Posts Tagged ‘food’

#AnarchyJC 200 ; #GMO Labeling

Posted: March 21, 2016 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional, Frackishima
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By @anarchyroll

Is GMO labeling important?

If it wasn’t, the companies who put GMOs in our food wouldn’t be actively and expensively trying to stop legislation mandating GMO labeling in America.

GMO labeling is the norm in 64 other countries around the world, which includes pretty much all the other industrialized ones.

There can certainly be a case made for GMOs, you know, with all the starving people in the world who don’t care if the food they get to eat is organic or GMO as long as they get to eat and not die.

But for the large percentage of the population that can think and live above the survival plain, who want to know what they are putting in their body, why all the resistance if there is nothing wrong with GMOs?

Times have changed, people literally want to know how the sausage is made these days. In the 1900s, that wasn’t the case, then again neither was equal rights for women and minorities. Times have changed.

Times have changed so much in Europe, that GMO labeling is so passé that countries are moving into the banning stage. Scotland and Germany have recently announced GMO crop bans. Meanwhile in America, we’re hoping the state of Vermont can lead the way.

Vermont? Isn’t that Bernie Sanders‘ home state? Yes, yes it is. Bernie Sanders has long been a champion of labeling GMO ingredients in food.

The resistance from GMO creators to labeling legislation tells you all you need to know about this issue. That and Monsanto is one of the largest creators of GMOs. If there is nothing to hide, why are they spending hundreds of millinos of dollars to hide? If GMOs are safe, why are Germany and Scotland banning them?

How do we or they know GMOs are safe if there are no long term studies on humans who ingest and/or are exposed to them?

And remember that in America, people just want the right to know. The battle over banning GMOs in America is a half a decade at minimum away from starting. This battle is just about the right of consumers to know if the food they are buying for themselves and their children contains GMOs.

In general, those who not only wish to suppress information from the public and spend hundreds of millions of dollars to do so, can be classified as evil and on the wrong side of history. The GMO labeling issue/debate is no different.

The Pink Slime Factory is Back in Business

Posted: August 13, 2014 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
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by @anarchyroll
8/13/2014

Before 2012, the only pink slime I was aware of was in Ghostbusters 2.

Then the ground beef byproduct controversy erupted.

Essentially, the public got wind of a filler in ground beef that contained ammonia hydroxide and was in the majority of mass-produced ground beef in major grocery stores and fast food chains. This led directly to the public flipping out, the (pink slime) filler to be removed, pulled from shelves, burger patties, etc…

But, America’s attention span is measured in 140 character online text messages and six second looping video clips. The media attention has gone away, the consumer outrage has gone away, and with that, the pink slime is coming back.

Why? The price of beef is going up, and putting pink slime into beef helps keeps costs down for manufacturers. So pink slime processing plants are reopening and pink slime will soon be back in our burgers and on our grocery shelves.

Will the public object again? Will mainstream media stoke the fires of public outrage again? Or do the majority of consumers and producers just want cheap beef?

 

The #Salt of the Earth of the #Obesity Epidemic is Salt

Posted: June 17, 2014 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
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by @anarchyroll
6/17/2014

Salt is to obesity what motor oil is to a car. Sugar is the gasoline.

Salt is America’s secret ingredient.

Salt is America’s spice.

Processed foods could not exist without salt.

Fast food culture would not exist without salt.

Franchise restaurants would not exist without salt.

Excessive salt intake is a direct contributor to heart attacks, stroke, high blood pressure, and obesity. If you don’t care about any of that, care about the health care costs that go along with battling the obesity epidemic. Those add up almost as much as senior citizens delaying the inevitable by an extra couple of days.

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is getting read to unveil voluntary salt reduction guidelines for food makers. As with any government bureau, there is no set time-table for when the guidelines will be released, as well as what specifically the guidelines will be. But it’s a start. When dealing with an epidemic, it is important to at least start, no matter how small the first step may seem when staring up at a mountain.

I am in favor of strict, mandatory guidelines BUT completely understand why starting with voluntary, phased in guidelines are being enacted. America is so addicted to salt that a sudden drop might result in public backlash, which could lead to legislated high sodium diet recommendations.

Regardless of whether a person is a vegan, a paleo, a juicer, or junk food eating machine we can all agree that something must be done about wide-spread obesity in America. The abuse of the freedom to eat what we want is negatively effecting our society and culture at a level that has been labeled epidemic. If this where any other kind of epidemic would drastic action not be expected? Would freedoms not be forfeited?

