Rants and raves of an old soul in a new age.

[handyman42]

Thanks to almost everyone for their input on this thread. I've enjoyed reading you're posts and find it very comforting to read that some of you give thanks for the blessing of being able to provide your family with healthy wholesome food. It truly is a great blessing to be able to provide something for your family that is better for them than what the American food industry has provided for them.

I hope this thread will continue to inspire and encourage those who choose to offer positive input to continue to raise and grow their own food for their families and to keep in the forefront of their minds the Mayberry mentality of a willingness to help, encourage and provide for others, even if that is only a smile and a wish for them to have a blessed day. I look forward to continuing in my readings on this thread and hope y'all will continue to post.

Thanks Y'all So Much!!

 

[Fierlin1182]

I do agree with a lot of things you said - things do seem to be getting weirder as time goes by!

I don't believe GM food is totally a bad thing. There are a lot more people in the world who would be hungry without the new high-yield crops. Changing food for texture or taste I find is taking it a bit too far, but I think the new high-yield, pest/drought-resistant types of plants will have benefits for a lot of people.
Fertilisers... good and bad. Man, I learned so many useless facts about fertiliser use for Geography. In the long run, this whole intensive farming thing's going to ruin soils everywhere and the water table sinks while we're at it - recipe for good fortune, no? It's a problem though, there are so many people to feed these days, what about massive populations that live in apartment blocks with no way of growing their own food...

I have always lived in the city. We grow some vegetables in our garden and of course have chickens for eggs - our property is 900 m square and that's actually one of the enormous ones in our neighbourhood - it's just impractical for us to raise any more of our own food. We already no longer buy store eggs and in winter when the veggies are full-grown they make up about a quarter or something of what vegetables we do eat. But for a lot of people buying from the supermarket's what we do and in many cases, the only thing we can do...

I think things are getting better with store-bought stuff though; I'm not sure how much small print there is about this stuff, but some big stores are now selling hormone-free meat, and about a third of the options for chicken, beef, pork etc. are free range (or "free range", lol, but as you said it's got to be at least a little better.)
We also almost always buy vegetables grown in this country, some organic - we find lots of dead insects when washing the vegetables but it's not so bad really.

...Anyway, perhaps I shouldn't be one to speak, seeing as I've never been to America so I don't know what it's like there.

There's of course all the new things youngsters nowadays are getting into... I just got my first actual mobile phone second hand from my father (he's always getting new things for his job at the university. I don't agree with this, I think it's unsustainable Get new ones just because they've got a couple of changes or are 'the latest thing', the old ones function perfectly well. Some companies make things to break after a few years so people will have to buy new ones and make them more money, that's ridiculous... there are going to be no resources left because so many people are so greedy or gullible, great way to see us into the next millenium or whatever, I'm sure there'll be no problems. Sure it's good for jobs and keeps the money moving, but eventually it's going to be the death of itself... Anyway, that's off topic and I don't really know what I'm talking about most of the time. Sorry.) but around here at least I find that the typical "city slicker" or "today's generation" tags I see are a little exaggerated. Most of the people I know, know where their food comes from, and the value of a bit of hard work.

P.S. I'm going to start university/college next March and it's been something I've been looking forward to all my time at school. I don't think fancy college degrees are incompatible with leading a nice healthy lifestyle.

...Dear lord, I just read over that and I don't know what I was trying to say - I usually don't accomplish much when trying to say something or nothing. Please continue on with your nice discussion!!! And yes, have a blessed day!

 

[handyman42]

I do agree with a lot of things you said - things do seem to be getting weirder as time goes by!

I don't believe GM food is totally a bad thing. There are a lot more people in the world who would be hungry without the new high-yield crops. Changing food for texture or taste I find is taking it a bit too far, but I think the new high-yield, pest/drought-resistant types of plants will have benefits for a lot of people.
Fertilisers... good and bad. Man, I learned so many useless facts about fertiliser use for Geography.

In the long run, this whole intensive farming thing's going to ruin soils everywhere and the water table sinks while we're at it - recipe for good fortune, no? It's a problem though, there are so many people to feed these days, what about massive populations that live in apartment blocks with no way of growing their own food...

I have always lived in the city. We grow some vegetables in our garden and of course have chickens for eggs - our property is 900 m square and that's actually one of the enormous ones in our neighbourhood - it's just impractical for us to raise any more of our own food. We already no longer buy store eggs and in winter when the veggies are full-grown they make up about a quarter or something of what vegetables we do eat. But for a lot of people buying from the supermarket's what we do and in many cases, the only thing we can do...

I think things are getting better with store-bought stuff though; I'm not sure how much small print there is about this stuff, but some big stores are now selling hormone-free meat, and about a third of the options for chicken, beef, pork etc. are free range (or "free range", lol, but as you said it's got to be at least a little better.)
We also almost always buy vegetables grown in this country, some organic - we find lots of dead insects when washing the vegetables but it's not so bad really.

...Anyway, perhaps I shouldn't be one to speak, seeing as I've never been to America so I don't know what it's like there.

