Food-Induced Suicide
When you eat a premade chicken patty or fast food chicken nugget, do you know what you're eating?
It's still chicken, but not something you'd think is food grade. Mechanically separated chicken, known as 'pink slime,' is made by smashing miscellaneous chicken trimmings through a sieve. Doesn't sound very separated, does it? Once it's made, it has to be sterilized, which means it is then treated with ammonia, artificially chicken-flavored and then dyed a more poultry-like color.
In fast food restaurants, public school cafeterias and grocery store frozen meat cases, this is considered food. Processed chicken items like fajitas, chicken nuggets, chicken patties and chicken chunks found in frozen pre-made convenience foods are made from this gunk. The only difference between pink slime chicken and the stuff that goes into dog food is frankly nothing. In fact, many of us feed our pets better than we feed ourselves.
The Western world is eating pink slime. We're pairing it with deep-fried potatoes and washing it down with sodas and milkshakes. Then we wonder why we're obese. We've traded ten minutes of food preparation for years living with heart disease, diabetes and cancer. We're fat and sick because our priorities aren't where they should be. The only race Americans are winning is the race to the grave. If we want to regain vitality as a nation, turning to energy drinks is not going to work. We obviously need to cut the middle man out of our diet.
It's still chicken, but not something you'd think is food grade. Mechanically separated chicken, known as 'pink slime,' is made by smashing miscellaneous chicken trimmings through a sieve. Doesn't sound very separated, does it? Once it's made, it has to be sterilized, which means it is then treated with ammonia, artificially chicken-flavored and then dyed a more poultry-like color.
In fast food restaurants, public school cafeterias and grocery store frozen meat cases, this is considered food. Processed chicken items like fajitas, chicken nuggets, chicken patties and chicken chunks found in frozen pre-made convenience foods are made from this gunk. The only difference between pink slime chicken and the stuff that goes into dog food is frankly nothing. In fact, many of us feed our pets better than we feed ourselves.
The Western world is eating pink slime. We're pairing it with deep-fried potatoes and washing it down with sodas and milkshakes. Then we wonder why we're obese. We've traded ten minutes of food preparation for years living with heart disease, diabetes and cancer. We're fat and sick because our priorities aren't where they should be. The only race Americans are winning is the race to the grave. If we want to regain vitality as a nation, turning to energy drinks is not going to work. We obviously need to cut the middle man out of our diet.
Punk Your Food
The most revolutionary thing you can do as a citizen is take control of your food. Be a food punk! Even feminists need to get back to the kitchen. Our food habits are making us fat, complacent, docile and dependent. It's easy to sit back and blame medical expenses on big pharma and medicorps, but our laziness and poor food choices feed those machines. They wouldn't even survive without all the money we shovel at them. Without the US exporting our overconsumption culture to other countries, pharmaceutical companies can't maintain a large income pipeline in places where people don't normally eat like we do.
We need to turn away from convenience foods forever. We're so disconnected from farming and food processing, that we have no idea where our food comes from or what was done to it. We must research our food and cook meals from scratch. This is the only way we'll reclaim our health. Pinkwashers such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, Avon, automakers, frackers, Yoplait, Susan G. Komen Foundation and many others do little for cancer except make money from it. They aren't going to do it. The FDA and USDA put politics and money ahead of health. They aren't going to do it. The onus is on the individual consumer.
The best way to beat a disease is not to have it in the first place. Stand up to unscrupulous food manufacturers, toxic and inhumane CAFOs and industrial food lobbies by preparing whole foods from scratch, switching to free-range, grass-fed, cruelty-free meats/eggs/dairy products and sourcing produce from local organic farms and backyard gardens. It's time to take responsibility for our food and our health. Our lives depend on it.
We need to turn away from convenience foods forever. We're so disconnected from farming and food processing, that we have no idea where our food comes from or what was done to it. We must research our food and cook meals from scratch. This is the only way we'll reclaim our health. Pinkwashers such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, Avon, automakers, frackers, Yoplait, Susan G. Komen Foundation and many others do little for cancer except make money from it. They aren't going to do it. The FDA and USDA put politics and money ahead of health. They aren't going to do it. The onus is on the individual consumer.
