Since the beginning of mankind, the absolute necessities of life were air, water and food. Once man had . . .
these three necessities, he searched out shelter from the elements and clothing for protection from the cold.
Only when wants and necessities got mixed up did the prices of necessities also become important. At a recent trip to a restaurant for supper for three people, although price was a factor, with one person gluten intolerant, one person diabetic, and one person very aware of the various residual chemicals in certain foods that cause him varying degrees of discomfort or sickness, the price charged for different entrees became much less important than what was in the food or how it was prepared.
Ever since people gathered together to socialize, a drink and food were a large part of the gathering. Over centuries, the subjects changed from where the best hunting, fishing and caves were, to what can we eat that is good for us, tastes good and does not cause an uncomfortable reaction later.
As we chatted waiting for our meals to arrive it soon became apparent that many people assume that all foods offered for sale in grocery stores and restaurants are safe to eat and very few even read the ingredients listed in the fine print on the back. A simple thing like table salt contains much more than salt. Most peanut butter contains vegetable oil to make it smooth and sugar to add sweetness. Butter ball turkeys don’t contain butter.
The USDA has approved 76 different chemicals that can be added to wine and do not even list them on the label. In North America, several hormones and feed additives can legally be added to or fed to meat animals and not listed on the package. Some meat plants now spray carcasses with an undisclosed chemical to prevent shrink when for generations carcasses were wrapped in cotton cloth and kept wet to reduce shrink.
If discomfort follows a meal it is often blamed on overindulgence or cured by taking some form of antacid. Only a small percent of people will try to analyze why what they ate caused the discomfort.
There are millions of dollars made manufacturing, distributing and selling antacids to reduce a problem caused by something we ate.
It was during a vacation to Ireland that I noticed there were no commercials on TV advertising antacids. At a later visit to an Irish corner store I noticed that there was a very small selection of antacids for sale. When I was a kid some 70 years ago there were very few antacids on the shelves in Canada either. When I thought a little more, my grandfather never fed antacids to his milk cows either. We have been adding both calcium and magnesium (which are both used in antacids for humans too) to our milk cow rations for many years now.
Many of the same grains like corn, soybean, canola, wheat, sugar beets and rice are used in cattle rations as in manufacture of our own food. All of these grains have been modified and sprayed with chemicals that didn’t exist in grandpa’s day. Ninety per cent of health problems in dairy cattle are related to the feed they eat. Many of the grains that we and our animals eat regularly cannot be bought, sold, or grown in Ireland or may other countries outside North America.
Political lobbying by chemical and pharmaceutical industries has became a multi-million dollar industry and we see lots of campaigns to gather money for research to cure cancer but hear very little about research to find some of the causes of cancers.
December is the most festive season of the year when friends and families gather to reminisce, eat and drink. We enjoy being with family and friends. We should know what’s in the food and drinks that we serve them.
Have a happy and healthy festive season! Cheers!
Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon on land that has been in his family for generations. gladcrest@gmail.com
