The Dark Side of Plant Based Food

[MichaelJH]

Have a read and think! I am doing a beast of chicken tonight!

theconversation.com/the-dar...

Could it be BigPlant for BigProfit?

[Shar28]

Interesting and it shows another way that first world trends affect third world countries!

[SpiritoftheFloyd]

Good article.

The majority of people probably don't have a huge grasp of the food chain.

Take beefburgers - the big producers buy massive quantities of beef from, maybe 100s of farms and produces the beefburgers in their factory.

As the agenda of anti meat/pro vegan goes forward, these producers look to capitalise on this tread, and replace their failing traditional sales, and so start producing "fake" meat in their factories - if anybody wants to see this, google Quorn how it's produced (Quorn not strictly vegan as egg white is used). This results in cutting out the meat producers they were previously buying beef from for their product.

Because the relative cost of any meat product is necessarily high due to the amount of animal husbandry that is required, companies are able to price the fake products an a comparable price to the real thing, even though the cost of production is much less. It makes you wonder where the trend for vegan is coming from, could it be that big business sees a huge profit and pushes the agenda down this path? I've nothing against big business or big pharma - we in the industrialised countries would be in a spot without them, but humans are basically a bit sheep like and will follow all sorts of ideas if they believe they're right.

Lets face it, 40 years ago there was no market for bottled water, everyone agrees our tap water supply is perfect for human consumption, then someone came up with the idea that you should drink spring water which had added minerals! Today bottled water is worth £3 billion in the UK

BTW - I had a chicken breast tonight as well

[Dickydon in reply to SpiritoftheFloyd]

Not sure of your location, but London tap water tastes awful and it’s hard too. I have an under-sink filter which has a PH level around 7.9 and removes all that bleach taste otherwise you’d be drinking the horrible chlorine/bleach flavoured cup of tea.

[SpiritoftheFloyd in reply to Dickydon]

The Wirral - tap water is fine here - comes from North Wales

[Alison_L in reply to Dickydon]

I've spent 58 years drinking London water (I'm 58), so don't like the taste of soft water

[Dickydon in reply to Alison_L]

Your brave drinking it. I must be sensitive to the chlorinated taste because it’s horrible especially when drinking my beloved earl grey tea that’s why my water is filtered coming from the tap.

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Here's a link :

independent.co.uk/news/uk/p...

[SpiritoftheFloyd in reply to MichaelJH]

For (almost) every problem in life, the solution is an App!

[CFla]

Food for thought.

The trend away from family farms has been decades in the making. The US savings and loan crisis in 1980s helped overprice farm land which they used as collateral for expensive farm equipment, later defaulting causing huge percentage to lose their land, much of which had been passed down thru generations. Not only was suicide a repercussion, Big Ag swooped in and bought up most of the defaulted farm land. Big Ag got quite a boost.

[Hidden]

That’s a very interesting article, I think given Adam Smith’s credentials we should possibly all steer towards ‘Grow your Own’ ( that’s food not cannabis). Maybe the powers that be should increase the amount of availability of allotments and green space to allow people to take food consumption into our own hands, like our own ancestors before us. Also, an education curriculum that would include animal husbandry and botanical studies. I think Tom & Barbara out of ‘The Good life’ we’re on to something, and the clever writing of Larbey & Esmonde wrote in the symbolism of Margo & Jerry’s’ characters for people to recognise in themselves the hypnotic effect of social programming towards mass food consumption.

Right I’m off to Tesco’s 😅

[Lezzers in reply to Hidden]

😂

[Dickydon]

How was your breast of chicken?

[Alison_L in reply to Dickydon]

It was a beast!!

[Qualipop]

A very interesting article; bulk production is always far cheaper and our home growers simply can't compete. Tesco are presently selling sprouts for 29p for 500g; imported of course as are most of the items named after non existent "farms". What concerns me more is the amount of chemicals and pesticides that are used to make the mass production more profitable. Our wildlife is disappearing at an incredible rate. As a fairly new gardener for just 6 years I have noticed a massive reduction in the numbers of bees, hoverflies, butterflies all of which are our main pollinators. I can do my own small part by growing insect attractive plants but that only helps t he ones that actually survive to make it into my garden. I have no room to grow veg so I grow them in pots. Have you ever tasted home grown baby carrots? My first ones were a real eye opener. Just get a deep pot fill with fairly sandy soil , sow seed thinly and water well. I have carrots, lettuce, saskatoons ( like blueberries without the hassle), raspberries pears plums, red and black currants, rhubarb, garlic ( so easy- push in some cloves from the supermarket), cucumbers,broad beans, runner beans, peas. Seasonal yes but they freeze well. My diet post HA has far more vegetables than before but I haven't cut out meat just cut the amount. Beef about once a month, pork the same, otherwise fish, turkey and chicken and quorn for bolognese. ( My husband, a meat fanatic, hasn't even noticed). I buy from local farms selling their own locally produced meat- a bit more expensive but far better and as I buy that bit less, just about the same price. Instead of being full of meat my freezer is now 2/3 home grown fruit and veg, 1/3 home produced meat.

[Prada47 in reply to Qualipop]

I like the last bit 1/3 home produced meat Are you eating your children !!

That's a joke

[Qualipop in reply to Prada47]

Tempting

[GrannyE in reply to Qualipop]

You are right. I used to grow a lot of my own when I was younger. I really believe that organic is best because of the nutrients. I believe that many soils are exhausted and we are not looking after them for the long term. Much of the way we are farming today is degrading them which is unsustainable long term. I also buy free range and try to buy british because I hate to think that anything that I eat has had a dreadful life and been pumped full of antibiotics and hormones. Problem is it is a lot more expensive but I don’t want animals to have had awful welfare standards and suffer for my sake. I certainly eat less meat and more veg than I used to. I realise that I am lucky that I can afford to pay the extra but at least i have a relatively clear conscience.

[Prada47]

I have read all the bits about grow your own etc and just thinking about what has changed and why we need Mass Produced Food.

There is now that bloody many of Us without Mass Produced Food we would be at War with each other, for the scarce resources.

That's why Monsanto and other companies are working to Increase production of Food. I am not saying what's right or wrong in all of this just it will be required sooner rather than later !!

Regards