Author Topic: Choosing your food consciously (know what you eat)  (Read 7757 times)

Offline Ellemeno

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Choosing your food consciously (know what you eat)
« on: July 19, 2007, 01:51:29 am »
Hi Everyone,

This was a suggested topic, and one that I've been working on for a while in my life, so thought I would pick it as my first thread to start. 

I will be back tomorrow to share a bit about where I'm at - just wanted to start a new thread in the new forum for now.  :)  Feel free to share your thoughts first, if you want.



mvansand76

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Re: Choosing your food consciously (know what you eat)
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2007, 05:35:29 am »
Hey Clarissa!  :D

Yeah, this is a subject close to my heart too! Ever since I decided to stop eating meat that wasn't free-range/organic, I've been reading more into this and I also read Fastfood Nation, which is a really scary book about the all-American fastfood meal. It confirmed me in my belief that I shouldn't be eating that at all. It's not just about the wellfare of animals, but also the people who work at those huge slaughterhouses and who aren't treated any differently than the animals slaughtered there.

 :(

Mel

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Choosing your food consciously (know what you eat)
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2007, 08:13:38 pm »
I guess you'll let us know where this topic is supposed to go?

I'm an unrepentant omnivore.  Being one has been the success of our species and how nature made us to be.  I find myself in the best health of my life when I eat a lot of meat and vegetables, eggs and nuts and very little fruits/sweets and no bread products.  Much like our caveman ancestors probably ate.

mvansand76

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Re: Choosing your food consciously (know what you eat)
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2007, 05:54:03 am »
Well, this thread doesn't necessarily have to be about eating meat or not, it could also be about choosing food that is organic or free-range.

I, for one, like meat too, but I have trouble digesting it, so I hardly eat it and when I do I make sure to get it from a small butcher in town that sells organic and free-range meat, and not from the supermarket. I don't eat pork, but I love to mix in some chicken with my Indonesian Nasi when I do make it, so... It's hard to say that I am a vegeterian, but I hardly eat any meat. I eat a lot of eggs and make sure they are the best eggs you can buy for the wellfare of the chickens, so free-range chickens who are given organic food.

On the other hand, there is organic vegetables and fruit and I hardly ever buy them, I usually buy my fruits and veggies in the supermarket and don't check if it's organic or not. The problem is, they are hardly ever sold in Holland, otherwise I would probably eat it.

In our supermarket we have a special label that ensures you you are eating organic food.

But then again, how can you ever be sure?


Offline delalluvia

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Re: Choosing your food consciously (know what you eat)
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2007, 11:30:54 am »
Well, this thread doesn't necessarily have to be about eating meat or not, it could also be about choosing food that is organic or free-range.

I, for one, like meat too, but I have trouble digesting it, so I hardly eat it and when I do I make sure to get it from a small butcher in town that sells organic and free-range meat, and not from the supermarket. I don't eat pork, but I love to mix in some chicken with my Indonesian Nasi when I do make it, so... It's hard to say that I am a vegeterian, but I hardly eat any meat. I eat a lot of eggs and make sure they are the best eggs you can buy for the wellfare of the chickens, so free-range chickens who are given organic food.

I once went food shopping with my sister and she looked at all the free-range, uncaged, no antibiotic, vegetarian fed chicken products I was buying and said, "Isn't it worse?  To eat happy chickens?"   ;D

Quote
On the other hand, there is organic vegetables and fruit and I hardly ever buy them, I usually buy my fruits and veggies in the supermarket and don't check if it's organic or not. The problem is, they are hardly ever sold in Holland, otherwise I would probably eat it.

I try to buy organic locally grown produce as a lot of vegetables and especially fruits out of season are imported from south of the border where the health/hygiene regulations are a little more lax than here.

Quote
In our supermarket we have a special label that ensures you you are eating organic food.

But then again, how can you ever be sure?

