Animal husbandry is the raising of domesticated animals for use as food. I think that when the term was first coined it meant something different than it does today. In ancient times, animals were kept in better conditions, close to the home and hearth, treated with respect, fed foods that were of a quality that was comparable to what those raising the animals would eat. The waste was disposed of in a manner that allowed it to return to the environment in a manner that was conducive to improvements in the land. And finally, the animals were held with high esteem and their slaughter was an event that commanded reverence, and a sacred practice that allowed many families to rejoice in the rewards of healthful protein with little fear of contamination, diseases, and of course, death. The science of animal husbandry progressed along a distinct path where various breeds of each animal were cross bred and better, more viable strains of every animal were produced. And then in the 1950's, everything went sort of backwards. That's when it all came crashing down as the drive to make money overtook the need to produce viable healthy animals for consumption.
Last October there was another outbreak of Salmonella poisoning from Foster Farms chicken products. The CDC estimates that at a minimum, 2 million Americans are infected with Salmonella poisoning annually. At least 23,000 die each year. December 2013, just last month, "Consumer Reports" addressed the Salmonella problem in chicken by doing their good works and testing chicken across the country. Their results are that 97% of the chicken in stores is contaminated with not only Salmonella bacteria but a large number of other bacteria found in animal feces and many of which are resistant to antibiotics. From Consumer Reports -"It’s unrealistic to expect that the uncooked chicken you buy won’t
contain any potentially harmful bacteria. That’s one reason we advise
you to prevent raw chicken or its juices from touching any other food
and to cook it to at least 165˚ F...Yet some bacteria are more worrisome
than others—and our latest tests produced troubling findings. More than
half of the samples contained fecal contaminants. And about half of them harbored at least one bacterium that was resistant to three or more commonly prescribed antibiotics.”
Back in the 50's the new modern method of raising animals in close quarters made sense. Stick all the animals in a Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) and you could maximize profits. Fewer ranch hands needed, the mountains of feces everywhere could just be scooped up with front end loaders and taken and dumped where ever. Feed was specialized, animals gained weight faster and all the stupid animals got sick. Well, realistically they were living in their own shit. They got sick. Science triumphed and antibiotics came to the rescue. Along with some other nasty stuff, like Arsenic. When it was found out that animals could be fed Arsenic and antibiotics, they didn't get as sick and grew a little faster. Even while sitting, standing, laying, eating, in their own feces. Science is indeed a marvel.
Nature is as well, and the natural outcome of the process has been that bacteria are still thriving. When you get sick, the doctor tells you to take all of the antibiotics, the full course. That's because antibiotics never kill all the bacteria they come into contact with. The object of treatment is to kill most of the infection, and then allow the human bodies' natural defenses to get rid of the few remaining stragglers. The more you don't do that, the more bacteria are left that didn't get killed by the antibiotics. And they soon begin to have resistance. Same thing happens in chickens, pigs, cows and turkeys. They all breed more and more bacteria that are no longer affected by antibiotics. And as we all know, big business is profit driven, and so the orders go out to produce more, at less cost. Pack the chickens and cows into the pens ever tighter, ever more feces, urine, uneaten food bits and antibiotic residues clinging to the bodies of animals that will soon be slaughtered for consumption by humans. Feceiation. The brand new symbiotic relationship that modern business has created that combines animals with bacteria and antibiotics in a pattern of growth wherein the fecal bacteria are so ingrained and so much a part of the entire animal that there is no way to remove them without destroying the end product itself, modern meat.
USDA regulations for the production of chickens allows each certified USDA inspector just one and a half seconds to inspect each chicken carcass as it passes before them. They check each carcass for tumors, scabs, leftover bits of lungs, bile, organs and any feces that might be present from the mechanized slaughter, feather removal and eviseration. And the USDA just allowed the carcass lines to speed up under pressure from the major chicken producers. So they can make more money.
23,000 people die each year from Salmonella poisoning. EVERY YEAR. The CDC estimates the death toll to be that high. Estimates. The reality is that we don't know how many are misdiagnosed by an ever overcrowded and overworked medical system.
Ninety-Nine Cent Chicken sandwiches on sale everywhere at every fast food purveyor of fine quality healthy cuisine on every corner on every street in every city all across America.
Do you want that with or without a big ol' extra helping of the Hershey Squirts.
Feceiation, it's here to stay in corporate America. The price to pay for profits and cheap chicken.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Friday, January 3, 2014
Victory! GMO ingredient in Cheerios is no more.
Cheerios is one of those things that most everyone has had. From infancy on, it is pretty much a staple in most homes I believe. The one cereal that is relatively low in sugar (at least regular yellow box Cheerios) has made a place for itself as a great thing for toddlers, kids, teens and adults. Again, the regular ones only, the rest of the product lineup are all pretty much drenched in sugar, corn syrup and carcinogenic preservatives. That pretty much describes most of the entire list of breakfast cereal offerings in the stores today. Cheap, sweet and profitable. And devastatingly attractive packaging concepts. Along with massive advertising programs that keep the vision of morning goodness in front of children with the concept that kids influence the buying patterns of their parents. The scary thing is that it works, parents buy sugar coated crapola for their children by the boxcar load every day.
