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I enjoy documentaries which at least appear to be accurate, even if I am unable to confirm otherwise.
In general, the real world can leave nothing to the imagination, and often seems harsh and threatening, so fantasy represents pleasure.
I would prefer fantasy entertainment over being reminded exactly how it is out there, any day.
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I have watched more documentaries already this year than in entire past years. Most of them were related to nutrition and the American food supply chain. Be grateful that you live in Europe, by the way. Be wary of clever directors who are able to disguise opinions as facts through clever use of information. Remember the saw about there being three levels of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
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Just to clarify, are genetically modified crops used as standard in your food supply chain?
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Yes. They appear in more things than many know or care about. GMO corn is in every candy bar, sugary drink, and snack you can imagine. GMO soy is in our bread, crackers, cereal, and condiments. If you want to eat processed food, expect lots of both in them. MSG is the great neutralizer when recipes fail and when in doubt, just add a few teaspoons of salt.
If you want steak for dinner, I hope you like antibiotics and hormones because you will be consuming them. The entire food supply chain is subsidized by the tax payers, so we are paying the corporate farmers for the right for us to become sick as a result of eating their product. I guess you could say we pay them to produce the food we will turn around and buy, so they get us twice.
I won't get into how the animals are treated. Chickens are bred with breasts so large they cannot walk. Good thing too, because they are caged and have nowhere to go. And the regulations are so strict for organic farmers, very few can afford to do it, so healthy foodstuffs are much too expensive for most.
Good thing our taxes support corn and soy farmers, huh? Otherwise, who could afford to eat?
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I'm not sure if our laws are any more strict than yours, but could well be.
I think GM crops are not grown commercially here. GM commodities are imported for animal feed and, to a lesser extent, in some food products.
I imagine our farming methods are broadly similar, [[antibiotics and hormones) but your farming industry is on a huge scale, compared to ours. There are plans to have very large dairy farms where the cattle never see pasture [[but probably not unusual there), and 40% of the dairy farms have gone in the last seven years....
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The world has changed. Our beef cattle are raised in pens and fed grain instead of grass. When they first eat this diet, their bodies reject it and they become violently ill. Between the grain and medication, they grow to mature size much faster than they would naturally. They are fat and unhealthy and forced to exist in muddy pens, wallowing in manure with dozens of other cows until being walked to the slaughter house.
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I wonder if any of the antibiotics make their way into McDonalds burgers.....
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They are in American burgers to the extent that we now face the prospect of viruses that are resistant to antibiotics. These "superbugs" have evolved due to over-consumption of antibiotics and require extraneous means to treat them. Every effort to require meat producers to label their packaging to indicate what is in the meat has been soundly defeated by deep-pocketed lobbyists. In fact, if you label your meat or milk to be sans hormones and antibiotics, you are required to specifically note that scientists have found no particular difference between product that has been treated vs product that has not.
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..which seems to beg the question "then why do it?"......
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Money. You grow your livestock 20% faster and it grows to an unnatural size, giving you more yield. If the public gets sick from eating? Well, that's their problem. The US Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration support the industry, in spite of the fact that every year we have thousands of pounds of beef recalled due to diseasse caused by nonhygienic handling. We're talking about people actuall dying.
And it's water under the bridge when a year later, they give you a lot number for perishable food and say that if you still have it, you should take it back to the store for exchange. There are many abuses, but the industry is so large and influential, there is no hope for change.
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I know you're not eating meat, but do you have farm shops from local suppliers, in your area?
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No, not many. There is a cooperative that opened up a few miles away from my home, though. I need to see what they offer. We do have stores that sell organic meat, though. My wife eats organic beef and chicken. There are strict rules pertaining to what may be labeled organic and one of the reasons that there are not more inspectors on the assembly lines of meat packers is because they spend a lot of resournces cracking down on Mom and Pop farms. In many states, you cannot even purchase raw milk and in others [[like mine), if you gave me $10 to purchase it on my trip to an Amish farm, I'd be breaking the law to buy it for you. Yet, every major issue with illness has come from industrial meat processors and dairies, not the small farmers who follow sustainable practices. It's all about money.
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Milk in UK which has not been heat treated can only be sold direct to their customers by registered producers or their roundsmen, and must be tuberculosis and brucellosis free. There are quite strict hygiene, sampling and inspection procedures - and a warning put on all products.
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That's understandable. There are no required warning labels on dairy here, unless you state that yours is BsT free. In that case, the label must state that there is no scientific proof that the milk is safer than standard milk.
Many here are upset over the fact that many of the health concerns pertaining to raw milk are overstated and that the nutritional benefit of milk is drastically reduced through the normal pasteurization process. In states that permit direct sell of raw milk to consumers, there has been no concerns with health issues. However, milk from the larger producers has had issues associated with it and the regulators are less concerned about it.
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Some of the people who feel that health concerns over untreated milk are overstated, probably are unaware of the severity of the potential diseases which could be contracted - and that's because they simply are unfamiliar with them. They'd be the first to want to sue - if they survive.
