Monday Moaning: Food Works

Food work I thought it was a fun title to work with. Last week we talked about food and today I will continue on that note. About what t means to eat organic or biological. How food has changed through out the years and what we call food today might not be as healthy as we think.

Though how is that possible. The workings of food and the industry have changed our way of thinking and eating. We are told what to eat and we are like the dumb sheep to follow their lead. It changed how we like our food and our perception of what would be nice to eat.

If someone would come up to you and said that the food we are eating today is artificially grown to a point it is two times sweeter than what it was used to be 20 years ago. You probably would call me a liar. But through research and artificial crossing breeding and planting we have done so. What is organic today is what used to be normal 20 years ago.

I can recall a granny smith to be really sour. So much so it would have you have a shock at the first bite. these days they are so sweet I can hardly call them granny smiths. Strawberries as well. try those from a supermarket and compare them with home grown garden ones. I am fairly positive the ones form your garden are slightly less sweeter but so much nicer.

Let us face it this is how it has been for many years and in what way can we than say it is organic when manipulated to that extant it is not what it used to be. Chicory has been less bitter just like sprouts and yes I eat all of these. Even the most blend of them all, broccoli has been sweetened. And all so, and so we thought, to improve our green intake and have children eat more of it to.

Now that  all nice and stuff, but when you sweeten more products our taste buds get used to it. So as soon as we have something not sweet we find it gross. Another thing is that more sugar isn’t healthy. Doubling it in vegetables might not seem harmful in the end it is as we eat more sweeter all together. Even pre-packed foods have doubled or sometimes doubled in sweeteners. Can we still say that our now so much more expansive organic foods are truly that much organic.

It is a shame though from the industry to fool us and trick us with their clever campaigns for advertisements. A shame on the industry for making every thing sweeter just to make people eat more of it. And alter it so much we can produce more as well.

Producing enough is al it takes to feed a planet and doing so in an straight forward way. Without all those artificially produced new vegetables. Organic these days is just a selling point, as f it is something new.

Would it e possible to grow things in your own garden. Why do we need so much modern techniques to grow a plant? Just to make sure there is enough for everyone and it s cheap. But as it turns out it wasn’t that great heath wise.

But how hard is it going to be getting people to eat less sweets. The industry now fools us with saying things like the organic sugar. Will the food industry use less sugar and maybe loose consumers. Yes even that special K had more sugar in it than when thy first started.

How used have we gotten to the sugar in our foods. Kids scream sugar and still dislike veggies. We adults do the same as we to have eaten less veggies and more take away and easy instant meals. Are each and every one of us ready for a new food revolution or better yet, go back in time to where food was food before we started tempering with it.

It will take time and all we can do is either have faith in the food industry to cut down on artificial grown whatevers and use organics more and more. Or step up your self and start eating more fresh vegetables, eat organic meats and save the world, the animals and our health all in one go. And tell you what. The farmer 6 miles down is sometimes half the price you pay in a supermarket.  Support your local farmers.

Best Wishes
Ranting Crow

Monday Moaning: Biological ads

Biological ads

Words such as biological, natural, green or organic. hey are words that are the trigger for the past year or so and future. Being told it is better for us and the environment. Eating healthier food to prolong our years o living and lower medicine cost. Knowing that all we eat had a decent life and we are helping the future by preserving the planet for generations to come. So we also drive electric, use power saving gadgets and light bulbs.

We are going in a good direction is what one would say, but I would not be the moaning crow if I would not take a look at another side of this story. Thinking positive is a good thing, keep looking forward a must, but we can however question the past and learn form it. hat si called progress and change.

Though I question that change. Like why now and not years ago. And we need to start somewhere.

So let us start with the food industry. An industry that uses smart advertising to fool our brain. More and more we are being bombarded with term as mentioned in the beginning. Biological. Natural. Now soon as we see that we are told it is better for our bodies our way of living. I on the other hand would wonder and ask why we are turning the clock back about 25 years.

I can remember that time, eating fresh grown veggies as is being promoted again today. What changed so much that today it is called biological or organic grown. So what, now it is grown without extra fertilizers? Keeping the electric bill low in the greenhouse. No use of insecticides. Or antibiotics in the meat industry  how thy were freely roaming the fields instead of being boxed all day before slaughter.

Now we have become worried that our efforts and fears were wrong so we need to change back to what we once had. But most of all it is having an economic influence. As it raises prices of those products.

But back to he grown veggies. Years ago we came with a plan to grow them greenhouses, so we could produce enough for everyone in a controlled environment. Some things like grains were still grown out on the fields but needed spraying because of bugs eating it before harvest and making sure here was enough left. We have come to a conclusion that some pesticides are not good for us, and the use of greenhouses made sure we needed to urn more coals for electricity. None good for health and the environment.

Going back however means putting people out of business or have them produce so much they can keep the prices down. It will come to a point where green might become to expensive for some populations. More so in the last crisis years where we seen a gap of rich and poor grow bigger.

Does this mean we should stop the effort, No, but if one is prepared to give up some things they can size down and do it themselves.

None the less the stickers on veggies and food products is a fact. God this is turning into a bigger story than I thought.

Biological and natural. It makes you wonder what we have been eating before. As far as theorising goes a plant has always been biological and natural. We now just see the term to say how it grew. But even that in the concept of biology is natural. I mean everything grows. That we put some extra in the water to make the grow process slightly faster. Or do some research and change its DNA to make it grow bigger. How natural do you think would be the tomato these days f we know that they have been manipulated. That soybeans have been changed so much they are almost artificial. Or as they are described sometimes as, Biotech food.

Going back in time and grow things like we used is not going to happen, we most likely will create more biotech food to make grains and wheat insect proof. Making sure they will grow in most environments. How green or how organic is that.

There is another argument that one could ask when you see that sticker. I mentioned the ‘What about what they gave us before” If they say they are “Now using natural sugars”. But here is another to question how biological we could be if one knows that plants suck up water from the ground. And let us be honest, we have not taken goo care of this planet with our pollutions.

It is simply asking whether or not the veggies or plants we grow are all that healthy as claimed. What if the soil was n good? Can one proof it was okay the moment of harvest or before. It is al a bit pessimistic but we o fall for the tricks of advertising. And are willing to pay the extra dollar per kilo for it. After all it is all over the networks and in every magazine.

Again I am not saying it isn’t a good progress but the way it is brought to us is very much deceiving. How much of it is believable? More natural sugars. Organic grown.

Maybe we should go back to hunting, or keeping a pen with some pigs and cows. That way we can monitor ourselves what we eat and what we feed out animals. It does however mean getting your hands dirty.

Sometimes I wonder why we changed so much then, introducing fast food and pre-made meals. Tin cans and boxes of food for our own convenience. And now we are having to be taught to eat our veggies as it proofs to be more healthy. Learning to cook real food and taking time to prepare, in a world that is to busy in there rush of life.

How much importance do we truly put to our health and are we willing to take the time to pursue it. Or are we going to sit back and hope the industry comes up with a quick fix so we can eat healthy and not loose time preparing it? Keep looking at the stockers and assume or grab the cow by the horns and make a difference.

Time will tell. How do you look at the stickers or do you grow your own vegetables?

Best wishes
Ranting Crow