We know that sugar is addictive. We're pretty sure that sugar is the actual cause of heart disease.
We don't really know if sugar made from Genetically Modified Beets is worse, or not.
What we do know is that no Genetically Modified Organism has ever been REQUIRED to undergo long term feeding studies to VERIFY that they are safe. Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta et al are a lot like my ex-wife, they WANT something to be so, and therefore they declare it as being so, and they have the influence to require that the world take them at their word, and it is so. To go against the word of the agrigiants is tantamount to being labeled a terrorist. For any scientific people, it is a death sentence to your career. University funding dries up, industry journals find their advertising gone, and worst of all, published peer reviewed research is retracted at the behest of the agrigiants and actual research is deemed a fraud for no other reason than that it begins to tear down the facade of lies that have built a concept into a multi billion dollar and multi national industry. And the will of the mighty becomes the way of the world.
Still, people, consumers, become enlightened and see through the lies, and want the truth. They see that the food presented to the world as healthy, nutritious, safe and wholesome is anything but. Not a lot of people have access to multimillion dollar lab facilities to test it all, but some do. The results are not good. They in fact show us how the facade of lies, not just about GMO foods, but about the entire agrigiant controlled food industry; is putting profits above the safety of the consumers. Consumer Reports, Mercola, and a host of other groups have shown just how true that last statement really is. And the sad part is, that the FDA, the strong arm regulatory agent that generally does the bidding of their masters in the food industry have in fact confirmed just how bad our food system is.
Yesterday General Mills announced that they will remove all Genetically Modified ingredients from their one product, regular yellow box Cheerios. One product only will they bow to the demands of the consumers and change. Last year the makers of Cheerios thought they would capitalize on the internet and they developed a Facebook app that would allow internet users the opportunity to tell the world about how wonderful Cheerios are and how much people love the product. Withing 48 hours General Mills took down the app as they received over a hundred thousand negative comments, most of which were blasting General Mills for giving a million dollars to the campaigns to defeat bills that would require labeling of GMO ingredients in California and Oregon. Forty eight short hours. The tech guys at the company could barely delete the posts fast enough. There are websites out there that captured a bunch. Pretty brutal.
So, in an effort to bandage the appearance of a company that makes decisions based on profit over concerns of consumers, General Mills announced they will accept the wishes of all of the concerned consumers in the entire world and change one ingredient in one of their products.
That will make everyone happy.
Or so the leaders of the company believe.
We know that sugar is addictive. We're pretty sure that sugar is the actual cause of heart disease.
We don't really know if sugar made from Genetically Modified Beets is worse, or not.
What we do know is that no Genetically Modified Organism has ever been REQUIRED to undergo long term feeding studies to VERIFY that they are safe. Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta et al are a lot like my ex-wife, they WANT something to be so, and therefore they declare it as being so, and they have the influence to require that the world take them at their word, and it is so. To go against the word of the agrigiants is tantamount to being labeled a terrorist. For any scientific people, it is a death sentence to your career. University funding dries up, industry journals find their advertising gone, and worst of all, published peer reviewed research is retracted at the behest of the agrigiants and actual research is deemed a fraud for no other reason than that it begins to tear down the facade of lies that have built a concept into a multi billion dollar and multi national industry. And the will of the mighty becomes the way of the world.
Still, people, consumers, become enlightened and see through the lies, and want the truth. They see that the food presented to the world as healthy, nutritious, safe and wholesome is anything but. Not a lot of people have access to multimillion dollar lab facilities to test it all, but some do. The results are not good. They in fact show us how the facade of lies, not just about GMO foods, but about the entire agrigiant controlled food industry; is putting profits above the safety of the consumers. Consumer Reports, Mercola, and a host of other groups have shown just how true that last statement really is. And the sad part is, that the FDA, the strong arm regulatory agent that generally does the bidding of their masters in the food industry have in fact confirmed just how bad our food system is.
Yesterday General Mills announced that they will remove all Genetically Modified ingredients from their one product, regular yellow box Cheerios. One product only will they bow to the demands of the consumers and change. Last year the makers of Cheerios thought they would capitalize on the internet and they developed a Facebook app that would allow internet users the opportunity to tell the world about how wonderful Cheerios are and how much people love the product. Withing 48 hours General Mills took down the app as they received over a hundred thousand negative comments, most of which were blasting General Mills for giving a million dollars to the campaigns to defeat bills that would require labeling of GMO ingredients in California and Oregon. Forty eight short hours. The tech guys at the company could barely delete the posts fast enough. There are websites out there that captured a bunch. Pretty brutal.
So, in an effort to bandage the appearance of a company that makes decisions based on profit over concerns of consumers, General Mills announced they will accept the wishes of all of the concerned consumers in the entire world and change one ingredient in one of their products.
That will make everyone happy.
Or so the leaders of the company believe.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Side Effects. Oh those blessed money making side effects!!!!!