With obesity, the government isn’t coming for our speech, guns, religious freedoms, or our children. They’re simply coming to take 30% of our daily salt intake.

#ClimateChange is the New #Zombie Apocalypse

Posted: May 1, 2014 in Frackishima
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by @anarchyroll
4/29/2014

Recently I was in a public place where the emergency broadcast system went off on a couple of flat screen televisions that were mounted to the walls. What made this odd was that no less than three people turned their attention to the various screens, with their fingers crossed, and with a wishful tone in their voice said, “zombie apocalypse?!”

The only thing sadder than that is how many more people in that place were probably thinking it but didn’t say. What is more pathetic than that is the large number of people who secretly wish for, or more shamefully are preparing for, a zombie apocalypse. If only these people tried to get in shape like the vampires and werewolves from Twilight, then the time they would have to dedicate to a real life spouse as opposed to an imaginary or virtual one would take up the mental space to prepare for such nonsense.

A real life zombie apocalypse is coming, it’s called climate change.

Hurricane Katrina submerged 80% of New Orleans in water and caused over $100 billion in damage. Superstorm Sandy caused $80 billion and turned Manhattan into Venice. Did you know Venice now floods 1/3 of every year? The current drought in California is affecting 100% of the state. How about that deadly tsunami in Asia that killed 150,000 people? There’s no need to wait for an apocalypse people, the third world has been living in one for decades and the first world is headed in the same direction but just doesn’t want to think about it.

The Pentagon doesn’t give a shit about zombies, wizards, or leprechauns but regards climate change as a direct threat to national security.

We all need an escape from reality from time to time. I have certainly been guilty of being addicted to escapism, not wanting to face the real in favor of daydreams, binge TV watching, and video games. Unfortunately, a growing percentage of very smart adults are becoming so lost in the paradigm of personal entertainment entitlement, they are spending real-time, money, and resources on a concept that would get a child grounded at home, picked on in school, and forced to see a psychiatrist, take meds, or both.

Cosplayers take off the costume and go back to the real world. Zombie Apocalypse believers think that they actually know something others don’t. But lying to oneself in order to add value, purpose, and a sense of importance is not new. I empathize with those who are so bored with their own existence they have to hope and prepare for a fantasy event seen in too many mainstream movies over the past decade to become reality. Life has no instruction manual. Sometimes we lose sight of who we are and what we really want to do with our lives. Sometimes events outside of our circle of influence force us to change course to a life that doesn’t allow us to see or think beyond the survival plane for an extended period of time. Sometimes people don’t develop the internal muscles of maturity, responsibility, and desire to achieve. I empathize with people like this, I really do. I once found myself very lost, very bored with life, very much preferring the world of my imagination to that of the real.

But all these people addicted to fantasy are enablers of a real, physical world that is turning into something that will make the human race endangered or extinct. It is happening now, in real-time, before our very eyes.

There is nothing wrong with turning one’s brain off and doing something that is mindlessly fun after a long hard day or week of work. TV, movies, video games, comics, scrap-booking, web surfing, reading, concerts, drinking, whatever. Adults who pay their way through this world on top of keeping their mental, emotional, and physical shit together earn the right to have some “me time” to do something that makes them feel like a happy child again.

The problem, which seems to be evolving into an epidemic is people refusing to take up any cause other than their own entertainment. A widespread victim mentality along with disposable income and leisure time have turned multiple generations of human beings essentially into zombies. Unwilling, under the guise of being unable to think when they aren’t having their inner child killed while “on the clock”. But a professional or personal life that leaves one feeling dead inside is no reason to hope for the manifestation of George A. Romero’s wet dream. What we need is for people to move in packs like aggressive zombies with the rage virus to create policies and enact change on a global level to:

  • cut greenhouse gas emissions
  • mandate clean energy
  • reduce the size and need for landfills
  • build levies
  • punish polluters
  • take responsibility for keeping our water clean, our air breathable, and our food as organic as possible.

A zombie apocalypse implies that the Earth will still be inhabitable for the select few humans who are as over-prepared to be “Left 4 Dead” and “The Last of Us” as they are undersexed. But the real apocalypse for the human race seems more and more that it will not come from a rising of the dead but a rising of the sea levels. Maybe if AMC could make a slow burn narrative drama about that subject we can make some headway. I can promise learning about the causes of and solutions to global warming will in no way be any more boring than the second season of The Walking Dead.

