GMO etc.

[Guest guest]

GMO etc.

 

 

I wonder why ''the Pope " and " the President " would, seemingly, be ''in

cahoots " to 'not' provide starving populations with " real food " . I am sure,

again, I would think, since they have a pro life stance, their goal is to

sustain life-even if the food- " products " may not be as " ideal " , " pristine "

or of the best " quality " . Does this make us " stuck " with a " bad "

President? I think that extreme thinking is a bit naive and unfair, as he

has done not " all " " bad things " perse at all..And even alot of good things..

 

I can honestly say, without debate nor doubt, being a vegetarian is a

pursuit not un costly for those in our area.. Nor in the United States!

(Unless one is in an income bracket, or their family is, where buying the

" exciting new/fun veggie foods " is pretty affordable or wholly easy to buy).

Healthy vegetable " meat " replacement products are VERY costly when

purchased to be incorporated, (into), a basic fruit and vegetable diet.

" Fun " vegetarian products, things from Whole Foods, and the like, are NOT so

easy to come by for most of the poor in America..It is largely the RICH

(materially-well-to-do) who can afford much of the elite snobbery that

(can) come with a comfortable and costly, yet healthful variety of non Gmo

/healthy non meat food products in stores today..

 

We've been in positions to visit food pantries in the Greater N.Y.C area.

They are NOT a " haven " for anyone seeking " health food-type " products by ANY

means.The rare fresh things there will be some non-organic eggs, higher fat

cheeses, butters and high fat, salt and sugar products. IF the rich in

America and other (so called) " sophisticated " nations want to see " the poor "

well feed, they ought stop complaining about political parties (there's good

and bad in everyone..) and face the FACT that " THEY " may be the ''enemy " "

they whine on about. This is not to suggest " all " or even " most " Vegetarians

are " guilty " of " all " (or any) I've mentioned (*being rather stridently

slanted in the negative towards a conservative Christian President, Pope and

or their motives,etc.).

 

The OTHER great irony is those, again most, who can afford to buy all of

these fine products ..are surely in a financial position-(though relatively,

they may not think they ARE, by the worlds standards and comparatively, we

ARE with Europe and the Canada some of the richest populations in the

WORLD)-to help feed, change this etc. I always wonder how folks who are

worried about animals would feel if they were starving , and had NO access

to buy ANY food BUT a food pantry. I must agree with the point in this

article..would a once 'wealthy' soul turn down burgers and fries and some

'Gmo " foods at a pantry if " that's all there was? "

 

NOW, if President G.W Bush and The Pope are holding out on the POSSIBILITY

of providing " very good health food quality foods " to " the

masses " -(including Americas " poor " and the increasingly large working poor

who may live in " upscale " towns but STILL need the food pantries..OR the

local church basement for food)-this is another story. though I still stand

by all I've said in the rest of this post.

 

Have we NOT enough money in America/Europe/Canada proper to have those who

frequent costly health food stores or whole food stores with similar

products, place a can by the registers of each and every store..to place

monies of their OWN in, so to HELP the starving in OTHER nations buy the

food they love to..talk about and eat themselves?

 

I don't know of such groups, causes or cans..If they were doing well, I'd

think we'd hear of them.We haven't.

 

For us, being a semi vegetarian diet family is costly, sacrificial and we

can't buy " all " 'organic foods. Fact is BAD foods are PROMOTED by wealthy

folks to POOR folks. While the wealthy, or materially well off..go home to

eat Non GMO products, soy products and the like. They CAN afford " the best "

of every product and they DO

allow, (as well as promote/push/ad) their very fatty meat, cheese and sugar

laden white flour products in EVERY local bodega and store and food shop in

urban areas. Again, this is a FACT. Which I must say brings NEW meaning to

the phrase " Fat " " cats..

 

Sadly, I am also aware on a vague level of some of the snobbery that (can)

come along with Vegetarian or any groups..Recently, once, when I was in a

chat room and mentioned I was Christian the folks there " could not

believe " I was eating in a vegetarian way....and insisted I must be a

" Seventh Day " Adventist!. Their shock and quite muted replies when I shared

these sentiments..was understandable..When one is in one position and has

not seen or lived the others, it may be hard to see that side the

fence..Perhaps it's human nature to just enjoy the comfort zone..I

understand..Their suggestion I " must not be a Christian " because I am

educated and enjoy healthy foods..was almost, but not quite as bad as a

congressman on TV a few months back suggesting those who agreed with " war "

were " war wanting born again Christians " . I found it quite sad and bizarre

those words even came OUT on a TV screen. But, then again, we are living in

" today.. " Perhaps, I was on a soy ''low''

 

At any rate, my sharing (perhaps by now an article, thank you for

indulging..), is by NO means meant to criticize, mock, hurt or judge ANY

vegetarians, Liberals, those of any faith or background nor those in this

forum, truly. And I am most appreciative to/of the members here, their

contributions, sharings and the invitation to this group. I want you to know

I do not presume to " know " any of you, surely, again this all, not directed

at the group, its members..or their loved ones/family/friends. Frankly, this

topic is one I feel quite strongly about (you might glean *s..), seeing the

wide disparity in social, regional, financial,economic areas, etc.. I'm an

Artist, my Husband a Sociologist, perhaps we just " see " these things..a bit

more clearly,

I do not know..Individuals can't be blamed though, only God knows each of

our hearts. I would not pretend to know anyone's nor their motives,

feelings.etc. But I can share what I do know and what we have, or have not

experienced.