Well, it could probably be said that every drug out there, even the most innocuous ones like aspirin, have side effects. I don't think willow bark has any, but then it is pretty hard to get accurate and specific doses and effects from drinking willow bark tea. Plus it tastes like crap. Aspirin on the other hand, has specific effects, relieves pain, swelling, fever, and causes intestinal and stomach problems, thins the blood as well as Reye's syndrome. So, there must be a happy medium, take aspirin when needed for the benefits, not too long to avoid the nasty problems. That is unless one of the side effects are what you really want, like thinning the blood. I've talked about it here before, I take a baby aspirin every day because it is almost as effective as Plavix, but six hundred times cheaper and without the HUGE risk of death and other nasty side effects that the prescription med has. In fact, Plavix really only works when taken with an aspirin every day, so the reality is that Plavix by itself probably doesn't do much of anything at all, other than cause a few deaths and disabilities here and there.
I did not even know that Plavix would even help my condition if it weren't for the huge numbers of DTC (Direct to Consumer) ads for the anticlotting drug that filled magazines and TV shows. Anymore, that's how most drugs are gotten into the hands of the end consumers. (I could say patients, but that is probably not exactly correct) People see ads for cures for all sorts of diseases on the TV. The Big Pharma companies WANT consumers to think that they are sick, then go to the doctor and ask for a prescription. This method of selling your product works quite well, Big Pharma now spends nearly 6 times as much on marketing than they do on research for new drugs. And they tell us about all the diseases we have that we did not know about until it was pointed out to us on Prime Time how heartburn was a serious threat to our health, if your legs fall asleep there are pills for that, if you think you might be depressed then there are pills for that, and that those pills can be greatly augmented by other pills, that acne can be cured with a pill, that gout can be cured with a pill, if you have dry eyes then you can take a pill, if you don't want to eat right then you can take a pill, and finally, that laughing out loud was a neurological problem, and there is a pill to cure that as well. (Not kidding about the last one ((PsuedoBulbar Affect))
As a race, we are sicker than we thought, and the cool thing is, insurance pays for you to try it all.
You might just get lucky, with enough pills going into you, there is a possibility that enough side effects might cover whatever your problem might be. And you have to believe it, side effects abound in the medication industry. That's the reason that we have drugs to begin with. Finding a chemical or combination of compounds and seeing what it does within the human body. And as so often happens, after giving to to humans, finding out other things that it does. And if at all possible, capitalizing on those, side effects. Let's look at one fun drug in particular. Cyclosporin. This is a drug that for many decades was the drug of choice to suppress the immune system so that organs from one human could be transplanted into a different human. Cyclosporin has a lot of nasty side effects, like making your hair fall out, or unusual growth of hair in places, making you susceptible to infections and in many cases unable to fight infections and therefore dying, dizziness in a big way, uncontrolled thirst, numbness, tingling, loss of appetite, and the big one, making your eyes water like crazy. WOW! Okay. here's a drug that has a very specialized market, transplant patients. It helps the body fight the natural tendency to reject a new kidney or heart or whatever. But now, a side effect that the manufacturer can capitalize on, dry eyes. WOO HOO! Surely there must be a lot more people out there with dry eyes that have insurance, and therefore will want this rather nasty stuff to make their eyes water. SURELY THERE MUST BE! If not, advertise on TV and TELL the consumers watching that they NEED a drug that has proven itself to have extremely noxious side effects (like unable to fight off infections like TB or pneumonia and then dying) in order to moisten their eyes.
Everything out there for us to get a script from our docs started out as a side effect for a drug. Some, very few, the intended effect is the real deal and what they planned. Most, are side effects and should be used with caution. Sometime when sitting in front of TV, take a moment and actually listen to what the announcer tells you might possibly happen to you if your take their drug. In almost every case, there is a huge number of serious problems possible. Remember, the desired effect is generally only one of the things that will happen to your body when you take any drug. Assess the risk before you take any of their money making pills.
I did not even know that Plavix would even help my condition if it weren't for the huge numbers of DTC (Direct to Consumer) ads for the anticlotting drug that filled magazines and TV shows. Anymore, that's how most drugs are gotten into the hands of the end consumers. (I could say patients, but that is probably not exactly correct) People see ads for cures for all sorts of diseases on the TV. The Big Pharma companies WANT consumers to think that they are sick, then go to the doctor and ask for a prescription. This method of selling your product works quite well, Big Pharma now spends nearly 6 times as much on marketing than they do on research for new drugs. And they tell us about all the diseases we have that we did not know about until it was pointed out to us on Prime Time how heartburn was a serious threat to our health, if your legs fall asleep there are pills for that, if you think you might be depressed then there are pills for that, and that those pills can be greatly augmented by other pills, that acne can be cured with a pill, that gout can be cured with a pill, if you have dry eyes then you can take a pill, if you don't want to eat right then you can take a pill, and finally, that laughing out loud was a neurological problem, and there is a pill to cure that as well. (Not kidding about the last one ((PsuedoBulbar Affect))
As a race, we are sicker than we thought, and the cool thing is, insurance pays for you to try it all.
