrained labor....because by their computations....its all in writting...and easy to follow...I KNOW of bakers who ten years ago....made 18 a hour....their jobs eradicated by chain bakeries....who now work for nine...cause its what they do....bake....it IS a crime....
now that my boys are grown...it is one of the reaons I have left" business"..but then I started years ago....ending all debt...and if it wasnt for this tiny peice of property...and deciding to take my chances..that I would still be at it...wokring for and making money for"others"
so the question is....how do we really change things....
everyone stop shopping on the weekends...give big business no reason to open their doors...you know when they passed liquor laws to allow resturants and such.just because they served food to keep thier doors open to those sales....it prety much ended weekends for labors' in food....
close all business' on ALL holidays...yeah....we all would have to remember everything for the holiday dinner way ahead...oh and cook it ourselves totally......
I am sure may of you can add to this...I can only speak from someone who worked at what I did...and had to live my life....
but I remember the difference...when moms boss would let her use the phone to call me to talk me through making dinner.....from when my mom was home to teach me herslef....
by the time I had kids...calling home.....oh no no such thing....
I spent a lot of years in prayer..from the time my boys were out of school...till the time I got off work....
I hit the floor running to be at work a 4 am( or earlier) and by the time just necessitites were done didnt get to bed till well after ten pm....
I am my body have paid dearly for it.....
NUTRITION....stop eating any fast food.....any of it...even heat it and eat it at home.....
really...take a look at the ingredients on a box of the yogurt cherios.....yup theses some wheat in it...but thats about it....
get kids out side....oh but wait....WHATS in that dirt they might play in?
and what detergent will take those stains out.....
how many house holds can afford to by their kids a bike with out whipping out a credit card...
candy for food stamps anyone? soda? chips?
in all our wonderous glittering glory...we are made of paper....
NOW I am gonna stop...before I get my foot caught deeply in my mouth....
I have decided that for me ...I will look to my own backyard...and take care of my own neighbors...and people I love and wish well....and hopefully they will do the same...and as this hopefully grows....in time..probably five times the timeit took to get to this point.... things will start to change.....
its like going to church....you can hear all the words.....you can shake hands and pat peopleon the back...but if your concern starts and ends at the church doors....what lesson is learned?
I ask myself almost daily...who stand s to gain and who to lose....its a real scary decision anymore?
video game babysitters...fast food meals..ALL THE TIME....

[whodat]

Yep, the problem all stems from the shareholders running the show. The love of money is the root of all evil. You can only squeeze the guy at the bottom so hard, while the ...ummm.. fecal matter all float to the top. I feel your rant. I've lived your rant. That constant push to get more and more out the bottom tier and give more to the folks at the top is exactly why corporations provide less quality than family owned businesses can. Of course, some of them try to follow the same model and hire dirt-cheap labor to boss around. But the thing is that the guy at the bottom is forced to limit his concern over a job-well-done. Because if he pushes as hard as he can, the standard of what he is to accomplish is just raised another notch and he has worked himself into the position of not being able to meet expectations of those who have no clue how to do the job in the first place. Therefore, he HAS to set his own standard at a level that is lower. Reset the standard. If there was ever a need for a grass-roots movement, it is to do as you suggested and encourage everyone to think about their purchasing choices and how it affects the downward spiral of society. Cooper Tire is now bringing Mexicans in to the factory here in Georgia in the latest attempt to sqeeze the lower tiers a bit more, to make up for the last CEO running off with millions of dollars. That sort of thing does not make me want to buy American. Until management is held accountable for more than just stock prices, it will get worse and worse. It is about the least sustainable thing that I can imagine.
You know, I got on this thread with the intent to make some comment about the problems of using "sustainable" practices in the food industry in less than ideal ways, like the illness from salmonella from chicken manure applied as fertilzer, or E-Coli from cow manure, not properly composted or whatever.. but the points that Louanne made are much more serious and accurate. The whole of society has become unsustainable because of the corporate model that has been spread around the globe, and gets worse every day. It's not about earning a living anymore. No doubt, a big part of the answer is to buy as much as possible from local mom and pop stores instead of the big corporations, or at least buy from those who seem to take care of the employees to some extent. It does all get back to us in the long run. As far as Wally World goes, I already prefer to go somewhere less hectic and spazed out. Maybe their size will eventually cause the tide to shift the other direction, just because it becomes such a hassle to deal with the hoards.
I have nothing to add to the topic. Just an AMEN! I know I'm ready to jump out of the corporate world... but never knew what to jump into. Like they say, when it comes to the rat race, the rats are winning.

[Liberty_Man]

You're gonna get us both killed. <grin>

Oh no he won't.. we'll protect ya cliffee.. might not be able to save the whole planet though.. but up till then you can eat all the pork you want. We have doctors that can fix you right up if you have a heart attack now. Lots of em in fact.. all over the place. Just ask anyone and i'm sure you can get some sound advice on what to eat. Your choice if you want to consume stuff that you don't know where it came from though.

I just can't see why people can't go to a farm and buy their produce and meats.. it just seems too easy for me. Any reason why grocery stores can't just buy their produce from a local farmer rather than waste all that fuel driving it around the country? Might work out cheaper that way. Might be safer too if you can ask about what it has been treated with just by making a phone call.

[HillsideDigger]

"What about liberty and the freedom to do whatever one can do and get away with" - aggregate internet's zombie answer to everything.

There will be no rational or intelligent thought around here.

Seriously, anyone who tries to grow some of their own food quickly sees that much land and effort is required to feed any kind of livestock and that the land might better be applied to growing peoplefood. In terms of wild game, only the very fortunate few still have ready access to much of it, I mean without a lot of expensive driving or flying (can't drive to Adak).

[fruits&nuts]

Here's another fix. Quit planting soy. Everyone. Just quit planting soy.

[older than dirt]

Dang if you can't shoot your friends while bird hunting who can you shoot? I'd never hunt birds with anyone that I wouldn't want shooting me. Being serious for a moment, as bad as it sounds it is common that that sorta thing happens while quail hunting. I am not trying to excuse it, only pointing out that is not really unusual.

Had a couple pellets hit me in the back & my hand one time. We broke a covey we each shot one . The dog retrived one but had no clue on the other one. I went to find a downed bird . The bird dog pointed one of the strays & my friend flushed & shot it . He was a quite a ways off I was still looking for my bird. No harm done but he shot me didnt make national news LOL . We contienued hunting & I kidded him about shooting me . Bothered him more than it did me.