Herbal #Tea : A Space Refresher

Posted: March 30, 2014 in Stimulus Space Response
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by @anarchyroll
3/30/2014

Tea, the original medicine.

I drink herbal tea at home for stress relief, improved breathing, and to help me get to sleep quicker. I could take prescription drugs for these things, but why use chemicals when something that grew out of the ground works just as good or better.

I also drink a ton of tea when I write at Starbucks, but that’s because it’s free refills with new bags after five purchases with a gift card. For someone looking to be social on a tight budget, two bucks and some change for all the tea you can drink in a social environment frequented by women in their 20s is a deal I’ll take any day. But I digress.

In a way, it still amazes me how much my physiology changes each time I drink my teas. Herbal tea is not just a drink. And it’s not meant to be sipped on. Black and green tea you can sip and drink at any temperature. Just remember when you are drinking herbal tea to drink it:

  • As hot as you can drink it
  • As fast as you can drink it

Don’t burn your lips, mouth, or throat. Be smart about it. But as soon as you can drink it safely, gulp it. Why? This method enables the medicinal aspects of the tea formula to kick in faster. I first heard this from Richard Bandler. The next time I had herbal tea I tried the as hot, as fast style and the difference was striking.

Yoga led me to meditation and meditation led to herbal tea. How? Yoga and meditation are simple. Essentially stretching and sitting still while breathing deeply and concentrating on the breath. Those simple acts can bring about drastic change, they have for me at least. The drastic change both brought about got me thinking what other simple things could help me in drastic ways.

National chain grocery stores have gigantic tea aisles, let alone organic and health food stores. My local supermarket had an organic section. That section had several aisles, one of the aisles was half organic herbal tea varieties. One of the brands was Yogi tea. Since I was doing yoga, the name stood out. What stood out more was the different kinds they have. When I thought about the three reasons I wanted herbal tea to help me with;

  1. Stress/anxiety relief
  2. Breathing help through my nose
  3. Sleep aide

I noticed they not only had formulas for those needs, but had multiple varieties. I was sold and haven’t looked back. My paradigm of drinking tea shifted from a beverage, to akin to taking vitamins. I don’t just notice the difference when I go a prolonged stretch without herbal tea, I literally feel the difference.

I encourage everyone to explore what herbal tea can do for them. It’s no magic pill, but the I do truly believe it can help. And unlike chemically concocted prescription pills, there are no side effects. It will either help or it won’t, but won’t help and also cause anal bleeding, depression, or erectile dysfunction.

Sometimes when I loose sight of the space between stimulus and response, drinking the tea helps me to both remember that it is there and see it clearer than I did before.

Herbal tea contributes to me being my best self. It enables me to breath better, feel better, and sleep better. It takes the lump out of my chest when I’m feeling stressed/anxious, it allows me to get more oxygen to my brain and muscles, and allows me to get more restful sleep. I hope you will try a formula or two or three and I hope that herbal tea will help you as much or more than it has helped me.

 

Namaste

 

Too #Fat To Live

Posted: March 20, 2014 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
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by @anarchyroll
3/19/2014

At what point do we stop lying to ourselves about the obesity epidemic? When does the bullshit about big is beautiful come to an end? When are we going to be able to admit to ourselves that the results of not wanting to work out enough doesn’t constitute a ‘realistic’ body image?

People are dying because they’re too fat to live.

Heart disease is the number one killer in America, why? Bad diet and lack of exercise. Deep fried carbs and minimal physical movement is not a natural evolution of man. Food is not an acceptable counter balance to stress, exercise is, check the data.

People are dying because they’re too fat to live.

Epinephrine needles are now too short to fit all the way through the thick layers of fat of the obese. We are literally becoming too fat to live. Changing Barbie’s waistline, switching to Diet Coke, and doing a ‘cleanse’ once or twice a year doesn’t mean shit if you’re airways are constricted and the needle with the drugs that relaxes said airways can’t fit into your fat fucking thunder thigh.

I understand, it is easy to put on weight and hard to lose it. I recently lost 60 pounds, it was hard but it wasn’t an effort or sacrifice of biblical proportions. Speaking of portions, that is a key. Graze, don’t eat big meals. Six to eight small ones throughout the day based on lean protein, veggies, and that’s it.

People are dying because they’re too fat to live.