You might just get lucky, with enough pills going into you, there is a possibility that enough side effects might cover whatever your problem might be. And you have to believe it, side effects abound in the medication industry. That's the reason that we have drugs to begin with. Finding a chemical or combination of compounds and seeing what it does within the human body. And as so often happens, after giving to to humans, finding out other things that it does. And if at all possible, capitalizing on those, side effects. Let's look at one fun drug in particular. Cyclosporin. This is a drug that for many decades was the drug of choice to suppress the immune system so that organs from one human could be transplanted into a different human. Cyclosporin has a lot of nasty side effects, like making your hair fall out, or unusual growth of hair in places, making you susceptible to infections and in many cases unable to fight infections and therefore dying, dizziness in a big way, uncontrolled thirst, numbness, tingling, loss of appetite, and the big one, making your eyes water like crazy. WOW! Okay. here's a drug that has a very specialized market, transplant patients. It helps the body fight the natural tendency to reject a new kidney or heart or whatever. But now, a side effect that the manufacturer can capitalize on, dry eyes. WOO HOO! Surely there must be a lot more people out there with dry eyes that have insurance, and therefore will want this rather nasty stuff to make their eyes water. SURELY THERE MUST BE! If not, advertise on TV and TELL the consumers watching that they NEED a drug that has proven itself to have extremely noxious side effects (like unable to fight off infections like TB or pneumonia and then dying) in order to moisten their eyes.
Everything out there for us to get a script from our docs started out as a side effect for a drug. Some, very few, the intended effect is the real deal and what they planned. Most, are side effects and should be used with caution. Sometime when sitting in front of TV, take a moment and actually listen to what the announcer tells you might possibly happen to you if your take their drug. In almost every case, there is a huge number of serious problems possible. Remember, the desired effect is generally only one of the things that will happen to your body when you take any drug. Assess the risk before you take any of their money making pills.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
the First Death has been recorded, how long before it affects the world population?
When I was told I had MRSA, I was sent to an infectious disease specialist and was told that there were specific antibiotics that would kill off the specific strain of bacteria living in my sinuses. They knew this because they cultured the MRSA and then they tested a variety of antibiotics on the cultures. Then they stuck a PICC line in my arm and hooked antibiotics to it three times a day for a month. I had diarrhea for a month. I still have MRSA as well, modern medical techniques didn't seem to work the way they thought they would. Even though they told me they would cure me, they gave me a pamphlet that detailed how to live with MRSA. A "Guide" on how to live with an infectious disease for which there was no cure and how to safely interact with others in your life and not spread the disease to anyone else.
Unless you live in a cave or are a teen or post teen entranced with the antics of Hollywood foolishness, you probably have heard about antibiotic resistant bacteria. There have been a few mentions on the mainstream news media. A few. Not nearly enough in my opinion. Some of the things I have seen are the reminders that if you have the flu, or flu like symptoms, an antibiotic will not have any effect against a virus. Taking antibiotics needlessly is one of the causes of the epidemic of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the world today. (And of course you can take Tamiflu, but that's another story all together. (Tamiflu) I cringe whenever I hear that statement. It might have some basis in truth, however the reality of the problems is Modern Meat, and how animals are raised in CAFO's (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) wherein the conditions are so horrific and unsanitary that processors must feed huge amounts of antibiotics to the animals in an effort to reduce diseases and deaths in the operations. Fully 80% of the antibiotics manufactured in this country are feed to cattle and other animals for human consumption. And then humans eat the carcasses that contain residues of antibiotics. This is why all the antibiotic resistant bacteria have come into existence. You are eating low doses of antibiotics daily, and bacteria have developed immunity to those antibiotics. When introduced into mainstream medical environments, those with a little immunity, grow colonies that have a lot of immunity. Thus, MRSA and other forms of bacteria that the modern world is having a tough time coping with.
In November of this year, a man died in New Zealand from an infection of Actinomycetes bacteria growing in his brain that he caught after brain surgery to repair a brain hemorrhage. Named KPC-Oxa 48, this strain of bacteria is totally unaffected by every known antibiotic that modern science has created. You probably didn't hear about that on "The View" or "TMZ Live". You won't either, at least until important people, hollywood do-nothings, become infected and die. Then, it will be all over the news. But so far, one guy, in a hospital in New Zealand, a place where most adults could not even tell you which hemisphere it occupies; has died from exposure and infection from a bacteria that potentially could mean the end of mankind. The unfortunate part of this is that MOST people in the world have this belief that Modern Medicine will save them and the miracles that the medical profession perform daily will continue to allow them to live happy carefree lives, eat at McD's, enjoy Coke, and Kentucky Fried offerings and never have to worry about some guy dying a world away. It is of course, a fantasy. Modern Medicine is the number one cause of death in America today. Those in the medical profession are barely able to keep their selves out of lawsuits for all the harm they do, curing anyone is secondary to covering their asses. (Modern Medicine)
I guess I could now explain that any sort of belief that Big Pharma will swoop in and produce new antibiotics that will save the world. However I don't think that will happen. Big Pharma is more concerned with making new drugs to make money. Pushing new drugs through the approval process with little or falsified testing has gotten a few of them into hot water, but let's remember that it is always "after the fact". Making a new antibiotic that will cure what will soon become a worldwide epidemic is of little interest to Big Pharma, the governments of the world will require them to produce it and distribute it pretty much free of charge, or at least free of profit anyway. Not a lot of incentive there. And besides, it's only one death so far.
One death. Who accepts the blame for it? No one will. But in reality, it is each and every one of us that caused it. If we stopped eating the Modern Meats that is produced for us, then Big Agribusiness would stop producing the stuff in the horrific unsanitary manner they do. It all starts with one person saying no.
