What's in our food

[cakadu]

Cowman has brought up a couple of good points in the beef production room and I think it might be interesting to see how others feel about our food supply.

We have all heard about Genetic engineering and how it is all bad and it is going to be a disaster for the human food chain. Along comes BSE, which poses far less risk than some of the practices that are currently taking place.

Food safety is of paramount importance but the risks associated with BSE and with Genetic engineering are small compared to things that happen every day.

Something like 70% of food safety issues occur in the home and improper food preparation.

How many people actually know how some of our food is processed? Think back 20 years ago when you baked a loaf of bread and it was as hard as a rock in a couple of days (that's if it lasted that long!) How many days will a loaf of bread last now?

Look at all the prepared and pre-packaged foods that are sitting on shelves - what goes into them? Look at how big a business that is. Does anyone question the safety and nutritional value of those products?

Not too long ago I heard about a product called guarana - which packs many times the punch of a can of coke. Our children have access to these products and they eventually get people so buzzed on the caffeine - yet this is a product that is "natural" and is therefore NOT regulated.

I'm not 100% for genetic engineering and actually think it should be looked at on a case by case basis and not be given a rubber stamp. Some arguments fall by the wayside as we have been eating canola products for how many years now and I am not aware of any ill effects happening to people.

I would like to see far less sprays being used, which translates into health benefits for both humans and the environment.

Because our food supply is generally thought to be safe, we don't really question what is going on with it. Isn't it time we started getting some answers?

[gmj]

Cakadu, I think the food we produce at the farm gate (ie raw canola, wheat, barley sunflowers, pork, beef, etc.) is very safe. Yes we do use alot of sprays, but we actually apply them with calibrated machines and not with spray bottles like some home gardeners do when some infestation happens in their garden.

I do however believe a lot of food gets altered for the worse (ie. processed to make life easier for the two income households) and that is where a lot of food gets "poisoned" ( I can't believe I just used that word).

We bake 98% of our bread products ourself (bread in our house goes moldy within 3 days).

I am 38 years old and I have never been subjected to bought jam, only home made.

We grow a lot of the vegetables and we eat our meals together as a family as often as possible.

When we do eat out we hardly ever eat at a fast food burger place like McDonalds or Burger King (less than 3 times/year)or any other chain restaurant like "Red Lobster" or "Pizza Hut". Instead we look for Restaurants that serve meals as close to home made as possible. It is a little more expensive but the food is a lot better and you are supporting an entrepreneur.

Hey there is nothing wrong with having fries and burgers every now and then but don't make them your main stay. A lot of health problems could be averted if we all ate well balanced meals in moderation.

[cowman]

The whole concept of safer food is slowly catching on. The baby boomers are getting old and their health is a major concern to them. And they have the money!
Twenty or thirty years ago if you drove down the back alleys in Red Deer you would see a garden in just about every yard. Now you don't. No time for a garden. Easier to just pick up your food at Safeway or more likely at Subway!
One thing I have noticed is the veggies and fruit you buy at the farmers markets always tastes a lot better than the stuff at Safeways? And at least you know it was grown here and not in Mexico or wherever?
I always plant a garden but then it is a hobby of mine or a "Chicken Soup for the Soul" type of deal! I just get a kick out of growing things! A cheap stress reliever I guess?
I get a little leery of "industrial" agriculture where "production" overules every other decision. Chemicals have their place but should be only used in moderation and as little as possible. We can't keep pouring more and more poisons on our food and expect it to be safe! I especially am leery of the "science" of industrial farming when the scientists who declare the gospel are being paid by the likes of Monsanto, Pfizer etc.! No conflict of interest there, right? What ever happened to our good old independent government scientists? Or did Monsanto buy the government off too?

[pandiana]

Cowman,your point about the garden is right on. But it still is a hard choice. In the time it takes you to weed you farm garden plot, your tractor has cultivated about 40-50 acres. You do this maybe once a week. If you weren't a farmer whose labor had no value, it wouldn't take a mathmetician to determine that that bag of peas at your supermarket made perfect sense economically. You need a strong sense of doing things the hard way. Hard headed, or that's what I keep telling myself out their weeding my garden.