Much the same with immunisation against diseases in humans. Nature is poised, always ready to strike back......
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Ah, but there's rub: the case history of the last 50 years reveals more danger to the milk I receive at the grocer than the milk people drink on the farm. It doesn't matter much to me these days because although I'm sadly addicted to cheese, I no longer drink milk.
Now that I consider it, it is kind of creepy that we drink another species' milk. I'm thinking too hard about this stuff. If it hasn't killed me, it probably won't. Please tell me that I'm right..
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As I mentioned on the other thread, you're just a bit anxious - which needs to be addressed, but carefully.
Yes, you are quite right. If it hasn't killed you, it probably won't.
One thing is for sure : just worrying about it won't make a bit of difference.
Be alert to any mild aversions that may develop in your subconscious, while your keen intelligence is fully engaged on other matters. Those feelings may become stronger than you realise......
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Okay. I think my hour on the couch is up. How much do I owe you, Doc? :)
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LOL! No charge. Any time. :)
How is Spring over there, after all the snow....?
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Up and down, so far. We had a three-day span last week wherein we went from a high of 80 [[27) degrees to a high of 37 [[3) degrees. It even snowed that day on my way to work.
Have the rains ceased over there?
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That made me realise I'd given it no more thought - probably because we have a fair amount of rain most years.
Yes, the excessive rain storms ceased some weeks ago, although we're back to showers on a regular basis.
The daylight hours are longer, and we've had beautiful sunshine on some days, although the evening temperatures have dipped lately. Central heating was on when we returned earlier, so must be cool.
All in all, it has seemed to be one of the mildest winters for many years, and no snow here in this part of the South at all ,that I can recall.
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I wish we could say the same. It's cool, though because if we never had a baseline bad winter, then to what would we compare the wonderful ones?
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Very true. It's only when weather doesn't go the way we'd like, we ever really notice it.
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I submit to you that if most people were guaranteed only 20 days of sunshine and warm temperatures for the rest of their lives, they would move to the Arctic and rejoice every day that it is below freezing. It's all about priorities.
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As an example of logic, it is rather extreme...but I take your point!
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Life is too short. Can you imagine the following conversation on Death Row:
Warden: "Well, Killer, I was thinking about leaving early today to pick up something for my anniversary. How'd you like it if I gave you a one-day stay of execution?"
Killer: "I don't know, Chief. What's the forecast look like for tomorrow?"
Every day counts and anyone who doesn't hope for another one is probably in a bad place psychologically or in a horrible physical state. I can imagine being in constant pain and welcoming the sweet release that death might provide so I am not in position to judge.
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You're veering sharply towards the negative again, sir......:)
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Just the opposite... I'm using an example of what appears to be illogical to me. There's very few reasonable circumstances why today should not be celebrated. Even if you know it's going to be bad, you'll probably survive. So suck it up, bite your lip, look at the clock and know that this too shall pass.
If that ain't motivational, then I'll just collect my fee, tell a few jokes, and sit down. My days as a motivator must not be working out too well...
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I'm probably more upbeat than many, albeit in a quiet way. I'm also somewhat self-motivated, so am probably alert for negativity, but without really knowing it.
There are many out there in definite need of your motivational skills, if only because they'll be looking to you to come up with a magic answer for their insecurities.....
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People need hope. There's no magic answer, but there is perspective and that is something easily lost in rough situations. I do my best to make sure they know that they've seen rougher times and survived while letting them know that the headaches of today will one day be minor compared to what's coming down the pike. I'm not saying shrug and act like it's fine because it's not. But just realize that one day, you'll forget what made you cry today. So do yourself a favor and let it go sooner rather than later. You can do that and it'll move you on to something better.
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All that's missing is "I'm going to ask you to get up out of your seat".....:)
You could maybe start a thread for the terminally bewildered. They'll be queuing for refuge, right round the forum, and out across the internet....
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Hah! Not one chance, Bub. 90% of the people on these forums are beyond help of any kind!
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You could be right, but that doesn't say much for our own chances.
And they're coming to you for help and advice........
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Hmmm... Okay, I've got it! First, everyone will send $10 to me. Then, they will ask ten people to send them $10 each and of that amount, I'll receive $50. They will each receive a 500% return on their initial investment. Then, the second group of ten people will talk ten others into forwarding $10 each, of which they will receive $50, my lieutenants will receive $30, and I will receive $20. Then, that batch will talk ten others into
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Wait... You don't suppose anybody here works for the Department of Taxation do you? If so, then that last post was just a joke. If not, PM me and I'll continue to tell you how I can help a lot of fellow board members fix all of the problems in their lives.
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I believe that's how the Ancient Egyptians financed the building of the pyramids.
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You learned that from your Mummy.
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My mummy had it all wrapped up by the time I got there...
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I learned a lot at my mother's knee - and other low joints.
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It you had to bend over it, it must have looked like the gallows as you approached it...