The medical profession's back up plan and attempt to immunize themselves from lawsuits.
Unless you live in a cave or are a teen or post teen entranced with the antics of Hollywood foolishness, you probably have heard about antibiotic resistant bacteria. There have been a few mentions on the mainstream news media. A few. Not nearly enough in my opinion. Some of the things I have seen are the reminders that if you have the flu, or flu like symptoms, an antibiotic will not have any effect against a virus. Taking antibiotics needlessly is one of the causes of the epidemic of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the world today. (And of course you can take Tamiflu, but that's another story all together. (Tamiflu) I cringe whenever I hear that statement. It might have some basis in truth, however the reality of the problems is Modern Meat, and how animals are raised in CAFO's (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) wherein the conditions are so horrific and unsanitary that processors must feed huge amounts of antibiotics to the animals in an effort to reduce diseases and deaths in the operations. Fully 80% of the antibiotics manufactured in this country are feed to cattle and other animals for human consumption. And then humans eat the carcasses that contain residues of antibiotics. This is why all the antibiotic resistant bacteria have come into existence. You are eating low doses of antibiotics daily, and bacteria have developed immunity to those antibiotics. When introduced into mainstream medical environments, those with a little immunity, grow colonies that have a lot of immunity. Thus, MRSA and other forms of bacteria that the modern world is having a tough time coping with.
In November of this year, a man died in New Zealand from an infection of Actinomycetes bacteria growing in his brain that he caught after brain surgery to repair a brain hemorrhage. Named KPC-Oxa 48, this strain of bacteria is totally unaffected by every known antibiotic that modern science has created. You probably didn't hear about that on "The View" or "TMZ Live". You won't either, at least until important people, hollywood do-nothings, become infected and die. Then, it will be all over the news. But so far, one guy, in a hospital in New Zealand, a place where most adults could not even tell you which hemisphere it occupies; has died from exposure and infection from a bacteria that potentially could mean the end of mankind. The unfortunate part of this is that MOST people in the world have this belief that Modern Medicine will save them and the miracles that the medical profession perform daily will continue to allow them to live happy carefree lives, eat at McD's, enjoy Coke, and Kentucky Fried offerings and never have to worry about some guy dying a world away. It is of course, a fantasy. Modern Medicine is the number one cause of death in America today. Those in the medical profession are barely able to keep their selves out of lawsuits for all the harm they do, curing anyone is secondary to covering their asses. (Modern Medicine)
I guess I could now explain that any sort of belief that Big Pharma will swoop in and produce new antibiotics that will save the world. However I don't think that will happen. Big Pharma is more concerned with making new drugs to make money. Pushing new drugs through the approval process with little or falsified testing has gotten a few of them into hot water, but let's remember that it is always "after the fact". Making a new antibiotic that will cure what will soon become a worldwide epidemic is of little interest to Big Pharma, the governments of the world will require them to produce it and distribute it pretty much free of charge, or at least free of profit anyway. Not a lot of incentive there. And besides, it's only one death so far.
One death. Who accepts the blame for it? No one will. But in reality, it is each and every one of us that caused it. If we stopped eating the Modern Meats that is produced for us, then Big Agribusiness would stop producing the stuff in the horrific unsanitary manner they do. It all starts with one person saying no.
NO!
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
America Has MAGIC BEANS For SALE, (health wealth and long life in a pill)
Lipozene has been clinically proven to melt away belly fat, and with NO dieting or exercise. If you sprinkle Sensa on your food everyday you will lose weight without exercise or dieting. Quick Trim, Dr. Oz Diet Pills, Belly Off, Bliss Fat Girl Slim, Nature's Secret, and, well, tons of Magic Beans and Snake Oil for sale on the internet, on TV, in every magazine and in every store. They all contain their own "Patented" formula of Snake Oil, a revolutionary concoction that is guaranteed to make you lose weight, get sexy, look like the twenty year old models and all with no effort on your part. Magic Beans indeed by any definition. And they work too. Look at how many varieties there are on the market. Look at how slick the expensive advertising is for the products. And look at sales of weight loss supplements have soared to over 1.5 BILLION dollars annually. And that doesn't even include sales of weight loss food categories such as Kellog's Special K cereal, ready to eat meals from Jenny Craig and others, and nutrition bars, that are regularly advertised as weight loss Magic Beans. Depending on who you believe, sources estimate that the entire weight loss food and supplement industry is from 20 to 40 BILLION Dollars annually. That includes everything from weight loss pills to ready to eat meals to group therapy diet plans to food sprinkles. It doesn't take into consideration the other 20 or so billion attributable to diet books and weight loss seminars and weekend retreats and celebrity promotions and gym memberships.
They must work, people keep buying their crap. And Special K cereal flies off the grocery store shelves.
Special K is one of the worst offenders of the group, read the ingredients, it's nearly 13% sugar. And it has no fiber at all. NONE!!!!! I think that pretty much all of the medical world agrees now that fiber is an important part of every dietary plan. And no sugar should be as well.
