Subsidized Agriculture

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/04/how-the-us-government-contributes-to-the-obesity-epidemic.aspx

A decade ago, an American woman's waist, on average, was close to two inches smaller than it is today. Eighteen year olds are 15 pounds heavier than they were in the 1970s.

One reason is federal subsidies for food production. Take a look at these numbers:

• Meat/Dairy -- 73.8 percent
• Grains -- 13.2 percent
• Sugar/Oil/Starch/Alcohol -- 10.7 percent
• Nuts/Legumes -- 1.9 percent
• Vegetables/Fruits -- 0.4 percent

That’s right – just 1.9 percent for nuts and legumes and 0.4 percent for fruits and vegetables. As a result, a salad often costs you more than a Big Mac.

Sources:

Treehugger March 15, 2010 

The New York Times April 26, 2010

from Mercola:

In fact, the agriculture lobby is more powerful than even the pharmaceutical industry! You don’t hear about it as often, but the ramifications of their political influence are just as hazardous to your health as that of Big Pharma.
Sadly, you also see this influence in nutrition science. It is actually not designed to help you make sound dietary choices but rather to allow food companies to make health claims to increase profits, and this is a primary reason why you cannot get sound dietary advice from your government.  ...

The food crops currently subsidized are corn, soy, wheat and rice. What do you end up with?

A fast food diet!

And what many fail to remember (or don’t realize) is that the farm bill has a direct impact on what your child gets fed in school, for example, and what food assistance programs will distribute to poorer households.

It’s quite clear that the farm bill creates a negative feedback loop that maintains the status quo of the standard American diet. Because by subsidizing the farming of corn and soy, the US government is also actively supporting a diet that consists of these grains in their processed form, namely high fructose corn syrup, soybean oil, and grain-fed cattle – all of which are known contributors to obesity and chronic diseases.

(In addition, let’s not forget that the vast majority of these two crops are also genetically modified, which in and of itself is a major health hazard!)

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is perhaps the most obvious example of how the farm bill destroys health, as opposed to promoting the production of food that is actually worthy of being called “food.”

HFCS is in TENS of THOUSANDS of food products. If it’s processed, it probably contains HFCS; oftentimes it’s one of the top three ingredients. With everything we now know about how HFCS and other sugars create obesity and chronic disease, it’s no wonder we have a health care crisis on our hands!

Our federal food policy reaches to the very core of our everyday lives; the core of our health. Unless the food policy is addressed and corrected, little progress will be made to improve the current health care crisis.

...

If you want to optimize your health, you simply must return to the basics of healthy food choices. And try as they may, industry lobbyists still cannot force you to buy these types of junk foods. The choice is entirely yours, and consumer demand will always win eventually, so the more people demand healthy, unadulterated foods, the more they must produce, one way or another.

and more...http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/04/how-the-us-government-contributes-to-the-obesity-epidemic.aspx

How Your Eating Habits Affect the Environment

How Your Eating Habits Affect the Environment
- by Kim McCoy, environmental & animal law student and Sierra Club Chairperson

* POLLUTION/GLOBAL WARMING
Animals raised for food produce 130 times more excrement than the entire human population—86,600 lbs. per second—which all too often leaches into streams and contaminates groundwater. Nearly 90% of all U.S. farms drain into a single body of water-the Mississippi River. Waste lagoons on livestock farms release a considerable amount of methane, a greenhouse gas which contributes to global warming, into the atmosphere.

* LAND USE/DEFORESTATION/HABITAT DESTRUCTION
Nearly 90% of all agricultural land in the U.S is used to raise animals for food. 20 times more land is required to feed a meat-eater than to feed a pure vegetarian. For every quarter-pound burger made of rainforest beef, 55 square feet of land are consumed. Livestock grazing is the number one threat and cause of elimination to tropical rainforest species.

* WATER
Nearly 50% of all water consumed in the U.S. is used for livestock. The production of one pound of California beef requires a total of 2464 gallons of water. You would save more water by not eating a pound of California beef than you would by not showering for 6 months.

* ENERGY
Raising animals for food requires more than 30% of all raw materials and fossil fuels used in the United States. Producing a single hamburger patty uses enough fossil fuels to drive a small car 20 miles, not to mention enough water for 17 showers.

