My soap box, fluoride, GMO, HFCS

[MomLovesClassics]

Lately, I have been questioning my beliefs as what I believed to be true and accurate. I went to public school, and would say my family was one of those that believed whatever the authorities said was fact. I on the other hand have never been so easily convinced. In the past, I have read about fluoride not being good for your health and causing health issues. I sort of kept that info in the back of my head. Then somewhere I read some horrible things about fluoride, like Hitler used it in the water to help make people submissive, it is a toxic waste, rat poison, among other things. It is in the public water supply, people do not have a choice unless they purchase a water filtration system. I have well water, so I don't feel like I am being forced to drink it. Genetically modified foods are on the store shelves, yet we don't have much choice but to purchase it, unless we fork over extra money for organic food. On one hand doctors are saying to avoid this and that food, while the government encourages it's consumption. It appears big corporations seem to have a lot of influence on what is acceptable. They can produce their one sided evidence, and the government goes for it hook line and sinker. HFCS, doctors say stay away, commericals and website say it is healthy. I could continue with all these questionable things, but I think you get the idea. It is difficult to trust majority public opinion. It makes me wonder if we are somehow brainwashed into believing what the authorities, and corporations want us to believe. Sort of like the commercials, attempting to pass off junk food as health food. It amazes me how much junk food, prepackaged food and the like are in a grocery store, and how little fresh wholesome food is available. One can purchase a meal in a box, or a frozen meal, and that what companies want us to buy. It seems this has replaced homemade cooked meals. Why do so few people cook food from scratch anymore? It bothers me that stores are importing produce and farm raised fish from other countries, that is available here in the US! It is not like it was a speciality item. We have a serious food distribution problem in this country. with modern technology, we can't do any better, it is a disgrace. Ok enough of my soap box.

[eight_gregorys]

My husband thinks I'm kind of nuts, but I agree with everything you just said. I'm glad I'm not the only one out there. :001_smile:

[Caraway]

Have you read Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Omnivores-Dilemma-Natural-History-Meals/dp/0143038583/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247617483&sr=1-1

 

Or The Fluoride Deception by Christopher Bryson?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Fluoride-Deception-Christopher-Bryson/dp/1583225269/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247617246&sr=1-1

 

Don't even get me started on the FDA, organic certification, or the CDC. :glare:

[MomLovesClassics]

Have you read Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Omnivores-Dilemma-Natural-History-Meals/dp/0143038583/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247617483&sr=1-1

 

Or The Fluoride Deception by Christopher Bryson?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Fluoride-Deception-Christopher-Bryson/dp/1583225269/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247617246&sr=1-1

 

Don't even get me started on the FDA, organic certification, or the CDC. :glare:

Thanks for the suggestion, got the books on hold at the library.

[MomLovesClassics]

My husband thinks I'm kind of nuts, but I agree with everything you just said. I'm glad I'm not the only one out there. :001_smile:

My husband is the same. He does seem to notice the flavor of his meals, and appreciate my cooking.

[whitestavern]

Also agree with everything you said. We eat as much from scratch as we can. Most of what is on store shelves today shouldn't even be allowed to be sold as food. Uggh.

 

Great book suggestions; I'll add another Michael Pollan book, In Defense of Food.

[OHGrandma]

In many areas of the country flouride is a naturally occurring element in well water. We have 50% more than what is commonly added to city water. So, unless you have tested YOUR well water, you don't know how much flouride you are ingesting in your water.:D

[Heather in OK]

Agreed! You are definitely not alone in your thoughts.

[blessdmommy]

Thanks for the suggestion, got the books on hold at the library.

 

Ditto that!

[wildflower]

amen sister! yes, i do agree, you are not alone in your opinions.:iagree:

[ChristusG]

I agree with you. Within the last few months we've cut about 90% of HFCS and food dyes out of our diets. I try to buy as much organic fruits, dairy, and meat as possible (along with snacks for the kids). I do still have my treat on the weekend (usually a candy bar or something) and we do still eat out once a week, so I cannot control the HFCS there.

 

And I never knew that about flouride....I'll have to look into that more.

 

And dont get me started about vaccines, their ingredients, and how "well" the FDA tests them.

