Why be choosey when shopping??

I remember when I lived in Santiago Chile and going shopping at we refer to as the "Farmer's Market". There were at least bi-weekly markets in all neighbor hoods. There were very few grocery stores, people bought what they ate fresh, had very little garbage, supported local economy, and didn't need to have a giant refrigerator and massive storage for food.

We can only afford to do this now because of the artificially low energy prices that we currently enjoy, and by externalizing the environmental costs of such a wasteful food system. We do this also to the detriment of small farmers by subsidizing large scale, agribusiness-oriented agriculture with government handouts and artificially cheap energy.

I reflect on those experiences when I shop here in Missoula or go to the store. At Costco or other stores like Walmart you can see people leave with a massive bounty of food stuff and other goods. My attitude has shifted from being a box store addict to, well lets see...ill describe it!! (its hard)

Cheap energy and agricultural subsidies facilitate a type of agriculture that is destroying and polluting our soils and water, weakening our communities, and concentrating wealth and power into a few hands. It is also threatening the security of our food systems, as demonstrated by the continued e-Coli, GMO-contamination, and other health scares that are often seen nowadays on the news.

We joined a co-op, Trying to ween my better half off Walmart, we buy much less processed and packaged food. We dint buy too much from the co-op yet and I cant bring myself to brave the Local farmer's market scene...and it is a scene. over all it takes discipline and quite a bit more effort to eat healthy and shop responsibly.

Why do it? It is not just about eating organic, as a matter of fact I don't really focus on organic as much as locally grown. We have some excellent local farmers who don't jump through the USDA hoop of red tape, bureaucracy and fees and actually have higher standards. So I can buy stuff where I know the grower, know where it was grown. Also it wasn't shipped 1500 miles and harvested prematurely to adjust for shelf life at the super market.

Most produce in the US is picked 4 to 7 days before being placed on supermarket shelves, and is shipped for an average of 1500 miles before being sold. And this is when taking into account only US grown products! Those distances are substantially longer when we take into consideration produce imported from Mexico, Asia, Canada, South America, and other places.

What is becoming an even more significant reason is that the money we spend supports a local economy, a local family, a local school. It doesnt go to a corporate farmer or some other agri-giant that has found a way to manipulate the system and is only socially responsible and organic on the nifty packaging.

These large-scale, agribusiness-oriented food systems are bound to fail on the long term, sunk by their own unsustainability. But why wait until we're forced by circumstance to abandon our destructive patterns of consumption? We can start now by buying locally grown food whenever possible. By doing so you'll be helping preserve the environment, and you'll be strengthening your community by investing your food dollar close to home. Only 18 cents of every dollar, when buying at a large supermarket, go to the grower. 82 cents go to various unnecessary middlemen. Cut them out of the picture and buy your food directly from your local farmer.

Family farms are an important part of the American tradition of self-sufficiency, forming the bedrock for communities across the U.S.

Since 1935, the U.S. has lost 4.7 million farms. Fewer than one million Americans now claim farming as a primary occupation.

Go to local harvest for more great info

GMO not so Common Sense

The battle against science, as some would have you believe rages on. True food group is active about Genetic modified animal and says this...

...." Genetically engineered animals may be heading to your local supermarket faster than you think. Though creating animals in a lab sounds like science fiction, it’s happening right now..."

There seems to be a frenzied push to get GMO foods into our lives, I didnt know the biotech companies cared about us and the starving 3rd world children so much...here is what they are saying....

"The development of golden rice was, it seemed, compelling and inspiring evidence that GM crops are the answer to malnutrition and hunger. Time quoted former U.S. President Jimmy Carter: “Responsible biotechnology is not the enemy, starvation is.”

One Monsanto ad tells the public: “Biotechnology is one of tomorrow’s tools in our hands today. Slowing its acceptance is a luxury our hungry world cannot afford.” On the Food Revolution site John adds

..."For countless centuries farmers have fed humanity by saving the seed from one years crop to plant the following year. But Monsanto, the company that claims its motives are to help feed the hungry, has developed what it calls a “Technology Protection System” that renders seeds sterile. Commonly known as “terminator technology,” and developed with taxpayer funding by the USDA and Delta & Pine Land Company (an affiliate of Monsanto), the process genetically alters seeds so that their offspring will be sterile for all time. If employed, this technology would ensure that farmers cannot save their own seeds, but would have to come back to Monsanto year after year to purchase new ones."

The entire premise that we can feed the hungry with GMO technology seems flawed when we pay farmers in the USA 1.8 billion dollars to not farm. Here in Montana we have 3.3 million acres enrolled in this government program 2nd highest of the almost 35 million acres nation wide.

There is some benefit from the conservation recovery program, environmentalists and hunters are pleased, and markets are stablized. The USDA site states

..."CRP protects millions of acres of American topsoil from erosion and is designed to safeguard the Nation's natural resources. By reducing water runoff and sedimentation, CRP protects groundwater and helps improve the condition of lakes, rivers, ponds, and streams. Acreage enrolled in the CRP is planted to resource-conserving vegetative covers, making the program a major contributor to increased wildlife populations in many parts of the country."

The bottom line I must sadly admit, is that Monsanto and other biotech companies care about 1 thing....and that is making money...and by controlling our food source we will be enslaved to them and their Patents. This is assuming all this Franken food is safe, either way you will pay and pay to eat

GMO food lessons for kids

I was listening to our sixth grader talk about his day at school and all the great things they learn. I mean that, they have some great teachers at our school here in Target Range. Well the subject of Genetically Modified (engineered) food came up and of course I was courious. They get this little news paper like thing called the World History Studies weekly published by American legacy publishing based in Utah.