You can't be unless you buy direct.  You just have to take your chances.   >:(

mvansand76

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Re: Choosing your food consciously (know what you eat)
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2007, 02:38:50 pm »
I once went food shopping with my sister and she looked at all the free-range, uncaged, no antibiotic, vegetarian fed chicken products I was buying and said, "Isn't it worse?  To eat happy chickens?"   ;D

You can't be unless you buy direct.  You just have to take your chances.   >:(


 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: to the happy chickens...  :D

Can you buy direct where you live?

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Choosing your food consciously (know what you eat)
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2007, 08:55:46 pm »

 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: to the happy chickens...  :D

Can you buy direct where you live?

Only fruits and vegetables in season.  There are organic farmers who show up at the Farmer's Market, but of course, they only sell what's locally available.  I've never tried to buy a chicken directly from a chicken farmer...though I know one.  Hmm...

Offline Kelda

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Re: Choosing your food consciously (know what you eat)
« Reply #7 on: July 23, 2007, 03:44:21 pm »
I guess you'll let us know where this topic is supposed to go?

I'm an unrepentant omnivore.  Being one has been the success of our species and how nature made us to be.  I find myself in the best health of my life when I eat a lot of meat and vegetables, eggs and nuts and very little fruits/sweets and no bread products.  Much like our caveman ancestors probably ate.

The lack of sugars in itself is good and just because you don't eat fruit if you have the veg it all probably evens out.

There used to be a food coop come in where I worked and that was great - straigh from the Glasgow fruit and veg market and cheap too... but now I work elsewhere and cost means I have to eat straight from the supermarket. I do try when i can to eat local... its scary when you go into the supermarket and see where all your food comes from - coming half way across the world cannot be good for the environment! as a start i try to buy only fruit and veg i pick from the big trays and eliminate as much packaging as possible.

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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Choosing your food consciously (know what you eat)
« Reply #8 on: July 23, 2007, 09:19:06 pm »
The lack of sugars in itself is good and just because you don't eat fruit if you have the veg it all probably evens out.

With diabetes in my family, I stay away from the sweet starchy vegetables as well.  No beans, corn, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots etc., for me, sadly.
 
Quote
There used to be a food coop come in where I worked and that was great - straigh from the Glasgow fruit and veg market and cheap too... but now I work elsewhere and cost means I have to eat straight from the supermarket. I do try when i can to eat local... its scary when you go into the supermarket and see where all your food comes from - coming half way across the world cannot be good for the environment! as a start i try to buy only fruit and veg i pick from the big trays and eliminate as much packaging as possible.

Or good for you - they had to have flash frozen/irradiated/slathered on preservatives or stored in airless nitrogen filled bins or something to make them last long enough to get to your local store.  I'm at the fish counter and stare in disbelief at fish for sale that's come from the Phillipines. 

Now, granted, I believe in importing food.  Obviously, in some areas, the local land isn't very good for growing anything other than cotton or hay, neither of which is edible and I'm in a locale hundreds of miles from the ocean - so some things have to come in from better areas, but I try to keep it as local as possible.

Offline Kelda

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Re: Choosing your food consciously (know what you eat)
« Reply #9 on: July 28, 2007, 05:59:02 pm »
do you know, I 'splashed' out and bought some tomatoes still on the vine yesterday from the supermarket. they weren't hugely more expensive than the normal cheap tomatoes I buy.. but the taste! OMG! I think I will begin to splash out on this all the time now.

i can always tell when my student days are leaving me. I have for a few years bought 'nice, fancy' lettuce instead of buying iceberg lettuce... and now its the tomatoes.

Maybe I'll start buying only Heinz beans soon - but I doubt it - I always think a lot of the own brand canned foods or breakfast cereals etc  - are still made by kellogs or heinz etc but just have a different label.

