Articles:
Attention
RETAILERS !
RETAIL DIRECTORY
Email to GoodEating.ca
|
 |
QUALITY...
What Is It?Like beauty, quality is usually in the eye of the beholder. Some business people define it like this...
QUALITY:
Conformance to customer requirements.
This would apply to food just as much as any other products you buy. It is your definition of quality that counts, and not anyone else's version.
If you are searching for a pure food product that contains no additives and other questionable ingredients and you find it, then you are buying a ‘quality’ product. It's just that simple! |
OPINIONS
This isn't a forum in the traditional sense. However, it is a place where 'foodies' are welcome to express their opinions and viewpoints on the all-important subject of FOOD. If you have an opinion that you think would be helpful to the cause, please send it to us.
We'll publish it if we think it's worthwhile, informative, or just plain interesting. Thank you!
Below is a letter sent to The Honourable Gerry Ritz,
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, dated September 18, 2009. The author sent us a copy:
Dear Minister Ritz:
Regarding your email to me of August 11, 2009, I take exception to the passage that states: "The CFIA assesses the human, animal and environmental safety of plants, livestock feeds, veterinary biologics, fertilizers and fertilizer supplements - including those derived from biotechnology". If this were true, there would no longer be a single beef/pork feedlot, massive dairy barn or massive chicken/turkey barn in Canada. The proliferation of these huge feedlots and barns is harmful not only to the animals concerned but to the environment and the health of all Canadians.
Have you ever visited a feed-lot? Have you ever visited one of the hundreds of massive chicken barns or turkey barns? Have you seen and experienced the conditions that these animals live in? Have you stood downwind of the effluent and waste piles? I have and am appalled that Canada would allow such inhumane treatment of animals and as a result, the environment.
It is not only the fact that the animals in question live in totally unsanitary conditions, it is also that they are force-fed food products (GMO based) that nature never intended them to eat. Cattle especially are grass eaters, thus their multiple stomachs. The reason they need antibiotics and hormones is because they get sick when fed grain products. This is not rocket science, sir, this is fact.
In addition to the harm done to the animals, there is the harm done to the environment. The massive waste produced by these feedlots and barns is a continuing and growing problem. The run-off from these waste products pollutes streams, lakes and rivers, and the land upon which it is spread. Further, the water from these systems is then used by cities and towns without adequate filtering and Canadians are subjected to the growing health problems due to ingestion of unsafe water. Why - because the waste contains massive amounts of hormones and antibiotics. There are no adequate filtering systems now in place which remove these products from the water. This is one of the reasons behind the rise of 'super-bugs'.
The meat obtained from animals raised in these conditions also contains antibiotics and hormones harmful to human health.
You need look no further than across the border to see the harm being done to the water and land by massive agri-business. I would direct to you to a series of articles currently being run by the New York Times regarding the run-off from huge agri-business farms. Do you want Canada to sink to that level? Believe me, we are close to doing so.
Canada could cut its health costs considerably if only the government would address this problem. It could also provide employment for thousands of Canadians with the growth of smaller farms providing natural products for Canadians. It could cut the cost of transporting goods long distances and thus cut down on our carbon footprint. It could lead the way in ensuring Canadians are provided with good, natural food and the benefits thus derived.
Canada could do all of the above but the government must first enact regulations banning all feedlots and similar massive animal containment. It may mean Canadians would have to pay a bit more for their food, but once the benefits of eating a healthier diet are realized, the majority of us would support these measures and thus open the door for yet more smaller, local farms and fresher, natural products.
I ask that you deputize people in your department to study these concerns and report back to you with measures to address them.
Sincerely,
Catherine J Ridley
Eagle Creek, BC
 PROCESSED FOODS — They're Everywhere!If you are interested in controlling what you eat, then the best advice you could follow would be to try and avoid processed foods as much as possible. So what exactly is a processed food?
Well let's see, the definitions range from...food which has been chemically altered through additives such as flavors, flavor enhancers, binders, colors, fillers, preservatives, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and other similar ingredients.
all the way to...
food that has been altered from its raw, natural state
That covers a lot of territory!
The trick is to figure out which processed foods might have undergone processes that negatively changes their total nutritional content (eg – cheese and sausage ready–to–eat lunch packs) vs. food that has been minimally processed (eg – oatmeal), and then make an informed decision on whether or not you want to eat it.
Don't take the advertising headlines at face value. It's worth it to question things, just as you would anything else. Take ‘ fresh’ fruit juice, for example. If the fruit in question is harvested at a given time of the year, how on earth could it be available 24/7/365 on your supermarket shelf as ‘fresh’ juice? Think about it.
Granted, all this does require some study to sort out the good from the bad and you will have to take the time to think about it, but the payoff is that you will begin to control what you're eating on a daily basis. In doing so, you stand a far better chance of maintaining your health and a general feeling of well-being.
The alternative would be for you to outsource the responsibility for your own health to food companies and health care professionals and let the chips (pun intended) fall where they may.
It's your decision.
"You Are What You Eat"Sound familiar? It's an old expression with a lot of truth. Some of the oldest cultures in the world follow this simple philosophy and they treat their food with a great deal of respect.
Take food from India for example...all those wonderful spices have more than just fabulous flavour; many of them are used to enhance one's overall health condition. To Western society, it's all very "mysterious", but to many Indian people it's just common sense.
We would do well to pay more attention to the foods we're eating, where we're getting them from, and how they're prepared. Besides, food can be, and should be...fun!
Read another opinion entitled ‘Farming, Unemployment, The Economy, and Just Feelin' Good!’ - Please click here |
www.GoodEating.ca is hosted by: 
Created & managed by:  © Lloyd McTaggart 2010-2011 |
|