The artcle started out like this..."Have you ever heard of genetically engineered food? Now, dont be ashamed if you say "no". I like how the subvesive connection is made between being ashamed and not knowing about GMO's. the article goes on to state that farmers like GMO products because they dont have to buy pesticides....and this we know is an outright lie or completely ignorant sloppy journalism. Monsanto alters the traits of foods so that they are resistant to pesticides, therefore they can sell MORE pesticides to the Farmer...and get the farmer to buy more seeds every year because they are patented.

The best one is when the author explains how this technology can be used to feed the starving people of the world. Someone needs to inform the author that we in the USA already pay farmers to NOT farm their land. Feeding the poor starving people in third world countries is just a PR talking point so that GMO's can gain emotional acceptance. The article does mention some worry about this technology in terms of creating "franken foods" but only explains them as pesticide resistant weeds.

The article reminds me of a pay for post artcle, an ad or PR piece that appears as a legit piece of journalism. I dont know why they would be citing a 3 year old study that focused on acceptance and knowledge of GMO's rather than facts on what GMO's are and the real dangers.

It seems that more and more schools are being used to influence kids, their beliefs but more in terms of how they will eventually spend their Money.

In Montana...On January 27,2003 the Montana State Senate unanimously passed a bill which says that the introduction of GM wheat and barley “must be carefully timed so that it occurs only when there is acceptance of these crops by Montana’s major customers.” Timing and acceptance are important...not safety,.Source

Do you wonder why they call it round-up ready...because they can dump tons of toxic chemicles on it....and finally we now get GMO sugar..."After seven years of keeping sugar from genetically modified sugar beets out of their food, Kellogg, Hershey’s and the Wyoming based American Crystal Sugarwill use sugar made from genetically modified (GM) beets.

The decision marks a turnaround for Crystal Sugar, the nation’s largest sugar producer,....source

Holloween Candy danger...Montana

I should have named this blog ...Fear Factor! I am not a candy fan ...and you should be on alert. WHY?? remember the tainted milk powder from China well there is good reason to believe that tons of this tainted/poisonous product found its way into candy that is being sold now...here in the USA.

here is some concerning info...

---HARTFORD, Conn. -- The Department of Consumer Protection warned consumers Wednesday not to eat "White Rabbit Creamy Candy," imported from China and distributed by Queensway Foods Company Inc. of Burlingame, Calif.

The candy was found on several Connecticut store shelves the week of Sept. 29 by agency food safety inspectors and removed, agency Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. said. Tests by the Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station Laboratory have determined that the product contains melamine.....source

---The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a voluntary recall notice for the Sherwood Brands Pirate’s Gold Milk Chocolate Coins. The candy, manufactured in China, is the latest product thought to contain the melamine-contaminated milk powder. The product is primarily distributed through Costco stores in Canada as well as some bulk and discount retailers there....more from source

---

---UTAH,A popular Chinese-made candy suspected of being contaminated with an industrial chemical remained on shelves of some Asian food stores in Salt Lake County on Thursday even though state agents have ordered the product pulled.
Complicating their efforts was the fact that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not included Utah on a list of states where the recalled candy,more

---FDA says.."On September 12, 2008, in light of reports from China of infant formula contaminated with melamine, the FDA issued a Health Information Advisory to proactively reassure the American public that there is no known threat of contamination in infant formula manufactured by companies that have met the requirements to sell such products in the United States." YET they then say...
The FDA is advising consumers not to consume the following products because of possible melamine contamination:

Koala’s March Crème filled Cookies
YILI Brand Sour Milk Drink
YILI Brand Pure Milk Drink
Blue Cat Flavored Drinks
White Rabbit Candies
Mr. Brown Mandehling Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Arabica Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Blue Mountain Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Caramel Macchiato Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown French Vanilla Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Mandheling Blend instant Coffee (2-in-1)
Mr. Brown Milk Tea (3-in-1)
Infant formula manufactured in China ....more from FDA here


---info is endless

one more.........

Earlier this month, Chinese officials discovered melamine in powered infant formula made it that country. That contamination is blamed for the recent deaths of four infants in China and the illnesses of 53,000 other children in that country.

Chinese officials learned some dairy plants may have intentionally added melamine to milk products to make them appear to have higher protein levels.

The melamine contamination has since spread from infant formula to dozens of other food products sold around the world, including candy, coffee, and pretzels.

Melamine is a chemical used to make plastic and fertilizers. It is blamed for the illnesses and deaths of thousands of dogs and cats in the United States last year. more here

And I always reccomend checking out TvNewsLIES.org Jesse and his crew do a fantastic job over there.....if you like straight talk!

Corporate Farming

One of the issues facing us is where and how our food comes to us. Farming practices and its influences are something each of us needs to become aware of. yes, this makes it harder to shop and to sort through the information that is out there. Ultimately what is in our food supply affects us, rises in cancer, ADD, allergies and a multitude of other health issues are not the only concern. The effect on our environment in terms of toxins and pollution, gmo x contamination, and stability of family farmers is crucial as well.

California has an initiative called prop 2 that addresses these issues, I havenot studied it much but on the surface appears worthy. check it out as it may be comming to our neck of the woods.

I did not see that P.e.t.a was a supporter of this, as I am absolutely opposed to their agenda.

see natural news for great info on this topic

photo came from students against climate change blog