Minutus

90%(my guess) of all veggies in the market are injected with Oxytosis(?) to make
them grow larger.
Jeff
________________________________
________________________________

I'm sure you are right that that is a good idea for many reasons, Tanya, but an awful lot of people can't afford "raw, organic dairy and meats from grass fed and naturally [raised animals] right now." In the US they are also not easy to find, IMO, though we have a great source in my area. Tough problem. Teresa (Northern VA)

---- "tamarque@earthlink.net" wrote:

I remember having a discussion with a member of staff from the animal welfare department at DEFRA and they mentioned that DEFRA had to stop human effluent being spread on farm fields because the hormones in it, left over from the female contraceptive pill, were making the cattle infertile.

pretty funny
________________________________

pretty funny in a cynical sort of way.
Teresa--I think if people looked at what they bought, and were actually
willing to make changes, they could/would figure out how to dramatically
improve their diet. My daughter works in an area where there are no
fresh vegetables at all withing a many block area in NYC. Talk of
nutritionally starving an entire population. However, my daughter plans
her week to ensure being able to visit markets in other parts of the city
where she can buy some better quality food. I told her to try and teach
people to demand fresh produce in the local stores.
No, it is not easy nor is it magic, but people can do differently. Let's
remember the food coops of the 1970s which happened in poor
neighborhoods in order to ensure that fresh vegetables were
availabe at reasonable costs. Why has this become just a white
middle-class effort these days.
Hey, correct me if I am wrong. I speak only from what I can see.
Why can't a dozen people, for example, pool resources and but
dairy products in bulk that would last a couple of weeks. Why can't
people give up meats a few days a week and eat organic rice and beans
which many eat anyway. There are many ways that people can learn
to do better for themselves that won't cost more money. I live on a very
tight income, myself and spend very frugally. I still eat almost 100%
organic.
tanya
________________________________

Hormones are and have been illegal in meat chicken production in the US. Antibiotics must be purged before slaughter; however, it is more common to find chickens labeled "no antibiotics", because meat chickens are grown and processed so quickly is it not even economical to treat sick individuals or flocks.

The biggest problem, IMO, with chickens is the inappropriate feed of grains and soy, as high Omega 6 levels also predispose to estrogen disorders.
ginny
All stunts performed without a net!

the hormone regulation is not old and i am too distrusting to believe it.
my understanding not too long ago was that these drugs were added to the farm
animal feed to the animals received it indescriminately.
i would have to research it more carefully for better details.
tanya
________________________________

Using them enantiopathically, do you mean? It would seem to be of the philosophy of adding another drug to counteract the "side" effects of the last drug, wouldn't it.

Jeff, if the consumer demand is there for real food -- even for healthily raised livestock -- then the producers will rush to fill it. The Institute for Responsible Technology (http://responsibletechnology.org) found, for instance, that sufficient pressure to make the market for GMOs entirely collapse in the United States will arise through consumer demand by just five percent of the population for GMO-free foods. Of course, complaining on an e-mail list does not constitute such demand. In Australia, a campaign organised by Greenpeace pressured two (maybe three) major grain distributors sufficiently for them to declare that they would not buy GM grains.

Being defeatist about it brings only defeat. Organising vocal expression of the demand for something better brings pressure to bear and often leads to capitulation even by these big companies to the market.

Cheers --

John

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Where it is doing the right thing, a great power should be robust against embarrassment."
—Simon Jenkins, "U.S. embassy cables: The job of the media is not to protect the powerful from embarrassment", The Guardian 28 Nov 2010, .

Here, here John.
People can work locally as well as join in any national effort.
Jeff Smith's site has some terrific films and power points to use
in public gatherings. They are not expensive and help pay for the site and
the organizations work.
You can use them as the basis for organizing local groups which will have
Smith's site to help create strategies and tactics.
tanya
________________________________