For this, and others, I am glad to be an American:) My Husband and I have

seen (and lived) enough of ..fairly-well both " sides " of these (very real

life) stories to know whence we speak. Below a wonderful quote on the

benefits of healthful vegetarian living (we couldn't agree more *s)

 

" Disease prevention benefits of vegetarianism are also noted, with

vegetarians reported to have lower body mass indices than

nonvegetarians; lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease;

lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels; and lower rates of

hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer.

According to the associations, 2.5% of adults in the U.S. and 4% of

adults in Canada follow vegetarian diets. Interest is vegetarianism

appears to be increasing, with many restaurants and college food

services routinely offering vegetarian meals "

 

*-SO true, but these spoken of are,mainly, the wealthy, and Upper Middle

classes. Not the American poor and other poor who die too young of bad

illnesses ..not having such food sold to them, advertised to them nor

afforded by them..

 

I found this quote ..I really must go. It is not the quote I wanted to share

on this topic, but I guess it'll do for now..It's the same idea, basically:

 

 

" To talk about the hungry on a full stomach is not the same when we talk

about it on an empty one. "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now " I " am going to have a bowl of possibly BHT added cereal with some NON

organic skimmed milk and a non organic banana. And I am going to thank GOD

for it and the ability to work and loved ones to work to buy it. And thank

HIM for our good health as well. Peace.

 

P.S. And no, we have never seen a Trader Joe's nor a Whole Foods in the

projects (ghetto). We hold fast to the hope & dream..

As they say in the nearby boroughs , " Ya nevah know.. "

 

God Bless You All,

 

P & W

[Guest guest]

Well, just because the pope and president side with a position

called " pro-life " does not in fact mean that they have a strong value

for all life or even all human life. (i.e. death penalty, Iraqui

civilians, etc.) " Pro-life " is a political term- liberals often

refer to it as " anti-choice " just like " pro-choice " is referred to

as " anti-life " by conservatives. The reasons corporations and the

likes of Pres Bush may not be interrested in feeding the hungry of

other nations (or his own for that matter) is racism. There still

exists a strong sentiment in many americans that american lives

matter more. Also, pro-life positions may be advocated by wealthy

individuals who wish to ensure a large pool of cheap labor, not

necessarily out of any concern for the unborn fetus. (this is not to

say that most pro-lifers do not have a genuine concern for the

fetus).

 

I will agree with you that vegetarian food can be more expensive in

the inner cities. I think this a very deliberate act by the stores

to keep the poor living off of unhealthy foods. Whether its motivated

by racism, classism, or the store stereotyping it's customers

(i.e. " Poor people don't like health food " ). I will also agree with

you that gm food is better than none at all. I don't think anyone

here is arguing that no one should buy this, but that we should at

least have a choice (i.e food should be labeled as gmo).

 

And I feel that yes, if someone is starving and animal products are

all they can get then eating them is perfectly justified. Just like

it is justified for a lion to eat a zebra; for biological reasons,

they have no choice.

 

The thing is the President is holding out on the possibility of

providing healthy food to all americans. first, the only reason meat

and dairy are so cheap is because of corporate welfare- tax dollars.

And farmers are actually paid NOT to grow more soybeans. Another

problem being that the grains and wheat grown for livestock could be

fed to humans if we stopped raising animals for food. Also, the

president, ceos, etc. have enough money that they could buy food for

every poor person and still live a very high quality of life.

 

You also mentioned that can't there be cans to put money in at health

food stores. I believe there are. there are also places to put food

for the poor in at whole foods market. the problem is that, all

people typically put in these is there pocket change. Of course most

middle class people do lead a very luxurious life with lots of

computers, tvs, stereos, etc. that we don't really need, but have

been convinced by ads that we do. But another problem with charity is

that, even if it actually ends up in the hands of the poor (which i

understand it frequently does not), it is a temporary / quick fix

solution to a problem that requires structural change. In order to

eliminate poverty, we need redistribution of wealth (i.e. tax the

rich more and the poor less) and laws passed (i.e. much higher

minimum wage, price regulations, medicare, etc.)

 

Sorry if I totally missed the point of your post. I don't think

anyone here would claim that animals have more of a right to life

than the poor. Personally, I like to view humans and animals as

equals. However, because of the great destruction my fellow humans

inflict on the environment, I feel we need to take some serious steps

toward decreasing the human population. Humanely of course, through

increased birth control, education, and " anti-natal " government

policies.