But fresh foods - yeah I think it can make a difference - take strawberries for instance - watery versus juicy and with a very fruity taste - I know it costs a bit more but farmers markets are always nicer for strawberries than the supermarket!
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Offline delalluvia

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Tainted fish from the East
« Reply #10 on: August 02, 2007, 08:32:10 pm »
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20070802/pl_bloomberg/artnxigwpyoc

Like we were talking about.  Fish imported from overseas is slipping by into the States (and probably elsewhere) already tainted.   :o

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Choosing your food consciously (know what you eat)
« Reply #11 on: August 04, 2007, 02:18:49 pm »
Damn.  And I prefer French-cut green beans. >:(


U.S. issues new botulism warning for green beans

Fri Aug 3, 4:12 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumers should not eat certain brands of French-cut green beans because of concerns they could be tainted with the toxin that causes botulism, U.S. health officials warned on Friday.

The green beans were manufactured by Lakeside Foods Inc. of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and packaged in 14.5-ounce cans, the Food and Drug Administration said.

The FDA said the beans may not have been processed adequately to eliminate the potential for botulinum toxin, which can cause a life-threatening illness.

"The canned green beans may cause botulism if consumed. FDA is providing this warning to make consumers aware of the possible risk of serious illness from eating these products," an FDA statement said.

Lakeside Foods said on Wednesday it was voluntarily recalling 15,000 cases of green beans because of the botulism concern. No botulinum toxin has been found in any cans that were tested, David Aggen, Lakeside's vice president of quality assurance and product safety, said in an interview on Friday.

The FDA said no illnesses had been reported due to consumption of the green beans as of August 1.

The green bean warning is unrelated to a recall last month of chili sauce, canned meat products and dog food made by Castleberry's Food Co., a unit of Connors Bros. Income Fund's Bumble Bee Foods division. Four people became seriously ill with botulism poisoning associated with eating Castleberry's Hot Dog Chili Sauce, officials have said.

The FDA said the affected Lakeside French-cut green beans are sold nationwide under the brands Albertson's, Happy Harvest, Best Choice, Food Club, Bogopa, Valu Time, Hill Country Fare, HEB, Laura Lynn, Kroger, No Name, North Pride, Shop N Save, Shoppers Valu, Schnucks, Cub Foods, Dierbergs, Flavorite, IGA, Best Choice and Thrifty Maid.

The warning applies to cans with the following codes:

EAA5247, EAA5257, EAA5267, EAA5277, EAB5247, EAB5257, ECA5207,

ECA5217, ECA5227, ECA5297, ECB5207, ECB5217, ECB5227, ECB5307.

Consumers who have the products should dispose of them immediately, the FDA said.

Botulism symptoms include dizziness, double vision, difficulty in breathing and abdominal problems. People with those symptoms who may have eaten the recalled green beans should seek immediate medical attention, the FDA said.

Offline Wishes

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Re: Choosing your food consciously (know what you eat)
« Reply #12 on: August 09, 2007, 01:30:00 pm »
I do not eat meat. (probably unpopular here)

I never eat out because I don't know what I'm eating. Except for a local healthfood place that does a BBQ with a good veggie selection.

Luckily I only feed myself (and the pets) so I don't have to watch prices as much. I try to buy organic whenever possible and eat fewer prepared foods. I do like sweets though. Try to limit them but can't give them up!  :)

Offline Wishes

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Re: Choosing your food consciously (know what you eat)
« Reply #13 on: August 09, 2007, 01:33:14 pm »
Oh but regarding the botulism warning. Really nothing is completely safe is it? With the recent spinach scare and then one of my favorite snack, veggie booty, got pulled from the shelves secondary to possible salmonella contamination. Maybe we take our lives in our hands whenever we go to the grocery!

Offline Kelda

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Re: Choosing your food consciously (know what you eat)
« Reply #14 on: August 09, 2007, 01:38:20 pm »
och one minute chocolate is bad the next good then its redwine, then coffee, then red meat, the list goes on and on.
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