The best way to beat a disease is not to have it in the first place. Stand up to unscrupulous food manufacturers, toxic and inhumane CAFOs and industrial food lobbies by preparing whole foods from scratch, switching to free-range, grass-fed, cruelty-free meats/eggs/dairy products and sourcing produce from local organic farms and backyard gardens. It's time to take responsibility for our food and our health. Our lives depend on it.
Add This to the Bucket List
HOAs may find it objectionable, but this is how we should use our yards. This is video of the famous Drummondville front yard vegetable garden planted by Michel Beauchamp and his wife, Josee Landry. It is well-designed, manicured and frankly very attractive. The City of Drummondville wanted them to rip it out and put down grass or be fined as much as $300 per day. Why would anyone demand sacrificing all this work for a useless water-sucking lawn? They didn't put some decrepit motor home on blocks in the front yard. They created a beautiful Eden. Fortunately, they won the right to keep it.
Buying local organic in-season produce and growing our own food is the one sure way to wrestle our health back from food processing companies and insidious GMO mongers. It will also help humanity preserve heirloom fruit and vegetable strains while keeping honey bees from going extinct. Guaranteeing your access to ethically-grown, healthy, nutritious whole foods is worth a fight. We need to work to keep community garden plots open and keep the right to grow personal crops in our own yards. It's especially important now. Earth's fossil fuel supply is only going to last another thirty years or so. That's an optimistic estimate, especially when you consider that the United States is no longer alone as a top consumer of petroleum products. Countries like China and India have spent the past several years rapidly industrializing and they are using more and more oil. The U.S. has its own reserves, but still competes for global supply.
The days of imported produce, reliably cheap and easily accessed foods are nearly over. Once delivery trucks are out of diesel, ships rust in harbors and trains no longer run, the price of a regular head of grocery store cabbage could soar as high as $6 or $9. How are you going to feed yourself when a simple iceberg lettuce salad costs $20? How is that omelette going to taste when eggs cost $7 a piece? Is minimum wage suddenly jumping to $25/hour? I don't see that happening. We have reached the zenith of what we can expect from mass production farming. If fossil fuels rapidly disappear from the equation, current commercial agriculture is going to crash. It will not only stop harvesting and processing machinery, it will affect fertilizers and pesticides. Livestock producers will have a hard time sourcing adequate grain and meat prices will rise sharply. The worst case scenario is that food rationing is in our future. Our food will be so preserved and overprocessed it won't have any real nutritional value apart from what was added artificially. This is why the military still sets up field kitchens. Soldiers can't stay healthy living exclusively on MREs. Do we really want to put ourselves in a situation in which we are completely dependent on the government for food? No good can come from that. Freedom is meaningless if we have to waste half of each day in a food line.
Buying local organic in-season produce and growing our own food is the one sure way to wrestle our health back from food processing companies and insidious GMO mongers. It will also help humanity preserve heirloom fruit and vegetable strains while keeping honey bees from going extinct. Guaranteeing your access to ethically-grown, healthy, nutritious whole foods is worth a fight. We need to work to keep community garden plots open and keep the right to grow personal crops in our own yards. It's especially important now. Earth's fossil fuel supply is only going to last another thirty years or so. That's an optimistic estimate, especially when you consider that the United States is no longer alone as a top consumer of petroleum products. Countries like China and India have spent the past several years rapidly industrializing and they are using more and more oil. The U.S. has its own reserves, but still competes for global supply.
