*NOT FOR WEAK STOMACHS OR HEARTS*

amg_89

the more people buy this way, the less it will cost.

actually this is opposite of one of the most basic economic principles... higher demand equals greater cost. Please see: diamonds.



sorry~

So why is it that America is obese and it's the high calorie, high fat, high sugar foods that are cheaper than fresh produce? I'm pretty sure we aren't overweight due to overconsumption of fresh broccoli.

LuckyLeprechaun

it's production costs, not demand, that drive up the costs of fresh foods. a can of pringles doesn't need sxpecial refrigeration or treatment and it's not on the same timeline as a piece of broccoli that can rot in a short time frame. There are myriad reasons why fresh foods are costly, and I wish it were different, but I was just pointing out the fallacy of "if we all do this, the cost will go down." Economically speaking, that concept isn't sound.

Grokette

Buy humanely raised meat, eggs, dairy. In the midst of PETA sensationalism, there continues to be an abundance of ethical family farmers who care about their herd, crop, and product. I hate to see this propaganda demonizing an entire food source. If you're going to avoid meat, fine, but understand it does fill a need in many of our diets.

I agree with this statement. I know the farm where my meat come from.

I buy all local, sustainable foods and have been faithfully for the past 16-18 months.

Farm raised foods (meat, eggs, raw dairy, veggies and fruit) all taste better when it is local!!!

Grokette

it's production costs, not demand, that drive up the costs of fresh foods. a can of pringles doesn't need sxpecial refrigeration or treatment and it's not on the same timeline as a piece of broccoli that can rot in a short time frame. There are myriad reasons why fresh foods are costly, and I wish it were different, but I was just pointing out the fallacy of "if we all do this, the cost will go down." Economically speaking, that concept isn't sound.

No, but purchasing foods from a local Farmers Market, getting a CSA subscription and buying meat from local meat markets that purchase farm raised meats does make the cost go down.

Way down.

I went from spending $150.00 per week at the grocery store to spending about 50-60 per week buying from local farms and my CSA subscription.

kayemme

read Diet for a New America by John Robbins. It's an old book, but certainly not outdated!

kayemme

there are a number of reasons why fresh produce is more costly than packaged foods. the main one? the fact that oil subsidizes the industry replacing manpower at a ridiculously cheap rate.

but only 100 years ago we paid almost 30% of our income toward food. Today, we pay about 9.5%

Grokette

there are a number of reasons why fresh produce is more costly than packaged foods. the main one? the fact that oil subsidizes the industry replacing manpower at a ridiculously cheap rate.

but only 100 years ago we paid almost 30% of our income toward food. Today, we pay about 9.5%

That is true and people in other countries pay nearly 20% of their income toward GOOD food. Not crap like Americans do.

abbiez

I'm gonna be the heartless witch and say that I really dont care...

Animals are animals, they were put on this earth for us to EAT and utitlize. Indians used every inch of an animal. the meat to eat, the skin to wear, the bones to carve into utensils. I dont believe in inhumane treatment of animals but we have to kill the somehow (i didnt even watch the video so im not sure what they did in it..)

Animals dont have feelings so they dont relaly have rights either.


maybe its just the meat love r in me.

kayemme

I'm gonna be the heartless witch and say that I really dont care...

Animals are animals, they were put on this earth for us to EAT and utitlize. Indians used every inch of an animal. the meat to eat, the skin to wear, the bones to carve into utensils. I dont believe in inhumane treatment of animals but we have to kill the somehow (i didnt even watch the video so im not sure what they did in it..)

Animals dont have feelings so they dont relaly have rights either.


maybe its just the meat love r in me.

you have every right to love eating meat, but all living creatures have a right to be treated respectfully. Since you brought up the Native Americans, they also had a rule of never eating a sick animal because that sickness would transfer right to the consumer. Animals certainly have feelings >> humans are animals and we have feelings. Spend some time with a goat and tell me it doesn't have feelings! It may not be able to articulate it the same way, but when any animal is sick, you can tell it doesn't feel well.