* FISH FARMS/FACTORY TRAWLERS
Fish and shrimp farms destroy habitats and contaminate water with heavy use of antibiotics, causing coastal pollution, displacement of local people from their land, and the clearing of mangrove forests. They take away land that is traditionally used for growing rice, the primary staple for most of the world's people. Just like their land-dwelling counterparts, fish and shrimp are highly inefficient converters of protein. It takes 5 lbs. of wild ocean fish to feed and produce a single pound of farmed saltwater fish or shrimp. Think you're better off eating wild-caught? Think again. Factory trawlers use long lines with thousands of hooks and huge nets, spanning up to 80 miles. These lines wreak havoc, destroying the ocean floor and drowning everything in their path, including seabirds, seals, dolphins, sea turtles, and countless other species. About 25% of all animals caught in factory nets are thrown away. Factory trawlers have driven more than 100 species of "food fish" to full or near extinction and caused irreparable harm to others.

* PERSONAL HEALTH/ANTIBIOTICS
The obesity rate among the general (meat-eating) U.S. population is nearly 20%. For vegetarians, that number drops to 6%, and for vegans (people who abstain from all animal products), it is only 2%. The increased risk of heart disease and gallstones for obese people is double to triple; the risk of colon cancer is triple to quadruple; and the risk of diabetes is 40 times greater than for people at a healthy weight. Vegetarians and vegans enjoy a reduced risk for obesity, coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes, and some types of cancer. This translates to a much lower drain on U.S. tax dollars spent on health care and preventable medical procedures. In addition, the EPA estimates that 60-80% of all livestock receive antibiotics as a routine food additive, leading to an increase in antibiotic resistance in humans by causing selective pressure for the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Roughly 24 million pounds of antibiotics (about 70% of the nation's total antibiotic use) are added to animal feed every year to speed livestock growth.

* PUBLIC HEALTH
Open waste lagoons on factory farms store urine and liquefied manure, home to more than 150 pathogens (disease causing organisms) such as Salmonella, E. coli, Cryptosporidium, and fecal coliform. These pathogens are 10-100 times more concentrated than in human waste and pose a serious threat to human health. Animal waste is also contaminated with endocrine disrupters from pesticides (consumed via feed crops) and hormones (fed to cattle to speed up growth), which can alter sexual development in humans, undermine intelligence, and render us less resistant to disease. Animal waste lagoons emit toxic fumes (such as ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and methane) which can cause diarrhea, nausea, headaches, eye irritation, sore throat, shortness of breath, wheezing, excessive coughing, seizures, coma, and even death. Nitrate-contaminated drinking water can increase the risk of methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome), and high levels of nitrate contamination have been linked to spontaneous abortions.

* WORKER SAFETY
On average, 25% of factory farm workers suffer job-related injuries and/or illnesses each year-the highest rate of any job in the country. At high concentrations, methane and/or carbon dioxide can displace enough oxygen to suffocate a worker; hydrogen sulfide can result in unconsciousness, respiratory failure, and death within minutes; and ammonia causes severe irritation to the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs and can also be fatal.

* SUSTAINABILITY / WORLD HUNGER
Livestock are simply not efficient converters of protein-it takes 17 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of beef. As the meat industry devotes more and more grain to feeding livestock, valuable food resources are diverted from the hungry, contributing to food scarcity for the world's poor, particularly in developing countries. An astounding 70% of U.S. grain and soybeans are fed to livestock. If Americans were to reduce their beef consumption by only 5%, it would free up the 12 million tons of grain needed to adequately feed every single person on the planet who dies from hunger or hunger-related diseases annually.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
The Food Revelation, by John Robbins
Diet For A New America, by John Robbins
Hope's Edge, by Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe
Earthsave – www.earthsave.org
Natural Resources Defense Council: www.nrdc.org

124 Things Sugar does to your Body

Natural Sugars in moderation are the key.
Instead of eating Processed Sugars eat Natural Sugars in Moderation; That is the Key
:  )

Contributed by Nancy Appleton, Ph.D., author of the book "Lick The Sugar Habit"

In addition to throwing off the body's homeostasis, excess sugar may result in a number of other significant consequences. The following is a listing of some of sugar's metabolic consequences from a variety of medical journals and other scientific publications.

