SAVE THE FARMS: Follow the money!

It is time to stop FDA tyranny against dairy farms! I woke up this morning and was almost immediately looking for any news about the S.510 Senate bill, the "Food Safety Modernization Act". It is beyond baffling that a bill like this could be recommended in its entirety by the committee to be voted on by the Senate. But then, knowing how infrequently (if ever?) our Senators and Representatives actually read the bills they're voting on, I guess I'm not surprised.

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McDonalds to CSPI: Buzz Off

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Guest blogger Doug Powers writes today on MicheleMalkin.com about the McDonalds CEO's response to CSPI's recent lawsuit threats. In a nutshell, McDonalds officially tells CSPI to buzz off.

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Who is Manfred Kroger?

While recently investigating milk history for an article, I came across this rebuttal to the Weston A. Price foundation's claim that reduced-fat milk initiates the process of heart disease.

In Manfred's rebuttal he claims to quote opposing facts, but his facts range from agreeing to the production method of powdered milk to simply stating that he doesn't know of any contrary evidence.

He claims that the cholesterol amount in skim milk powder would be insignificant. I am not an expert on milk, so that certainly could be true. However, this does not address two important facts. There still will be SOME oxidized cholesterol in the powdered milk, and the amount of this you want to consume is NONE. Also, adding oxidized milk (i.e. powdered) to non-oxidized milk will soon contaminate all the milk.

But rather than debating his so-called facts, I think the more important question would be to ask who he is, and why he is interested in defending industrial milk production.

He is a German-born man and he gradutated from a professional dairy trade school later attaining a PhD, MS, and BS in dairy science.

He has been involved in dairy processes his entire life, but this time would also have been during the already-established industrial-style dairy production. Thus, Mr. Kroger would most likely have been taught and trained in typical manner. He has also, then, held numerous professorships in the realms of dairy science. This all could be either for or against his case.

It gets more interesting when you look at his professional memberships, positions, and awards.

He has spent decades of his life belonging to organizations intent on promoting industrialization and homogenization of agricultural (dairy) practices. These organizations, among other things, do not believe that farms produce food. Their concern is for the industrial commodities that farms unite to create resources for. These are not the type of organizations that would ever have any intention on promoting small, individual farms OR the small-scale production of certified milk.

He is a current editorial advisor for Prevention magazine, a publication known for its heavy promotion of mainstream foods, production methods, and pharmaceuticals.

He is a board member of numerous dairy science boards and journals. He is advisor to multiple foundations and associations of milk producers and dealers.

It is immediately clear that Manfred Kroger, PhD, has made a lifetime of promoting modern dairy practices and is financially interested in maintaining these practices.

Follow the money.

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in reference to: Silly Statements about Skim Milk (view on Google Sidewiki)

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• http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/livestock/dairy/cda20s02.html
• http://www.wfs.org/trend2nd05.htm
• http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/milk-a-glassful-of-goodness/d75150d1fa803110VgnVCM10000013281eac____/nutrition.recipes/nutrition.basics/eating.healthy
• http://www.nutriwatch.org/00AboutNutriwatch/kroger.html

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The Soy Controversy and more

Someone recently asked me whether I liked a popular, brand-name soymilk. I don't drink Soymilk anymore because of the controversy that soy causes. Yeah, I know soy is still in a lot of foods, especially those little protein bars (the ones that taste like candy bars and claim to be good for you), but that's beside the point. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy#Soy_controversy

In addition, the company that makes the soymillk in question this morning takes soy and adds sugar, plus artificial flavors. It also adds sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate for preservatives. IF they're going to add a preservative, they should NOT use the benzoates (either sodium- or potassium- ); these can combine with Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to form benzene -- a known carcinogen. (Potassium Sorbate is safe at least in comparison) So, they are essentially making something quasi-healthy into something definitely-not healthy. I can't get myself excited over that.

Having a little fun, I did a quick search on some of the other ingredients in this particular brand of soymilk. It's important to consider however that these ingredients are not common to only soymilk, but many, many manufactured foods available today. ALSO please note that this is the result of a quick websearch and may or may not be documented properly.

• Potassium Citrate can have the effects on you that can stop your body from working and stop your blood flow and circulation. Do not have it if you are pregnant, or sick.
• Dipotassium Phosphate - the purpose of this in food is to prevent protein coagulation and also to prevent its precipitation. However, this active ingredient is commonly sprayed on leaves as a fertilizer, and seems also to help control certain fungal diseases on ornamental plants. It's also added to antifreeze solutions as a buffer, liquid detergents as a dispersion medium, and what-the-heck, added to paper, um, just because?. It's generally okay to consume, but ... why would you want to?
  
• Sodium Polyphosphate - An emulsifier. Harmful if swallowed or inhaled, and in contact with the skin. Why do they even have to add emulsifiers? Can't people stir their drinks anymore?

In conclusion, the safest way of choosing what to eat would be to just not eat processed foods at all. You can't even trust the organic brands to be good for you, considering that the Big Corporate Food companies have been buying up the small, organic companies and making those brands their own -- without telling anyone. But that's another story.

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