The days of imported produce, reliably cheap and easily accessed foods are nearly over. Once delivery trucks are out of diesel, ships rust in harbors and trains no longer run, the price of a regular head of grocery store cabbage could soar as high as $6 or $9. How are you going to feed yourself when a simple iceberg lettuce salad costs $20? How is that omelette going to taste when eggs cost $7 a piece? Is minimum wage suddenly jumping to $25/hour? I don't see that happening. We have reached the zenith of what we can expect from mass production farming. If fossil fuels rapidly disappear from the equation, current commercial agriculture is going to crash. It will not only stop harvesting and processing machinery, it will affect fertilizers and pesticides. Livestock producers will have a hard time sourcing adequate grain and meat prices will rise sharply. The worst case scenario is that food rationing is in our future. Our food will be so preserved and overprocessed it won't have any real nutritional value apart from what was added artificially. This is why the military still sets up field kitchens. Soldiers can't stay healthy living exclusively on MREs. Do we really want to put ourselves in a situation in which we are completely dependent on the government for food? No good can come from that. Freedom is meaningless if we have to waste half of each day in a food line.
You may remember pictures of Soviet Russian food lines before Gorbachev came to power. Stores could only get variable controlled quantities of certain commodities due to shortages or the local economy. Apart from being restricted on amounts of certain things they could buy; people lined up to get a chance at presently mundane items, like butter. It's time to roll up our sleeves and start planting. Even if you only have a small yard, you can still raise a bountiful crop. It's time to bring back the victory garden.
Food Sourcing and Growing
Local Harvest - An online guide to farmer's markets and local organic food producers. Buying local supports family farming and helps consumers get the least processed and least polluted produce, meats and eggs.
Bill Mollison - Often called the Father of Permaculture, he co-originated the permaculture concept with David Holmgren and founded the first Permaculture institute in 1979. He launched and led a movement to change agricultural paradigms to that of long term sustainable practices. His books are still valuable resources for designing and maintaining permaculture farms. Several of his publications are available online in PDF form. Print copies can also be ordered through your local library, Alibris, Powell's or Amazon.
David Holmgren - Australian environmental designer and contemporary of Bill Mollison. He has also written several publications on permaculture and still showcases his practices at the Melliodora-Hepburn Permaculture Garden in Central Victoria, Australia. David Holmgren also has a list of publications which can be found through various permaculture websites, Alibris and Amazon.
Geoff Lawton - Permaculture expert with 31 years of experience. Lots of learning materials, PDFs, videos and a teaching farm to inspire your own land design. He and his wife Nadia run the Permaculture Research Institute which was originally founded by Bill Mollison.
Polyface Farms - Another source of inspiration for sustainable farming and humane animal husbandry. Offers farm tours, seminars, library, books, DVDs, and apprenticeship opportunities.
NeverEndingFood.org - Website detailing permaculture in Malawi, which shows permaculture principles can be applied in any ecosystem with sustainable and plentiful results.
Organic Seed Finder - The Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies hosts an online search tool for organic, heirloom, non-GMO seed sellers.
Designing your Garden - You've figured out what you want to grow, now you need to decide how to configure it. Do you want raised beds? Do you want it permanently built, or movable? Mother Earth News offers an online garden planner. You can also plan things out on graph paper or landscaping software.
Organic Fruit and Vegetable Gardening - The Helpful Gardener gives helpful advice on how to get your organic garden started. The Smiling Gardener lists book titles worth checking out and David Solomon also hosts a handy informational video on the topic. Mother Earth News also offers helpful tips on maximizing your harvest.
Composting - What you take from your soil, you must put back. Composting allows you to cut down on landfill waste by turning organic items like food scraps and leaves into usable nutrients for your garden plants.
Irrigation - Water is an important part of keeping a healthy garden. Learn how to design an irrigation system which maximizes your water savings and works best for your gardening scheme.
Organic Pest Control - You're not the only one who'll eye your delicious bounty. Tomato worms, slugs, aphids, squash bugs and other pests will try to move in on your hard work. Keep pests at bay with online guides for identifying and fighting them off.
Orchards - Apples, pears, peaches, cherries, almonds and pecans. You need trees to get these things. Since it takes a few years to see the full yield from your fruit trees, they should be the first items you plant when setting up your garden. Research which varieties thrive in your zone and region. Make sure you know which pests to ward away.
