Thursday, March 8, 2012

Here's What I've Found in the News This Past Week!

Peruvian potatoes - from Parque de la Papa (Potato Park), a Peruvian agro-ecotourism project...
(the original pic is not on the page, but was accessed from a site called Milkwood Permaculture)

WOW! I've been food/ethics searching all week! All of this should get you talking! The picture is explained below, but aren't these potatoes beautiful?!

  • Scary things in our food (so what's new?!). But wait, this may bring on the gag reflex just a little!
  • The caramel color in colas is carcinogenic (cancer causing), and changes are on the way. Of course, our European neighbors have already taken measures on this. Your colas may look a little lighter soon. Check out the info here!
  • The Humane Society of the United States is an interesting site. Check out the picture of pigs in gestation crates. Some of you have blogged on changes taking place with this aspect of factory farming. You'll also find some pretty cute pictures, especially ones of a pig and dog hanging out together!
  • A disturbing article on Pepsi and their use of aborted fetus cells in their creation of a new Pepsi product called "Next" has been circulating. I checked around to make sure everything was factual and actually found a more balanced but equally disturbing article from Forbes. Apparently, just like the Henrietta Lacks issue (see here), cell lines from an aborted fetus from several decades ago have been replicated and used for many things, not the least of which is food production. I include an in-depth article from The National Catholic Register on companies using these aborted fetus cells for many things, including medical treatment and cosmetics.
  • Finally, on the issue of the loss of plant diversity, check out the Potato Park (Peru) and scroll down and read about the efforts underway to save the diversity of potatoes! Note my picture above. Many of these potatoes are being placed in food and ice arks to preserve them against Doomsday catastrophes, which unfortunately include some of our own irresponsible practices. :(
Get into the news! Protect your health and choose to be a good steward! I'll be reading your blogs this weekend, and I hope you are reading each others' because I'll know soon enough. ;)

8 comments:

  1. My dad actually warned my sisters and me last week about aborted babies being used for make-up. The Oklahoma legislature was talking exactly about what my dad said. It is used to make your skin more soft because the unborn baby has vitamins in its skin that is great for women's make-up. That is ridiculous!! Look at the world! Killing other human beings so that we can have healthy skin? How in the world is that fair? We need to start doing the simple things, such as just doing our research to make sure the make-up we use isn't using unborn babies.

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  2. I was watching the news the other day and they were reporting about the caramel coloring used in soft drinks. They said something about the companies assuring their consumers that they have never sold products that would be dangerous to our health. They also said that one would basically have to consume coke or pepsi constantly throughout the day in order to have any negative affects. Wonder if that's true...

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  4. Commenting on the picture... When I visited Peru a while back we ate all types of potatoes. These potatoes are also very common in COlombia because they are both Andean countries. I've eaten all types of potatoes of all different colors and sizes and they are by far tastier than the standard Russet potato. It's funny how the most deformed and differently colored can be the most natural and best tasting.

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  5. Ew. This disgusts me. Recycling aborted humans for our own superficial wants.
    On the other hand, those are some pretty potatoes, I never imagined there were different species of potato.. Who knew!
    About the cola; every time I visit Italy and go to a restaurant and order a coke, the taste and color have almost no correlation with the coke we are used to here in Atlanta. The soft drink is much lighter in color, and in my opinion, tastes much better!

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  6. A comment on the potatoes: This is what food should look like! While some may stick up their noses at these interesting-looking potatoes, it is true that a more colorful meal is a healthier meal (as long as the coloring is natural). I always notice when my mom is trying to make us eat healthier because our plates are filled with colorful fruits and veggies!

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  7. I bet those are the potatoes McDonalds uses for their fries. But I cant complain, they are delicious. They are so many varieties of foods in the world that we Americans are never exposed to. Maybe it is time to diversify.

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