Rivers Unlimited

FOOD AND FODDER, OBSERVATIONS

In our December 16, 2003 article we averred to efficiency, rivers and the environment, the national diet and their connections.

Ten years ago I wrote a 12-pager on Diet, the Federal Budget, the U.S. Economy, Public Health and the Environment which gives inklings of the enormous cost to us of a diet based on animal proteins. We have just updated the figures. By the use of Resource Economics we hope some day to have a study of these costs to use as a factor in public decisions about diet. In no way would that be a crusade to change the national diet. Just the costs! (By the way, they are staggering!). Let me know if you want a copy of the 12-pager.

I understand the Dutch Government is buying up dairy farms, giving dairy farmers generous amounts for their lands, which some of them have invested in Ohio to start similar farms here. Ten years ago the Dutch Friends of the Earth had published a Sustainable Netherlands study showing that to avoid the perils of dependence on other countries for food, building materials, energy and other resources, there were certain things they could do. Such as reducing the number of cows. Of course you know that 2/3 of our cropland goes to feed animals for the table.

Perhaps the reality of the Dutch plight is sinking in.

By the way, do not expect that milk or any of its derivatives will prevent osteoporosis.
Studies show just the opposite.

The rest of this is - observations.

Rock Dust. There is a theory that as our land has eroded and weathered, our soil no longer has the rich mix of minerals and nutrients it used to have, they have all gone into the oceans. Also that our farm land through concentrated use has lost much of what it used to have that would produce superb, bountiful crops. We now have to supplement that with artificial fertilizers. Manure fertilizer is said to provide vitamin B-12 to vegetables, obviously organically-grown. Said vitamin comes only from animals. So B-12 supplements for vegans may not be necessary. Crops of old are said to have defended themselves well against bugs. The rock dust gave them that strength. Now we have to use insecticides.

I saw a tape showing the use of rock dust as fertilizer on vegetable farms in Austria and Australia where the crops were amazing. Rock dust may be an important secret, not just for crops but for our health.

Atkins, South Beach, Zone etc. Diets. If your concern is fatness, they all work. At least for a time, determined by how long you can stay on them. If your concern is health . . .
and you like the diet, be sure to get the supplementary fiber and vitamins they don't give you - elsewhere. And avoid, if you can, the various dastardly fats. Latest studies (including one funded by Atkins) show mixed blood lipid results of low carb diets vs. high carb, all pretty short term and not descriptive of what the high-carb diets consisted of. If I were elderly (good heavens, I am), a child, a pregnant woman, subject to osteoporosis, a questionable heart case... I think these diets are extremely dangerous.

Refined Flour. Empty calories. No fiber. The kind of "carbs" to avoid. Soft White Bread, even with additives. But, possibly, great taste! Use whole grains instead.

Rats. I think it was - maybe mice. Tests showed that by reducing their caloric input by 30% they live 50% longer. We have similarities, maybe even that one. Some of us would rather live a normal span and not be hungry all the time!

Organically-grown Foods. I believe they are legitimately labeled in this country. They reduce the amount of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and rodenticides we are exposed to, some of which build up in our tissues and are accused at times of affecting certain delicate balances in our systems and even causing diseases such as Parkinson's. That's for vegetables, grains and fruits. Organic avoids the extremely frightening threats of genetically modified foods, of which we have no long-term studies. See the book Seeds of Deception, Jeffrey Smith. Although FDA, EPA and USDA say that what's on the market is safe, there are little or no studies to prove it. When it is U.S. trade policy to push this stuff onto other countries - who say NO! how can we trust them?

Looking at milk and poultry, beef and hogs, eggs - organically grown animals avoid the antibiotics, growth hormones and animal protein feed inputs that can affect our systems.
In my experience there is no reason other than taste to eat any animal protein whatsoever, other than mothers' milk. And we can get over the taste thing (I did).

Anti-Oxydants in the Blood. A laser-scan method of measuring your anti-oxydants is non-intrusive (wrap your hand around a cylinder on a small machine for 3 minutes) and it can read the carotene content of your system. Carotene is representative of the other a-o's in you and a measure of the strength of your immune system. Americans have an average reading of 20,000 out of a possible 100,000, with a desirable reading of 50,000. There are supplements to bring you to 50,000 or more. Or you can do it with careful healthy diet alone. Details upon application!

Addictions (food). According to Neal Barnard, the prime addictive foods are meat, chocolate, sugar and cheese, for interesting convoluted reasons, clearly having to do with receptors in the brain, release of endorphins etc. There are ways to get off them, one for each addictor, and no longer miss them. See his book Breaking the Food Seduction. I know a person who succumbs to a gallon of ice cream every so often, hates it but can't resist.

Water. No one stands up these days for our having to drink 6 to 8 glasses a day. Our systems need to keep the electrolytes in proper balance or we have troubles. Too much water has killed some athletes. Too little can hurt in various ways - kidneys, prostates. Terrible cramps.

We continue to send our wastewater into our rivers and lakes, treated to whatever degree or not at all. Other than the fecal coliform we worry about there are sinister additives such as hormones from pharmaceuticals going through us from heart, birth control and countless other pills, pesticides and their metabolites, surfactants (wetting agents) from detergents (they affect fish mucous) and countless other compounds whose effects we do not yet understand or measure. These things go through the treatment plants. Up to 80% of the flow of the National Wild and Scenic Little Miami River is treated wastewater. We may have better luck with treated groundwater (from wells). At least they have pretty big strainers on top of them!

There is so little public confidence in our drinking water today that there is an enormous market for bottled water at an insane price. You're on your own!

Books. For anyone interested in diet and health, see John Robbins' The Food Revolution for insights into disease-causing foods. It is heavily researched and annotated. It is the antithesis of a fad diet book. Its predecessor, Diet for a New America, was my guide. Also, Reclaiming Our Health by Robbins, more feminine-oriented.

Why this Article? The gleanings of the diet information have served me extremely well. The links to our environment are clear.

posted by Mike at 1:02 PM