 

It's crazy the things that we put into our bodies now-a-days and we dont even realize it. And the gov't and federal agencies just push it under the rug.

[mamamace]

For once a few people who agree w/my "weird" views! Watch The Future of Food documentary on hulu.com. Food Inc. is another documentary that just came out in June, but I have not seen it yet. The books mentioned above are great resources.

 

We began growing a garden two years ago and have found local sources for eggs, chicken, and some fruit and veggies. Watching documentaries, etc. has really helped us to make the jump to buy more local and organic foods. Yes, it is more money, but it's putting that money into the hands of people, not to the corporations. It's just that processed food is so cheap. Much of it is government subsidized anyway. And it's not even real food!

 

Our sense of community has been lost in so many ways b/c we have strayed so far away from the agricultural model of society. I feel so great when I go to the farmers market and meet the people who grow the food.

 

It is totally scary what people put in their bodies. Don't get me started on things like prescription drugs, vaccines, the birth market, and the like. I will really get on a soapbox then!

[Kathy in MD]

A funny thing is how the demand for "fresh" fruits and vegetables may actually be less healthy than well preserved foods, especially frozen.

 

All too often, fresh foods are picked green and allowed to "ripen" on the way to the market. Though there is now a push for local foods in season, there is still a huge demand for fresh, out of season fruits and vegetables. The frozen and canned food sections have a far smaller selection than when I grew up, but the exotics and out of seasons in the fresh foods have never been greater.

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Oh, don't get me started! I just finished reading Michael Pollan's Botany of Desire. When I read what is being done to potatoes I almost cried because I didn't plant potatoes this year.

 

It makes me sick to think of what we are unknowingly putting in our bodies. No wonder so many people tune out this info. It is almost impossible for the average person to deal with.

 

An apple a day could now kill you.

[stripe]

I am not much of a conspiracy theorist, but I agree that putting healthy food in our bodies is important.

 

How about how huge a single chicken breast is! I read that most American turkeys can barely walk because they've been bred to have such huge breasts, since that's what Americans want to eat.

 

But unfortunately I've met other people in other countries who, while they probably eat more natural food, put other garbage in their bodies in the form of, say, chemicals in beauty products (hair dyes, hair straighteners/perm type things, skin bleach).

[Karen sn]

Oh, don't get me started! I just finished reading Michael Pollan's Botany of Desire. When I read what is being done to potatoes I almost cried because I didn't plant potatoes this year.

 

It makes me sick to think of what we are unknowingly putting in our bodies. No wonder so many people tune out this info. It is almost impossible for the average person to deal with.

 

An apple a day could now kill you.

 

Are you talking about the defoliant used in potato harvesting? (Which I think is related to Agent Orange). Or is this another GM thing.

[Karen sn]

Well - have you heard about Morgellon's disease and the link to GMO foods?

The fungus and bacteria they use to affect the eucaryotic cells of the plant also affect the eucaryotic cells of humans.

Imagine that.

 

So - eucaryotic cells are those that produce exact replicates.

Like skin cells producing more skin cells and liver cells producing more liver cells.

Non-eucaryotic cells would be sperm cells and egg cells because they are different from their parent cells.

 

http://www.naturalnews.com/023004.html

Food for thought.

talk about frightening!

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Are you talking about the defoliant used in potato harvesting? (Which I think is related to Agent Orange). Or is this another GM thing.

 

1. A GM thing: "New Leaf" potatoes grown for making french fries are modified to contain the properties of a natural insecticide. They are not listed as a food by the FDA, but as an insecticide by the EPA. Thes potatoes are officially an insecticide, and we eat them.

 

2. Also from Pollan's book (paraphrased): the potato season begins with a soil fumigant to kill every trace of microbial life, then an herbicide for weeds, at planting a systemic insecticide, when plants are 6" a second herbicide, pesticides and fertilizers are added to the irrigation system in weekly sprayings, when the leaves of one plant reach the leaves of its neighbor a fungicide is sprayed, a crop duster sprays at 14day intervals for aphids with something that is so deadly the farmers won't go near their fields for at least 4 days.