And all of the vitamins are added in as supplements. And again, let's remember that the FDA states that the values used for nutritional labeling need to be within 20% of actual values. (CFR 21.101.9 (c) ) Manufacturers regularly use the upper 20 for good stuff, and the lower 20 for the bad. Given that fact, it's possible that the wonderful Make you Skinny just by eating wonderful breakfast cereal every day Special K could in fact be as high as 18 or 19 percent plain old Genetically Modified Sugar Beet processed white sugar. Scary, but Cheerios are just as bad for you. And your kids. And as more and more research is coming out that shows the link between sugar consumption and heart disease, these products are showing up to not be the Magic Beans that they are claimed to be. Advertised to be heart healthy, Cheerios are anything but. Well, I think it would be safe to say that most everything from the BIG AGRI-GIANT Food manufacturers and processors are NOT what they claim them to be.
Well, with the exception of them being giant money machines to the wall street do-nothings, that's the only claim that appears to have any truth to it. "Buy our stock, we turn crap into profits and everyone benefits!" Well, everyone but the consumers benefits. I guess that's why over the past couple decades or so the leaders of our country as well as those in power at Monsanto, (possibly other companies as well, no one has yet verified it) all eat organic food. One, they can afford it, and two, they know it's better and non-toxic.
But back to the magic beans hypothesis. How do these things work? What magic component, which specific pathway or control process within the human anatomy that any of these specific weight loss product manufacturers have discovered and are claiming to capitalize on, do their specific products work with? And how is it that modern medicine, of which the entire industry does an EXCEPTIONAL job of capitalizing on anything they can make money on, has not done so? Logical inference tells us that no such Magic Bean or Snake Oil exists. If the AMA and Big Pharma aren't making money on a magic weight loss product, then it doesn't exist. And Americans WANT those Magic Beans and Snake Oil. Americans BELIEVE in the magic of modern medicine, modern pharmacology and modern food processing techniques and products. Americans absolutely BELIEVE in fairy tales and Magic Beans. Americans WANT to eat canola laced high fat high sugar cookies right along with their HFCS soda (or worse, aspartame soda) their chips and processed meat and white bread and all the other crap that comprises the Standard American Diet; and then they want the modern Magic Beans of Big Business to save them from the excesses of which they have indulged and their savior to be in the form of a pill or tasty sugary breakfast cereal that cures their ills, makes them fit and fabulous, and with no pain or problems. In short, Americans WANT Magic Beans. The sad fact of the matter is that Big Pharma, Big Food, and even the AMA promise all Americans what they want. And make tons of money giving it to them, even though none of it works. They do a good job of selling us Snake Oil. And Americans keep going back for more and more of it. In 2010 it is estimated that Americans spent 310 BILLION dollars on prescription drugs, and another 107 BILLION dollars on over the counter drugs. And for the same year, food for home consumption was 617 Billion, and processed food through away from home sales was 557 Billion.
What this means is that Americans spend 1.17 Trillion dollars on food, and 418 Billion dollars on cures for the problems that all that processed food causes. And just to put it all into perspective, of that Trillion dollars in food sales, only about 58 billion is fresh produce.
If Americans want Magic Beans, they do exist. Right there in the produce section of your supermarket. Fresh, raw and fermented are the Magic Beans that Americans need right now. The more unprocessed your diet, the greater the chances for you to lose weight, avoid long term degenerative diseases and have a long healthy life. It won't make you look like the 20 year old models on the Snake Oil commercials, but it will help you get there.
They must work, people keep buying their crap. And Special K cereal flies off the grocery store shelves.
Special K is one of the worst offenders of the group, read the ingredients, it's nearly 13% sugar. And it has no fiber at all. NONE!!!!! I think that pretty much all of the medical world agrees now that fiber is an important part of every dietary plan. And no sugar should be as well.
Well, with the exception of them being giant money machines to the wall street do-nothings, that's the only claim that appears to have any truth to it. "Buy our stock, we turn crap into profits and everyone benefits!" Well, everyone but the consumers benefits. I guess that's why over the past couple decades or so the leaders of our country as well as those in power at Monsanto, (possibly other companies as well, no one has yet verified it) all eat organic food. One, they can afford it, and two, they know it's better and non-toxic.
But back to the magic beans hypothesis. How do these things work? What magic component, which specific pathway or control process within the human anatomy that any of these specific weight loss product manufacturers have discovered and are claiming to capitalize on, do their specific products work with? And how is it that modern medicine, of which the entire industry does an EXCEPTIONAL job of capitalizing on anything they can make money on, has not done so? Logical inference tells us that no such Magic Bean or Snake Oil exists. If the AMA and Big Pharma aren't making money on a magic weight loss product, then it doesn't exist. And Americans WANT those Magic Beans and Snake Oil. Americans BELIEVE in the magic of modern medicine, modern pharmacology and modern food processing techniques and products. Americans absolutely BELIEVE in fairy tales and Magic Beans. Americans WANT to eat canola laced high fat high sugar cookies right along with their HFCS soda (or worse, aspartame soda) their chips and processed meat and white bread and all the other crap that comprises the Standard American Diet; and then they want the modern Magic Beans of Big Business to save them from the excesses of which they have indulged and their savior to be in the form of a pill or tasty sugary breakfast cereal that cures their ills, makes them fit and fabulous, and with no pain or problems. In short, Americans WANT Magic Beans. The sad fact of the matter is that Big Pharma, Big Food, and even the AMA promise all Americans what they want. And make tons of money giving it to them, even though none of it works. They do a good job of selling us Snake Oil. And Americans keep going back for more and more of it. In 2010 it is estimated that Americans spent 310 BILLION dollars on prescription drugs, and another 107 BILLION dollars on over the counter drugs. And for the same year, food for home consumption was 617 Billion, and processed food through away from home sales was 557 Billion.