LuckyLeprechaun

Animals dont have feelings so they dont relaly have rights either.

ahem......this is malarkey. baloney. nonsense. etc.

Ask my dog if she would like to go for a walk, and watch her go crazy with excitement. Tell me she doesn't have feelings. Ask her to go outside when it's raining and watch her cower in reluctance. Of course animals have feelings.

Doesn't mean I buy into PETA's shenanigans, and it doesn't mean I'm going veggie, but that statement is so silly.

Grokette

I'm gonna be the heartless witch and say that I really dont care...

Animals are animals, they were put on this earth for us to EAT and utitlize. Indians used every inch of an animal. the meat to eat, the skin to wear, the bones to carve into utensils. I dont believe in inhumane treatment of animals but we have to kill the somehow (i didnt even watch the video so im not sure what they did in it..)

Animals dont have feelings so they dont relaly have rights either.


maybe its just the meat love r in me.

Ummm, I am a meat lover also and I know that all animals have feelings. I have 3 dogs and if I step on their toes they yelp because it hurts.

How about someone lock you in a small cage for the remainder of your life and feed you hormone and antibiotic laden food that in nature you are not intended to eat............

Then come by and now and then and kick you, beat you and just over all treat you like crap..........

Then shackle you and drag you off to be slaughtered. After all, you don't have feelings, your just an animal. Right??? Right??

You get my drift I hope.

We are animals just like all the rest. I can't stand that humans try to make it seem that we are so different from any other animal and we are not!

amg_89

Animals have the ability to suffer and therefore have a will to not suffer. Animals DO have cognitive abilities. It's been proven again and again and not just by chimps, by pigs, whales, you name it. Animal rights is an ethical argument. But animals having feelings and cognitive abilities? That's a fact. And like many have said here, we are animals just the same.

megamom

I am not giving up my meat or chicken but do spend more and buy locally from a couple of farms around here who raise organically and humanely.

Since I don't have TV or an expensive phone service I save enough to buy locally and organically. I am a huge supporter of locally grown foods and farmers market. Have you supported yours lately:happy:

amg_89

I am not giving up my meat or chicken but do spend more and buy locally from a couple of farms around here who raise organically and humanely.

Since I don't have TV or an expensive phone service I save enough to buy locally and organically. I am a huge supporter of locally grown foods and farmers market. Have you supported yours lately:happy:

Very happy to hear this. It is worth the little extra money.

p.s. every wednesday morning I go to the town square and buy my apples, cucumbers, etc

Grokette

I am not giving up my meat or chicken but do spend more and buy locally from a couple of farms around here who raise organically and humanely.

Since I don't have TV or an expensive phone service I save enough to buy locally and organically. I am a huge supporter of locally grown foods and farmers market. Have you supported yours lately:happy:

Very happy to hear this. It is worth the little extra money.

p.s. every wednesday morning I go to the town square and buy my apples, cucumbers, etc

Wow, I must be a very fortunate person where we live.

I am able to go to local farms that sell their meat to local butchers in the immediate area and get grass fed beef, ethically treated pork and free range chicken and eggs, raw dairy straight from dairy farms and we have tons of farmers markets in the area, plus I have a CSA membership.

Buying my foods from local sources is way cheaper for my husband and I than when we were doing our primary shopping at the grocery store.

I buy really good cuts of meat. Most of the time I grind roasts or sirloin into hamburger or buy a pork loin to make various types of sausage (brats, italian and breakfast to name a few).

I hear the excuse all the time that people don't have time to do these things anymore. I know as busy as I am, if I can find the time to do it, so can the rest of everyone else.!!!

amg_89

Grokette, that's awesome that you have such an abundant local source for food. I live in the midwest and you would think we'd have plenty of those options available. But sadly, all anyone grows around here is corn and apples. And since I live in a fairly small town, no whole foods stores come here and Wal-mart has taken over. Hooray! So I have to do most of my grocery shopping there. Booooo. Slowly, more organic foods and free-range beef etc are appearing there, so that's a good sign!