[mamamace]

It is so scary to see pictures of the people applying the pesticides. They are in biohazard suits for crying out loud! And we eat this! People wonder why we have epidemic levels of diseases...all of these things we've been discussing combined have to play a major role.

[Gretchen in NJ]

1. A GM thing: "New Leaf" potatoes grown for making french fries are modified to contain the properties of a natural insecticide. They are not listed as a food by the FDA, but as an insecticide by the EPA. Thes potatoes are officially an insecticide, and we eat them.

 

2. Also from Pollan's book (paraphrased): the potato season begins with a soil fumigant to kill every trace of microbial life, then an herbicide for weeds, at planting a systemic insecticide, when plants are 6" a second herbicide, pesticides and fertilizers are added to the irrigation system in weekly sprayings, when the leaves of one plant reach the leaves of its neighbor a fungicide is sprayed, a crop duster sprays at 14day intervals for aphids with something that is so deadly the farmers won't go near their fields for at least 4 days.

 

Are you talking about conventional potatoes or are you including organic potatoes as well?

 

 

We buy things as close to nature or how God made them as we can. We consuuuume raw milk, raw butter, grass feed beef, wild fish, etc, etc, etc.....

Edited July 15, 2009 by Gretchen in NJ
hit submit too soon

[Melissa in CA]

1. A GM thing: "New Leaf" potatoes grown for making french fries are modified to contain the properties of a natural insecticide. They are not listed as a food by the FDA, but as an insecticide by the EPA. Thes potatoes are officially an insecticide, and we eat them.

 

2. Also from Pollan's book (paraphrased): the potato season begins with a soil fumigant to kill every trace of microbial life, then an herbicide for weeds, at planting a systemic insecticide, when plants are 6" a second herbicide, pesticides and fertilizers are added to the irrigation system in weekly sprayings, when the leaves of one plant reach the leaves of its neighbor a fungicide is sprayed, a crop duster sprays at 14day intervals for aphids with something that is so deadly the farmers won't go near their fields for at least 4 days.

 

Oh no, not potatoes too! Is nothing sacred anymore? This sounds horrid.

 

I get our vegi's from an organic coop, but unfortunately potatoes are not always in season so I purchase from the store as well. Yuck. I don't think I want to read any of the books/sites recommended. It's depressing and one can get soo wrapped up in it all (Ask me how I know this? ;)) I can only TRY to make wise choices in our food purchases, but sometimes I just can't...and I have to be able to live with that. Somehow.

 

Garden's do not grow well in the desert. It is a nightmare fending off the critters...if your not killing ground squirrels, then it's gophers, rodents, bunnies, bugs...and ANTS (just to name a few). You basically have to build a garden fortress, and hire guards to watch it 24/7. I wish I could say it was worth it, but it's not.

 

So, I buy the best produce I can buy. Do the best I can do. And trust my God to take care of the rest. :001_smile:

[Caraway]

Yuck. I don't think I want to read any of the books/sites recommended. It's depressing and one can get soo wrapped up in it all (Ask me how I know this? ;)) I can only TRY to make wise choices in our food purchases, but sometimes I just can't...and I have to be able to live with that. Somehow.

 

IME I didn't find Pollan's Ominvore's Dilemma to be depressing. I actually found it motivating, and hopeful. I read it as there are things that can be done, and there are people doing good work - we just have to support them. Individual choices do matter.

[Karen in CO]

If we're recommending videos, King Corn and The Corporation need to be on the list too.

 

I'm not sure it is as sinister a brainwashing, but somebody figured out how to turn a whole generation (or two) into very good consumers.

[Julie in Austin]

For those who have mentioned Food, Inc.: there are a bunch of free screenings of this coming up--I'll be going to one tomorrow.

 

(Paid for by Chipotle, of all things. :tongue_smilie:)

[abreakfromlife]

 

So, I buy the best produce I can buy. Do the best I can do. And trust my God to take care of the rest.

That's how I see it - there is only so much I'm going to be able to ever do, and some chemicals are going to find their way in to our bodies, whether I like it or not. That's why I really try to stay on top of vitamins/minerals for us.....hopefully our bodies will get enough of them that they can fight off any damage the chemicals will try to do.