There's of course all the new things youngsters nowadays are getting into... I just got my first actual mobile phone second hand from my father (he's always getting new things for his job at the university. I don't agree with this, I think it's unsustainable

Get new ones just because they've got a couple of changes or are 'the latest thing', the old ones function perfectly well. Some companies make things to break after a few years so people will have to buy new ones and make them more money, that's ridiculous... there are going to be no resources left because so many people are so greedy or gullible, great way to see us into the next millenium or whatever, I'm sure there'll be no problems. Sure it's good for jobs and keeps the money moving, but eventually it's going to be the death of itself... Anyway, that's off topic and I don't really know what I'm talking about most of the time. Sorry.) but around here at least I find that the typical "city slicker" or "today's generation" tags I see are a little exaggerated. Most of the people I know, know where their food comes from, and the value of a bit of hard work.

P.S. I'm going to start university/college next March and it's been something I've been looking forward to all my time at school. I don't think fancy college degrees are incompatible with leading a nice healthy lifestyle.

...Dear lord, I just read over that and I don't know what I was trying to say - I usually don't accomplish much when trying to say something or nothing.

Please continue on with your nice discussion!!! And yes, have a blessed day!

I thought you brought up some nice points. And I'm not against people buying foods from supermarkets because you're right, some people don't have any other options in the matter. And about the high yield crops I think as long as they're done without a genetic alteration that's fine, the same things I do with chickens, I breed the biggest of the big to keep my stock meat worth. But I don't alter their genetics to accomplish that. All in all I think you had a good post. And Congrats on college next March. My wife has talked e into going to college next fall for my HVAC courses. Woo-hoo.

 

[member 142084]

The GM high yield issue can be achieved through non GM crops with proper attention. There are other scientific research that have been done by smaller growers such as sonic bloom. You see bird songs effect plant production, and if we have insects on the plants, the birds go for that before they go for the crop. Frankly a bird peck on a apple is nothing to shy about. You cut around it. but people want to see perfection. We have gotten too picky. Mainly GM food are to make the crop more resistant to weed pesticides. And also disease often forces crop rotation, which the soil nutrient depends upon, disease can also be easily treated by safe ingredients and non toxins like they tend to use now. Mass production happened before GM. There are varieties of crop resistant by nature, and weed to plant that can cleanse the the soil of bacteria.

 

[hemet dennis]

The GM high yield issue can be achieved through non GM crops with proper attention. There are other scientific research that have been done by smaller growers such as sonic bloom. You see bird songs effect plant production, and if we have insects on the plants, the birds go for that before they go for the crop. Frankly a bird peck on a apple is nothing to shy about. You cut around it. but people want to see perfection. We have gotten too picky. Mainly GM food are to make the crop more resistant to weed pesticides. And also disease often forces crop rotation, which the soil nutrient depends upon, disease can also be easily treated by safe ingredients and non toxins like they tend to use now. Mass production happened before GM. There are varieties of crop resistant by nature, and weed to plant that can cleanse the the soil of bacteria.

Then why do farmers pay a higher price for the GMO higher yield seeds ?

 

[member 142084]

Ask the company that makes them I am not their marketer. Plus those Patent contract are evil. If seed blows from one farm that plants then to another . That other farm having one single plant sprout up can lose their farm. Yes It does happen, happened to a farmed not far from here. He didn't even want the crop.

 

[hemet dennis]

Ask the company that makes them I am not their marketer. Plus those Patent contract are evil. If seed blows from one farm that plants then to another . That other farm having one single plant sprout up can lose their farm. Yes It does happen, happened to a farmed not far from here. He didn't even want the crop.

Anyone that has been sued for the patent has had over 80% of their field tested as GMO plants and that's impossible with wind. Pollen landing on a plant doesn't change it to GMO.

 

[member 142084]

yeah you can tell that to him after they broke him in court fees. I am choosing not to argue this point it will bog the thread. But all I have to say is if you add too much salt the water your fresh water fish will die and genetically modifying them is not the answer.. yet that is the view they keep taking with our crops and lack of wisdom to rotate well enough and not use so darn many pesticides.

 

[handyman42]

Then why do farmers pay a higher price for the GMO higher yield seeds ?

Quote:

Anyone that has been sued for the patent has had over 80% of their field tested as GMO plants and that's impossible with wind. Pollen landing on a plant doesn't change it to GMO.

I see that you're playing devil's advocate here and just trying to add balance to the thread as far as some things go. But I am seeing that it is more upsetting than helpful to the majority of those posting, so I am going to ask you if you would please keep it more positive (whether you see any positivity in the topics or not) or simply not post. Thank you.

 

[member 142084]

My rant.... I hate watching companies I love be sold or absolves into mega companies. And or see the product altered to the point where it no longer works anymore *sigh*

Example (one of many) Burts Bee's.... bough by Clorox... but the story is a bit messed up. I wish I has some old container to compare the ingredient labels. Though. I just don;t like seeing companies monopolize.

Example PG&E power... soaked up all the small power companies here and in turn laid off hundreds of employees.. there are no alternative power sources now. We have geothermal, and it was all working.. why shut it down? *sigh*

The power bill went from $40 a month to over $100 10 years back when the first one went. again *sigh* I prefer small business, they have more relation to the individual and local people can access it better as far as having a voice.