Grokette

Grokette, that's awesome that you have such an abundant local source for food. I live in the midwest and you would think we'd have plenty of those options available. But sadly, all anyone grows around here is corn and apples. And since I live in a fairly small town, no whole foods stores come here and Wal-mart has taken over. Hooray! So I have to do most of my grocery shopping there. Booooo. Slowly, more organic foods and free-range beef etc are appearing there, so that's a good sign!

What part of the MIdwest.........

I am actually part of an organization bringing awareness to Local and Self-Sustainable Food Supply (both animal and plant sources)


http://eatsouthernillinois.org/

Jennplus2

That is horible. However, not all meat raising farms are like that

I didn't watch, but I do agree that videos like this choose the worst of the worst to prove the point. I do eat meat because I believe in a healthy balance. But I also support everyone who makes the choice to not eat meat. I have many friends who are meat free and always make sure that when I organize a work lunch veggie options are available. Just wanted to put in my 2 cents.
:flowerforyou:

Jennplus2

Animals dont have feelings so they dont relaly have rights either.

ahem......this is malarkey. baloney. nonsense. etc.

Ask my dog if she would like to go for a walk, and watch her go crazy with excitement. Tell me she doesn't have feelings. Ask her to go outside when it's raining and watch her cower in reluctance. Of course animals have feelings.

Doesn't mean I buy into PETA's shenanigans, and it doesn't mean I'm going veggie, but that statement is so silly.

if you compare the portions of the brain that get fired up when people experience emotions to those nestled in creature craniums, you get some corresponding hotspots. The amygdala is one such example, and it's pretty ancient evolutionarily speaking. So since our brains are hardwired the same way as an animal's, the theory is that it makes intuitive sense for similar stuff to be going on up there [sources: Bekoff, Tangley].

Laceylala

I look at it this way - every dead form of life is used (consumed) by something. The circle of life (as we know it) is a harsh mistress...

You die, you're buried in the dirt and consumed by organisms. You could also be killed and eaten by a predator, then eventually returned to the dirt as waste. We're not often hunted and killed by predators in modern society, but in times long ago, this was certainly the case. Hunt or be hunted. Yep.

If you're a domesticated farm animal (raised humanely) you live in a pasture, you eat from the earth, you eventually die. In the vegetarian world, you'd be returned to the dirt and would provide sustenence for a host of organisms and worms. In the realistic world, you're consumed by higher life forms. Why waste that animal when it can provide food for many?

Factory farms are enabling the consumption of meat at a reasonable cost by the masses in a heavily populated world. We took some of this upon ourselves by "evolving" from a highly agarian society to an industrial one - centralizing farms and driving many smaller farms out of business. I don't agree with this, but I certainly see how this has come to be in a free market society. I suppose I'm lucky to have the monetary ability to purchase humanely raised meat.

Is there a better way for our society to reduce or avoid factory farms? Well, not to sound awful, but we'd have to reduce the size of society as we know it and return to more localized agriculture. We could also redesign large scale farming to better account for animal welfare - if you know anything about Temple Grandin and the way she revolutionized the science of "slaughter" - you'd know this has been put into practice in many places.

Read the book Food Matters. And other books as well..but I am reading this one right now. I don't want to copy the whole synopsis, but here is the link:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Food-Matters/Mark-Bittman/e/9781416578970/?itm=2&USRI=food+matters+a+guide+to+conscious+eating+with

I think that there is a better way to feed society than by mass producing corn, soy, meat, etc...its just that this is easier and there is more money in it. And our government will never change things because they get way too many financial kick backs from Big Food.
I too eat meat, even the "bad" kind...however since I started reading this book, I've gone "vegan until dinner" in an attempt to cut back on meat, dairy, etc. I've only started it since Monday but I like the way I feel and I like that in just doing this I can potentially cut my carbon footprint down.
Now will I feel this way after two weeks? Hard to say but right now I do. I still like my meat and cheese at dinner time..this has just allowed me to buy a higher quality of product (organic, local, etc) because I am eating more veggies, fruit, etc. Saving $ not buying refined processed crap.