1.

Sugar can suppress the immune system
2.

Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body
3.

Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children
4.

Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides
5.

Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases)
6.

Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function, the more sugar you eat the more elasticity and function you loose
7.

Sugar reduces high density lipoproteins
8.

Sugar leads to chromium deficiency
9.

Sugar leads to cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostrate, and rectum
10.

Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose
11.

Sugar causes copper deficiency
12.

Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium
13.

Sugar can weaken eyesight
14.

Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine
15.

Sugar can cause hypoglycemia
16.

Sugar can produce an acidic digestive tract
17.

Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children
18.

Sugar malabsorption is frequent in patients with functional bowel disease
19.

Sugar can cause premature aging
20.

Sugar can lead to alcoholism
21.

Sugar can cause tooth decay
22.

Sugar contributes to obesity
23.

High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis
24.

Sugar can cause changes frequently found in person with gastric or duodenal ulcers
25.

Sugar can cause arthritis
26.

Sugar can cause asthma
27.

Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
28.

Sugar can cause gallstones
29.

Sugar can cause heart disease
30.

Sugar can cause appendicitis
31.

Sugar can cause multiple sclerosis
32.

Sugar can cause hemorrhoids
33.

Sugar can cause varicose veins
34.

Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users
35.

Sugar can lead to periodontal disease
36.

Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis
37.

Sugar contributes to saliva acidity
38.

Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity
39.

Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E in the blood
40.

Sugar can decrease growth hormone
41.

Sugar can increase cholesterol
42.

Sugar can increase the systolic blood pressure
43.

Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children
44.

High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs)(Sugar bound non- enzymatically to protein)
45.

Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein
46.

Sugar causes food allergies
47.

Sugar can contribute to diabetes
48.

Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy
49.

Sugar can contribute to eczema in children
50.

Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease
51.

Sugar can impair the structure of DNA
52.

Sugar can change the structure of protein
53.

Sugar can make our skin age by changing the structure of collagen
54.

Sugar can cause cataracts
55.

Sugar can cause emphysema
56.

Sugar can cause atherosclerosis
57.

Sugar can promote an elevation of low density lipoproteins (LDL)
58.

High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in the body
59.

Sugar lowers the enzymes ability to function
60.

Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson's disease
61.

Sugar can cause a permanent altering the way the proteins act in the body
62.

Sugar can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide
63.

Sugar can increase the amount of liver fat
64.

Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney
65.

Sugar can damage the pancreas
66.

Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention
67.

Sugar is enemy #1 of the bowel movement
68.

Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness)
69.

Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries
70.

Sugar can make the tendons more brittle
71.

Sugar can cause headaches, including migraine
72.

Sugar plays a role in pancreatic cancer in women
73.

Sugar can adversely affect school children's grades and cause learning disorders
74.

Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves
75.

Sugar can cause depression
76.

Sugar increases the risk of gastric cancer
77.

Sugar and cause dyspepsia (indigestion)
78.

Sugar can increase your risk of getting gout
79.

Sugar can increase the levels of glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test over the ingestion of complex carbohydrates
80.

Sugar can increase the insulin responses in humans consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets
81.

High refined sugar diet reduces learning capacity
82.

Sugar can cause less effective functioning of two blood proteins, albumin, and lipoproteins, which may reduce the body's ability to handle fat and cholesterol
83.

Sugar can contribute to Alzheimer's disease
84.

Sugar can cause platelet adhesiveness
85.

Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance; some hormones become underactive and others become overactive
86.

Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones
87.

Sugar can lead to the hypothalamus to become highly sensitive to a large variety of stimuli
88.

Sugar can lead to dizziness
89.

Diets high in sugar can cause free radicals and oxidative stress
90.

High sucrose diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion
91.

High sugar diet can lead to biliary tract cancer
92.

Sugar feeds cancer
93.

High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents is associated with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant
94.

High sugar consumption can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration among adolescents
95.

Sugar slows food's travel time through the gastrointestinal tract
96.

