tasty foods
I’ve got an injury that keeps me from getting as much exercise as I’d like right now, so my thinking about health has shifted a little towards what I eat instead. I think I’ll be adding a tag called “food”.
You’ve probably seen the mercury-in-your-corn-syrup story by now (thanks to Technoccult for the link, and be sure to read down into the comments for a fun surprise!) The big deal isn’t so much the mercury, as bad as that may be, but that the FDA let it slide. Now check out the new development in the salmonella-in-your-peanut-butter story (by way of Green Daily)….
- Our Melamine: There’s Mercury in High Fructose Corn Syrup, and the FDA Has Known for Years
- Peanut Processor Knowingly Sold Tainted Products
Officials at the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which have been investigating the outbreak of salmonella illness, said yesterday that Peanut Corporation of America found salmonella in internal tests a dozen times in 2007 and 2008 but sold the products anyway, sometimes after getting a negative finding from a different laboratory.
Summary: food safety is breaking down. Time to quit pointing fingers at China, huh?
And don’t miss this one:
- Less tasty — and not as good for you:
Industrially grown produce shows long-term nutritional decline
The principle seems to be that when plants are nudged to produce as much as possible — whether through lots of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides or through selective breeding — they deliver fewer nutrients. It evidently isn’t just the flavor that’s become diluted in those bland supermarket tomatoes.
This is a fascinating insight. We should reflect that for at least 50 years, the best-funded agricultural researchers are the ones work to maximize yield — that is, gross output per acre. Even now, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is expending hundreds of millions of dollars in an effort to increase yields in Africa.
Comments
The lack of nutrients also comes from growing too much too often in the same soil and relying too much on fertilizer which usually doesn’t have the same kind of nutrient content that one would get from the natural composting process.
Also, the FDA and USDA are full-of-shit corporate puppets and have been for decades. Marion Nestle, who wrote Food Politics, has been warning us about this for years.
Hey man, if you get obsessed with food…I know it’s selfish of me, but I’d love to have you throw down any brainfood you find on Urban Evolution.
That said, even if you don’t, I’m a regular reader so I’ll just harvest and transplant it myself. Get better soon, you want to be in good running shape when the nano-swarm comes next month!