You can still have fruit, grains, dairy, candy, fast food and soda. Just switch your paradigm to looking at all of those things as dessert. Everything that isn’t lean protein and veggies is dessert, eat in moderation and as rewards for doing your work and accomplishing your goals. Not once a month, once a day. The same applies to liquids. Cut all liquid consumption down to water, tea, and black coffee. Everything else is dessert, literally, have you seen the sugar content of whatever flavored drink you like? Had a good day, end it with a can of soda. Got all of your workouts in this week, have a sundae on Sunday. If you hire  personal trainer they will teach you the actual, physical value of the cheat meal. Know that you don’t have to give up junk food entirely, just regularly.

You’re living a life, not training for the NFL Combine. Take your time, set up a six month to one year plan to phase it all in. Don’t go to a boot camp, start with nothing but body weight training and calisthenics for 10 minutes total a day, three days a week, and move up in two-week increments from there. Don’t let P90x and Jillian Michaels scare you. Take your time, start with the bar low, and slowly, very slowly work your way up. Think in terms of months and years not days and weeks. Trust me, every bit helps. We’re in a golden age of fitness. You can find help and support online for free or for cheap. And if you have disposable income, good lord, the work is 2/3 done for you already, you just don’t know it yet.

Everything in moderation in life except the pursuit of your dreams. Eat to live, don’t live to eat. In America we got that one mixed up and as a result we are literally becoming too fat to live. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle, adjust accordingly.

#WholeFoods’ Wholly Unhealthy Employees

Posted: March 11, 2014 in Meat Me @ Camera 4
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by @anarchyroll
3/10/2013

I recently went to a Whole Foods for the first time. I have never been in the tax bracket that allows me to shop at Whole Foods on a regular basis. Luckily for me, my roommate was picking up the tab. Here is what I noticed when I went in:

  1. It smells like pepper
  2. The selection of healthy foods, beverages, supplements, and spices is amazing
  3. The majority of the products are expensive
  4. The majority of the employees are not just fat, but obese

This is not about to become a fat shaming article. You may naturally be thinking this is an isolated incident. However, one week after going into that Whole Foods I went into a different location a hop, skip, and away from downtown Chicago. There too, I did not see one thin or muscular employee. This shocked me.

I assumed that every employee of Whole Foods would be required to look healthy. Not models, not beefcakes, not hot bodies, healthy. I have now been to three Whole Foods locations in the Chicago area and have seen two employees that are not fat or obese.

Image isn’t everything, but when you charge the kind of prices Whole Foods charges for what they claim is a healthier food supply, shouldn’t their employees be representing a healthy image? I mean, I was also shocked by how many of them didn’t look like they had seen the inside of a shower this calendar year, but none of them stank so that means nothing. I don’t care if they look like dirty hippies because being a dirty hippie doesn’t cause heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, or stressed joints (no pun intended…okay maybe a little).

I thought obesity was mostly caused by the food supply of high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, hydrogenated oils, antibiotics in the beef, steroids in the chicken, farm raised salmon, aspartame, and Hostess products. So either the employees at the Whole Foods are eating that shit because they don’t care about their health, or can’t afford to shop at Whole Foods based on what they make and what the store charges, or both. Neither of which is a good message to send out.

This is not about fat shaming. I don’t actually care that there are so many obese people working at Whole Foods. It just genuinely shocks me that they don’t either.

Mutagenesis, the GMO Back Up Plan

Posted: December 29, 2013 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
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by @anarchyroll
12/28/2013

It was all explained to me as the convergence of breeding and biotechnology, kinda like all those new condoms Trojan has been marketing for the last few years.

What is mutagenesis?It is a method of growing crops, using simulated and synthetic versions of what the sun does naturally, thus creating herbicide resistant crops. Who uses it? Monsanto (of course), DuPont, BASF, and Syngenta. When did it start? 1959 was a specifically stated year by Bloomberg Businessweek. Post WWII military to private research and development era is a safe assumption to make. Where? Japan and the good old US of A are the predominant places for this chemically assisted fertile soil. Why do you need to know about mutagenesis? It is unregulated and is where companies like Monsanto will go to exclusively if GMO labeling becomes required by law.  If that doesn’t make you think or cringe, I got one more for you. The amount of money made on mutant plants is officially tracked by the United Nations’ NUCLEAR Techniques in Food and Agriculture program.

Repeat that last line out loud a few times to yourself, then to someone else, then act accordingly.