Urban Organic Gardener - Apartment dwellers can grow their own veggies and herbs. Lots of advice lives here on where and how to set up a small garden. Be sure to ask building management if you are allowed to grow anything outside your unit or on your balcony before planting there. In the United States, it is illegal to obstruct paths of emergency egress in any place of business or multi-unit residential housing. You might be able to garden on the roof or a side yard (with consent). You can also buy compact stacking shelf gardens with grow lights to grow produce in a corner of your apartment. If none of those options are available, see if your city offers public urban garden plots.
Raising Poultry - The only way to guarantee you're not supporting cruel CAFO operations is to buy verifiable organically-raised free-range poultry or raise your own. There is a wide and colorful range of chicken and turkey breeds available to build your flock. Learn how to design and set up a coop and how to select, raise and protect a thriving flock. Check with your local ordinances before you begin. Even small poultry flocks can be considered a neighborhood nuisance.
Bill Mollison - Often called the Father of Permaculture, he co-originated the permaculture concept with David Holmgren and founded the first Permaculture institute in 1979. He launched and led a movement to change agricultural paradigms to that of long term sustainable practices. His books are still valuable resources for designing and maintaining permaculture farms. Several of his publications are available online in PDF form. Print copies can also be ordered through your local library, Alibris, Powell's or Amazon.
David Holmgren - Australian environmental designer and contemporary of Bill Mollison. He has also written several publications on permaculture and still showcases his practices at the Melliodora-Hepburn Permaculture Garden in Central Victoria, Australia. David Holmgren also has a list of publications which can be found through various permaculture websites, Alibris and Amazon.
Geoff Lawton - Permaculture expert with 31 years of experience. Lots of learning materials, PDFs, videos and a teaching farm to inspire your own land design. He and his wife Nadia run the Permaculture Research Institute which was originally founded by Bill Mollison.
Polyface Farms - Another source of inspiration for sustainable farming and humane animal husbandry. Offers farm tours, seminars, library, books, DVDs, and apprenticeship opportunities.
NeverEndingFood.org - Website detailing permaculture in Malawi, which shows permaculture principles can be applied in any ecosystem with sustainable and plentiful results.
Organic Seed Finder - The Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies hosts an online search tool for organic, heirloom, non-GMO seed sellers.
Designing your Garden - You've figured out what you want to grow, now you need to decide how to configure it. Do you want raised beds? Do you want it permanently built, or movable? Mother Earth News offers an online garden planner. You can also plan things out on graph paper or landscaping software.
Organic Fruit and Vegetable Gardening - The Helpful Gardener gives helpful advice on how to get your organic garden started. The Smiling Gardener lists book titles worth checking out and David Solomon also hosts a handy informational video on the topic. Mother Earth News also offers helpful tips on maximizing your harvest.
Composting - What you take from your soil, you must put back. Composting allows you to cut down on landfill waste by turning organic items like food scraps and leaves into usable nutrients for your garden plants.
Irrigation - Water is an important part of keeping a healthy garden. Learn how to design an irrigation system which maximizes your water savings and works best for your gardening scheme.
Organic Pest Control - You're not the only one who'll eye your delicious bounty. Tomato worms, slugs, aphids, squash bugs and other pests will try to move in on your hard work. Keep pests at bay with online guides for identifying and fighting them off.
Orchards - Apples, pears, peaches, cherries, almonds and pecans. You need trees to get these things. Since it takes a few years to see the full yield from your fruit trees, they should be the first items you plant when setting up your garden. Research which varieties thrive in your zone and region. Make sure you know which pests to ward away.
Urban Organic Gardener - Apartment dwellers can grow their own veggies and herbs. Lots of advice lives here on where and how to set up a small garden. Be sure to ask building management if you are allowed to grow anything outside your unit or on your balcony before planting there. In the United States, it is illegal to obstruct paths of emergency egress in any place of business or multi-unit residential housing. You might be able to garden on the roof or a side yard (with consent). You can also buy compact stacking shelf gardens with grow lights to grow produce in a corner of your apartment. If none of those options are available, see if your city offers public urban garden plots.