What this means is that Americans spend 1.17 Trillion dollars on food, and 418 Billion dollars on cures for the problems that all that processed food causes. And just to put it all into perspective, of that Trillion dollars in food sales, only about 58 billion is fresh produce.
If Americans want Magic Beans, they do exist. Right there in the produce section of your supermarket. Fresh, raw and fermented are the Magic Beans that Americans need right now. The more unprocessed your diet, the greater the chances for you to lose weight, avoid long term degenerative diseases and have a long healthy life. It won't make you look like the 20 year old models on the Snake Oil commercials, but it will help you get there.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Responses to my Critics. At least to those that take the time to email their personal objections to what they consider, my drivel.
December 2, I wrote an entry into my blog here entitled, Superiority. I received a few emails about it. Some telling me that I can't read an abstract from an introduction and then claim to have knowledge about what the article is about. Actually, that is sort of the point of an abstract, to quantify into one paragraph what the entire 16 articles and some 200 odd pages of text deal with. And the conclusions based on the research. It's true, I did not spend the hundred bucks for a twenty-four hour purchase of the symposium. I did not need to. Each and every article includes an exceptionally well written and cognizant paragraph that specifically tells me in way way way fewer words, what the entire treatise is about. If those people that wrote to me would like to spend the money and after doing so determine that the body of each article does in fact contain information and conclusions NOT detailed in the abstract, then I will in fact print a retraction.
However, I doubt that will happen.
People everywhere are the same. They like the status quo, they like to have the media spoon feed them the pablum of information sweetened with their daily dose of mindless Hollywood drivel and never ever get fed any information that will in fact tell them that the world is not in fact glorious and their lives are wondrous and if they ever get sick, then the medical industry with their hard working doctors that have all had rigorous training will sit down with them and discuss with them individually what the best course of treatments are that will care for their specific ailments and they know within their hearts that with the best of recommendations for medications given to them by their healthcare professionals they will fill their prescription and receive a treatment that is guaranteed to be well tested, safe, free of side effects, manufactured under the strictest controls possible and will in fact work as a panacea for them and all will be well and good.
Even fairy tales don't have endings like that. Certainly reality doesn't. The plain fact of the matter is that the daily TV news, where it is estimated that over 90% of the Americans that have any knowledge of current events receive that information, has never ever reported anything about the criminal activities of Big Pharma. And there has been a lot. As reported here previously, thirty billion bucks in fines, in just the last ten years. None of which was reported on mainstream TV, except a couple times on 60 minutes. You will see cutesy series dramas about how overworked interns and residents are in their quest to receive their medical credentials. They laugh a lot, and put condoms on bananas, but you will never hear the truth about how overworked they truly are because interns and residents working 100 to 140 hours a week save the hospitals money, and the safety of patients is always secondary to money. Doctor shows always seem to perpetuate the myth that doctors pay attention to their patients and work hard to determine what are the root causes of any patient's symptoms. The truth is, that doctors are not taught how to CURE any disease, they are in fact taught to write prescriptions that are in line with their AMA doctrine that drugs cure symptoms. Never do they cure diseases. That is also secondary, if they cured you, then you wouldn't need the doctor anymore.
The absolute biggest crime against humanity is GERD. The Big Pharma companies have created a specific disease from heartburn. And created a drug to treat it, without actually knowing the specific actions within the human body that cause the desired effects that they now are able to market to consumers as a real disease. The truth is that most people taking PPI's to control their heartburn are slowly having their digestive system compromised and they are losing the ability to digest the foods that they eat. They don't tell you that in the commercials though do they? GERD is serious, it is very rare, most people with heartburn are overweight or consume alcohol in excess and/or smoke. Or have a very very poor diet. All of which are easy cures, but no doctor in America will tell a patient this, instead they are all on the AMA path towards what they are told, and never what is right. And all to the destruction of the livelihood of the citizens. At this point, we don't have any idea what will happen down the road to the 40 million or so people that take over the counter PPIs or other prescription ones that are stronger, and yet for which the manufacturers still have no idea why they perform what they do. The only thing they do know, is that long term use affects the ability of the stomach to excrete acids in the manner in which it was designed to do. You will never see that on TV, it doesn't perpetuate the Disneyland concept of wondrous joy that the rulers of our country, big businesses, want us to perceive.
So, with all that said, sorry to the three people that wrote such scathing and critical emails to me. It was almost as if I was married again for a moment. Sigh, good thing I'm not, the ex, like readers, are yesterday's old news.
However, I doubt that will happen.
