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Breeding the Nutrition Out of Our Food

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Brian K Miller

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Breeding the Nutrition Out of Our Food

by Brian K Miller » Tue Jun 04, 2013 5:26 pm

I caught this article a week ago and nobody discussed it here, and it was very interesting. Just like fast food is DESIGNED to appeal to certain taste centers and effectively addict us, our preference for ever sweeter corn, crisper and blander lettuce, and more tender vegetables is making even our fruits and vegetables the equivalent of junk food?????

A disturbing article?
:shock:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/opini ... d=all&_r=0
...(Humans) are unique in our capacity to construct realities at utter odds with reality. Dogs dream and dolphins imagine, but only humans are deluded. –Jacob Bacharach
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Karen/NoCA

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Re: Breeding the Nutrition Out of Our Food

by Karen/NoCA » Tue Jun 04, 2013 7:33 pm

Good reading. I have to admit I am a lover of the sweet white corn. We eat it without a single thing on it, not even salt or pepper. We grill it or I put it in the microwave just until I can smell it. I knew that green onion. shallots and purple potatoes were power houses of good stuff and we have lots of them. I only wish I could find larger purple potatoes instead of having to bake two of them, a piece....but what the heck, it is no big deal. We eat lots of arugula, swiss chard, and more veggies than I really care to eat, but do it anyway....I think it has paid off.
I hate what Monsanto is doing to our food and I cannot figure out why the people/ US is allowing it. When you talk to the farmer's who have had bad experiences with that company raiding their farms because they try to grow from their own seed, it makes me want to cry. Never would I ever have a contract with that company to buy anything from me. Redding participated in the event that happened world wide against Monsanto last week....I was amazed at the amount of people that turned out. I didn't even know about it. Time for Americans to wake up. I never buy that prepared crap that fills up most of the meat department now. All those prepared meat dishes, are an easy fix. I do admit to having purchased the Harris Ranch beef stew to take on a winter RV trip once. I am not spending hours in my RV kitchen to cook, when there is too much to do outside. The only reason I would use them in my home is if we were both unable to cook any longer and by then....who cares! :evil:
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Lou Kessler

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Re: Breeding the Nutrition Out of Our Food

by Lou Kessler » Tue Jun 04, 2013 8:55 pm

I remember in Vermont when I was about 7 t0 9 years of age my mother buying and preparing corn that was of many colors that the locals called Indian corn. I thought it was great but that may have been due to the varied colors and not the flavors. My wife who is a registered dietitian is not a fan of Monsanto either.
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Mark Lipton

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Re: Breeding the Nutrition Out of Our Food

by Mark Lipton » Tue Jun 04, 2013 11:51 pm

This is why it's important to support local family farms, especially those that are growing heirloom varieties. Our CSA produces close to a dozen different varieties of tomato, 3-4 differnt corn varieties and many different kinds of lettuce, none of which are crunchy. If we can transition consumers away from store-bought produce, we can reverse many of the ill effects of agrobusiness.

Mark Lipton
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Karen/NoCA

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Re: Breeding the Nutrition Out of Our Food

by Karen/NoCA » Wed Jun 05, 2013 10:44 am

Our Farmer's Markets grow in size each year, and are offering more and more varieties of food. We actually have a year round market now. I go every week. When we travel in our RV, I search out the farmer's markets before we leave and we always make sure to stop in places along the way when we hit the timing right. Love the experience.
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Brian Gilp

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Re: Breeding the Nutrition Out of Our Food

by Brian Gilp » Thu Jun 06, 2013 11:08 am

Karen/NoCA wrote:Our Farmer's Markets grow in size each year, and are offering more and more varieties of food. We actually have a year round market now. I go every week. When we travel in our RV, I search out the farmer's markets before we leave and we always make sure to stop in places along the way when we hit the timing right. Love the experience.

Farmer's Markets bother me in that where I am at there is rarely full disclosure. I have three of them within a 10 mile radius of my house and all three have different rules. As far as I know, only one requries that all the produce be grown within the county. The largest of the three allows commercial vendors from out of state to sell there that would not meet either any local or family farm type of requriement. At the Amish market, I am almost certain that there is some buy/sell going on unless they are really growing peaches in this area. So I have put in more beds this year and am growing more produce at home instead of using the Farmers markets.

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