Raising Poultry - The only way to guarantee you're not supporting cruel CAFO operations is to buy verifiable organically-raised free-range poultry or raise your own. There is a wide and colorful range of chicken and turkey breeds available to build your flock. Learn how to design and set up a coop and how to select, raise and protect a thriving flock. Check with your local ordinances before you begin. Even small poultry flocks can be considered a neighborhood nuisance.
Kitchen Conservation
After months of tender loving care, your garden has offered a beautiful selection of produce. More than you could possibly eat? That's the idea! Here's what to do with your hard-earned harvest.
Post Harvest Handling of Fruits and Vegetables - North Carolina State University offers a guidelines for cooling your produce once it's picked.
Preserving Your Harvest - This website offers suggestions for canning, making jams and preserves, drying and storage of fruits, vegetables and herbs.
Freezing - Freezing is another great way to make your food last. One of my favorite tricks is to make large batches of chili, soups and stews and freeze them in serving-sized containers. There is nothing easier to put in a lunch box on your way to work or heat quickly when you need to get dinner on the table fast.
Pickling - Pickling is another preservation trick. Turn your fruits, peppers and vegetables into pickled snacks, chutneys and relishes.
Infusions - Sometimes called 'spa water' or 'agua fresca;' infusions give water a subtle lift in flavor and nutrients by adding fresh fruits and herbs. Infusing makes a refreshing beverage in the hot Summer. You can also make tasty infusions with wine and vodka for your next cozy get together.
16 Foods that will Grow Back from Kitchen Scraps - Don't compost everything! Save some of those delectable farmer's market goodies and grow your own supply.
Post Harvest Handling of Fruits and Vegetables - North Carolina State University offers a guidelines for cooling your produce once it's picked.
Preserving Your Harvest - This website offers suggestions for canning, making jams and preserves, drying and storage of fruits, vegetables and herbs.
Freezing - Freezing is another great way to make your food last. One of my favorite tricks is to make large batches of chili, soups and stews and freeze them in serving-sized containers. There is nothing easier to put in a lunch box on your way to work or heat quickly when you need to get dinner on the table fast.
Pickling - Pickling is another preservation trick. Turn your fruits, peppers and vegetables into pickled snacks, chutneys and relishes.
Infusions - Sometimes called 'spa water' or 'agua fresca;' infusions give water a subtle lift in flavor and nutrients by adding fresh fruits and herbs. Infusing makes a refreshing beverage in the hot Summer. You can also make tasty infusions with wine and vodka for your next cozy get together.
16 Foods that will Grow Back from Kitchen Scraps - Don't compost everything! Save some of those delectable farmer's market goodies and grow your own supply.
Make Friends with Bacteria - The best probiotics don't come from store shelves. Considering many commercial 'probiotic' foods are processed, pasteurized and preserved; they're essentially dead. Your best probiotic source is your own kitchen. Food Renegade talks about brewing kombucha and culturing your own scoby (mother colony of bacteria and yeast). While you're at it, you can also save money by growing your own kefir.
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Please note that any information or advice found or interpreted from this site is to be used at your own risk. I am not responsible for ideas, decisions or actions taken by site visitors regarding food/nutrition, health, disease/diagnosis, legal, safety, wealth, debt, investing, writing or any other aspect of your personal, physical, professional, financial, spiritual, or otherwise, lives.
You are in charge of your own self, whether you accept responsibility or not.
These images were legally purchased for use on this site.
Please note that any information or advice found or interpreted from this site is to be used at your own risk. I am not responsible for ideas, decisions or actions taken by site visitors regarding food/nutrition, health, disease/diagnosis, legal, safety, wealth, debt, investing, writing or any other aspect of your personal, physical, professional, financial, spiritual, or otherwise, lives.
You are in charge of your own self, whether you accept responsibility or not.