People everywhere are the same. They like the status quo, they like to have the media spoon feed them the pablum of information sweetened with their daily dose of mindless Hollywood drivel and never ever get fed any information that will in fact tell them that the world is not in fact glorious and their lives are wondrous and if they ever get sick, then the medical industry with their hard working doctors that have all had rigorous training will sit down with them and discuss with them individually what the best course of treatments are that will care for their specific ailments and they know within their hearts that with the best of recommendations for medications given to them by their healthcare professionals they will fill their prescription and receive a treatment that is guaranteed to be well tested, safe, free of side effects, manufactured under the strictest controls possible and will in fact work as a panacea for them and all will be well and good.
Even fairy tales don't have endings like that. Certainly reality doesn't. The plain fact of the matter is that the daily TV news, where it is estimated that over 90% of the Americans that have any knowledge of current events receive that information, has never ever reported anything about the criminal activities of Big Pharma. And there has been a lot. As reported here previously, thirty billion bucks in fines, in just the last ten years. None of which was reported on mainstream TV, except a couple times on 60 minutes. You will see cutesy series dramas about how overworked interns and residents are in their quest to receive their medical credentials. They laugh a lot, and put condoms on bananas, but you will never hear the truth about how overworked they truly are because interns and residents working 100 to 140 hours a week save the hospitals money, and the safety of patients is always secondary to money. Doctor shows always seem to perpetuate the myth that doctors pay attention to their patients and work hard to determine what are the root causes of any patient's symptoms. The truth is, that doctors are not taught how to CURE any disease, they are in fact taught to write prescriptions that are in line with their AMA doctrine that drugs cure symptoms. Never do they cure diseases. That is also secondary, if they cured you, then you wouldn't need the doctor anymore.
The absolute biggest crime against humanity is GERD. The Big Pharma companies have created a specific disease from heartburn. And created a drug to treat it, without actually knowing the specific actions within the human body that cause the desired effects that they now are able to market to consumers as a real disease. The truth is that most people taking PPI's to control their heartburn are slowly having their digestive system compromised and they are losing the ability to digest the foods that they eat. They don't tell you that in the commercials though do they? GERD is serious, it is very rare, most people with heartburn are overweight or consume alcohol in excess and/or smoke. Or have a very very poor diet. All of which are easy cures, but no doctor in America will tell a patient this, instead they are all on the AMA path towards what they are told, and never what is right. And all to the destruction of the livelihood of the citizens. At this point, we don't have any idea what will happen down the road to the 40 million or so people that take over the counter PPIs or other prescription ones that are stronger, and yet for which the manufacturers still have no idea why they perform what they do. The only thing they do know, is that long term use affects the ability of the stomach to excrete acids in the manner in which it was designed to do. You will never see that on TV, it doesn't perpetuate the Disneyland concept of wondrous joy that the rulers of our country, big businesses, want us to perceive.
So, with all that said, sorry to the three people that wrote such scathing and critical emails to me. It was almost as if I was married again for a moment. Sigh, good thing I'm not, the ex, like readers, are yesterday's old news.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
The world surprises me at times. Growth in the food industry.
I get a lot of industry magazines. A lot. There are a lot of them out there. Lots of ads for the latest technology, the latest food additives that mask flavors of other additives, a lot of stuff. And articles about how the world of food is changing, how companies are dealing with the problems in the marketplace. And the occasional story about what some business did to escape fines or jail time for deeds they have done, or rather allegedly did. This week, I got another rag, from Sosland Publishing. This one is "the State of the Industry" and it contains a lot of information. It divides up the food industry into specific categories and then gives information on the leaders in each category. By company, and by product. Then there is information as to volume of sales, and the big one, this year's percent of increase or decrease in sales for each company and product. And this is where the surprises come.
Breads, breakfast cereals and other grain based foods, beverages, dairy, processed foods frozen and others, canned soups, and yes, even burger places. There is a lot about meat as well, but none of that pertains to what I found to be exciting in the reports.The really big, and I mean REALLY BIG news is that most of the categories are still dominated by the giants of their industries in total sales, but the thing is, they all seem to be slipping. All of the giants lost sales. The big winners, all of the natural food companies. Huge growth in many cases. Double digits. And even Campbell's 100% Natural soup grew an amazing 232%. Of course that's offset by the 256% increase in sales of their Scooby-Doo soups. Jeez, marketing still is king. But overall, most of the big guys lost sales, the natural guys gained impressive amounts.
I just had to give this info to the internet. It is vindication that American consumers might just actually using their brain matter to determine what they need to put into their bodies.
Breads, breakfast cereals and other grain based foods, beverages, dairy, processed foods frozen and others, canned soups, and yes, even burger places. There is a lot about meat as well, but none of that pertains to what I found to be exciting in the reports.The really big, and I mean REALLY BIG news is that most of the categories are still dominated by the giants of their industries in total sales, but the thing is, they all seem to be slipping. All of the giants lost sales. The big winners, all of the natural food companies. Huge growth in many cases. Double digits. And even Campbell's 100% Natural soup grew an amazing 232%. Of course that's offset by the 256% increase in sales of their Scooby-Doo soups. Jeez, marketing still is king. But overall, most of the big guys lost sales, the natural guys gained impressive amounts.
I just had to give this info to the internet. It is vindication that American consumers might just actually using their brain matter to determine what they need to put into their bodies.
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