Hi Sgt. Joe.

I agree with most of what you say. I have long held to the theory that your body craves exactly what it needs. If one has a craving for chocolate or ice cream there is something in that thing which your body requires. Moderation is certainly the key. Easier said than done in some cases.

The healthy food situation is a different matter though as I believe we are producing plenty of bulk but with a greatly reduced nutritional value. Seafood would be an exception as the sea is where we deposit all of the nutrients we consume from the soil. I have long suspected that our conventional sewage systems will have catastrophic repercussions given time.

The sad part in all of this is the inability to get definitive information. Anybody with enough money or power can 'buy' scientific research or anything else they want, to support their theory. This particularly but not exclusively applies to the U.S. Honestly I've become so jaded by the 'spin', a generic term for a more accurate meaning, that I no longer give much credence to anything reported from that part of the world. My own country and a number of others, is doing their best to catch up. Really, really sad.

Oh well, somebody said "to every time there is a purpose and a meaning". I think it was a Byrds song in the '60s Read it in an old book somewhere too.

Cheers. ozylynx

The way food is grown and produced makes it unhealthyer than before(cancerogens, etc), money matters. Than again unhealthy food is better than starvation. I hope that the quality of the food will get better in the future.

Esoteric17,
You speak of two items which are potentially both double edged swords. Pesticides (herbicides,insecticides,fungicides, etc) have brought great benefit to crop and livestock production and preservation and have had some serious side effects:DDT for example - great lice control, but ultimately bad for avian reproduction among other things. We have to figure out how to feed 6 billion people and pesticides, properly used, help us to do this. Are they subject to misuse and unintended consequences?? Absolutely yes. Do we need to mitigate these effects? Once again yes. Is their benefit greater than their risk/harm? If the answer is yes we continue to use them and try to minimize the risk/harm until we come up with something better. This requires research. If the harm outweighs the benefit, we stop using that item and try to find something better.
The second item - GMO - Genetically Modified Organism - the same applies. I know of no harm done by any GMO crop, although you may. The hybridization of crops/animals is a form of genetically modifying through selection of desirable traits. Gene manipulation is another more direct (and quicker) form of attempting to accentuate the positive in organisms. Gene manipulation also gives us the ability to insert genes across species and even between very disparate organisms. Better and more nutritional foodstuffs are the goal. Items such as drought resistance, insect resistance, fungus and bacterial resistance are the hoped for outcomes. The ability of a plant or animal to more efficiently use the available nutrients to grow healthier and faster is a desirable goal.
I fail to see how your equation adds up. There may be some instances where it may be true, but cannot believe it has validity across the board. Basic research into protein interactions within cells should help avert any potential disasters in this area.Perhaps some plant or animal researchers could chime in with a more educated opinion.

Cheers

Sgt.Joe

Minnesota Crunchers

GMO is going to be answered by Darwinian responses of nature.... already there is serious upheaval over one, that was supposedly only for testing, rejected by the US authorities and none the less infiltrating the production in the US (intentional?). Europe has put a full ban on all it's imports now!

Pesticides: A good friend of mine is a farmer and was talking to me about the modern once that cause weeds to grow themselves to death... (like a cancer he said and very expensive he added). Suppose those find natural integration into the produce that is as much sprayed with same and get to humans directly, or end up in the food supply of life stock!

It may not be clearly explained, but i think u will get the idea.... I'm not a proponent..... the new cure being worse than the decease.

cheers