Sugar increases the concentration of bile acids in stools and bacterial enzymes in the colon
97.

Sugar increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men
98.

Sugar combines and destroys phosphatase, an enzyme, which makes the process of digestion more dificult
99.

Sugar can be a risk factor of gallbladder cancer
100.

Sugar is an addictive substance
101.

Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol
102.

Sugar can exacerbate PMS
103.

Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce
104.

Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability
105.

The body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch
106.

The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects
107.

Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
108.

Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition
109.

Sugar can slow down the ability of the adrenal glands to function
110.

Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases
111.

I.Vs (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to the brain
112.

High sucrose intake could be an important risk factor in lung cancer
113.

Sugar increases the risk of polio
114.

High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures
115.

Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people
116.

In Intensive Care Units: Limiting sugar saves lives
117.

Sugar may induce cell death
118.

Sugar may impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in living organisms
119.

In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44% drop in antisocial behavior
120.

Sugar can cause gastric cancer
121.

Sugar dehydrates newborns
122.

Sugar can cause gum disease
123.

Sugar increases the estradiol in young men
124.

Sugar can cause low birth weight babies

The Truth Behind Your Food

The Truth behind Your Food

By sister-initiate Hui-Ming Toh, Auckland, New Zealand
(Originally in English)

Would you ever open your fridge, pull out twenty plates of pasta and chuck them into the bin, and then, eat only one plate of food? How about leveling fifty-five square feet of rainforest for one lunch or dumping two-thousand-five-hundred gallons of water down the drain? Of course you wouldn't. However, just eating half a kilo of meat will cause this. Eating meat will cause inefficient use and destruction to our resources and environment, cause immense animal suffering, and have detrimental effects on our health. So, if roasting a dog to complement your mashed potato disturbs you, then why roast any other gentle animal?
Waste Lagoon:
Circle Four Farms, a Utah-based pork producer, hosts a three-million gallon waste lagoon. When lagoons like this spill into rivers and lakes as happened in North Carolina in 1995, the result can be environmentally catastrophic.


A UN report has identified that "cows not cars, are the top threat to our environment." It gives evidence that the world's rapidly growing herds of cattle is the greatest threat to the climate, forests and wildlife. Farmed animals produce one-hundred-and-thirty times more excrement than the entire human population of the United States and this concentrated slop ends up polluting water, destroying top soil and contaminating our air. Furthermore, their bodily gas and manure emit more than one third of methane, which warms the world twenty times faster than carbon dioxide. Meat-eaters are responsible for the production of one hundred percent of these wastes which is about eighty-six-thousand pounds per second. But, by giving up animal products, you will be responsible for none of these.

Moreover, our taste for meat is taking a toll on our supply of non-renewable resources. A staggering two-thousand-five-hundred gallons of water is needed for the production of each pound of beef, but, in contrast, it takes only twenty-nine gallons to produce a pound of tomatoes and a hundred-and-thirty-nine gallons for a pound of whole wheat bread. Half the water, eighty percent of agricultural land in the United States, almost all the soy bean harvest and over half of the world's grain is used to raise animals for food. While we are doing this, one billion people are suffering from hunger and malnutrition and twenty-four-thousand children die every day alongside fields of grain destined for the West's livestock. However, world starvation would be eliminated if our scarce resources were utilized efficiently by converting land to raising crops for feeding people.

Somali Famine Victims:
Somalian famine victims line up for food handouts. Producing a pound of beef requires 4.8 pounds of grain, and critics of our modern agricultural system say that the spread of meat-based diets aggravates world hunger.

Are you aware that one-hundred-and-thirty million animals are murdered annually in New Zealand? Most animals are raised on factory farms, the system which strives to maximize output at minimum costs. As a result, the animals suffer immense pain mentally and physically every second of their lives. They are crammed into filthy windowless confinement systems and will never raise their families, rummage in the soil or do anything that is natural to them. They won't even feel the sun on their backs or breathe fresh air until the day they are loaded onto trucks, destined for slaughter. Over ninety million animals in New Zealand suffer these conditions and many remain conscious as their throats are cut, then, left to bleed to death.

Another cruel practice farmers often carry out is the deprivation of food from birds for fourteen days in order to shock their bodies into laying more eggs for human consumption. And, because male chicks are useless in the meat industry, each year a hundred million of them are ground up alive or tossed into bags to suffocate. What's more, at the slaughter house, the chickens throats are cut, and they are immersed in scalding hot water to remove their feathers while many are still alive.

Even nowadays, to mark cows for identification, ranchers push hot fire irons into their flesh as they bellow in pain. Consequently, third degree burns occur and male calves' testicles are ripped from their scrotums all without pain relief. To add to their suffering, the land which cattle graze on has air saturated with chemicals and these fumes cause chronic respiratory problems, therefore making breathing painful.

Cows used for their milk are repeatedly impregnated and their babies taken away so that humans can drink the milk intended for the calves. They are hooked up to machines several times daily and using genetic manipulation, powerful hormones, and intensive milking, they are forced to produce ten times more milk as they naturally would. This contributes to the immensely painful inflammation of their udder which up to fifty percent of dairy cows suffer from.

Animals on today's factory farms have no legal protection from cruelty that would be illegal if it were inflicted on household pets: neglect, mutilation, genetic manipulation, and drug programs that cause chronic pain and crippling and, violent slaughter. Robert Louis Stevenson, a novelist and poet said, "We consume the carcasses of creatures of like appetites, passions and organs with our own." Yet, farmed animals are no less intelligent or capable of feeling pain than are the dogs and cats we cherish as companions.

This is demonstrated by the frequent reports of cows leaping over a six-foot fence to escape a slaughterhouse, walking seven miles to be reunited with a calf and swimming across a river to freedom. Pigs, too, are insightful animals as discovered by Dr. Donald Broom, scientific advisor to the British government - "[Pigs] have the cognitive ability to be quite sophisticated. Even more so than dogs and certainly three-year-olds."

The most important step you can take to save our planet and diminish both human and animal suffering is to go vegetarian. A meat free diet rich in complex carbohydrates, protein, fiber, omega-three, vitamins and minerals provides optimal nutrition, forming the foundation for dietary habits that support a lifetime of good health. Compelling evidence can be found in the book "The China Study" by Professor T. Colin Campbell which says, "in the next ten years, one of the things you're bound to hear is that animal protein is one of the most toxic nutrients of all…risk for disease goes up dramatically when even a little animal protein is added to the diet." Studies have shown that vegetarian kids have higher IQs than their classmates and vegetarians live, on average, six to ten years longer than meat-eaters. In addition to this, they are fifty percent less likely to develop heart disease and cancer, plus, meat eaters are nine times more likely to be obese than vegans are. Vegetarian foods provide us with all the nutrients we need, minus the saturated fat, cholesterol, and contaminants.

Conversely, many argue that plants are alive too. This is true, but plants have only ten percent consciousness while animals have consciousness equivalent to humans. Since plants cannot locomote, the sensation of experiencing pain would be superfluous. Thus, plants differ completely physiologically from mammals. If you cut a branch or leaves off a tree, it will flourish and grow more. On the other hand, animals do not desire regular pruning. Can you cut off a leg from a cow and expect it to grow four more legs?

Raising animals for food is wreaking havoc on Earth. The environment, resources and our health are deteriorating and although most of us do not actively condone killing, humans have developed the habit, supported by society, of eating meat without any real awareness of what is being done to the animals we eat. It is said that, "one visit to a slaughterhouse will make you a vegetarian for life. Because it is us who created their screams of pain and fear." So, if you ever decide to roast a gentle animal again…remember you are consuming the flesh of one equivalent to your much loved pets. But, the only difference is that this animal was tortured.

The Nasty Stuff

Every once in awhile I come across something that is interesting, that I feel worthy of posting, but that is negative..and I always try to keep my #1 Rawketscience blog very High Vibe-Feel Good. ..but some things really should be addressed. So finally, I am opening up The Nasty Stuff as a refusal to store all the bad bits that come my way, things that I like having to refer to.. are interesting, but which I dont want to look at regularly.

I believe that its important to be aware..but not to focus too much of our attention on the negative (or we'll create more of that! ; ) So, here it is: The Nasty Stuff