Posts
I read this and couldn't help but to cry:
Death of a Chicken
Friday, December 18, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Stats to think about today
According to the 2005-06 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 32.7 percent of adults age 20 and older are overweight, 34.3 percent of them are obese and 5.9 percent are listed as extremely obese. The potential health risks are heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and respiratory problems to name a few.
Treating obesity and its related health problems accounts for roughly 9 percent of total U.S. medical costs, according to a 1998 study — roughly $92.6 billion a year in 2002 dollars. That is one area of our health care crisis that needs to be addressed.
But yet ... the health care system in this country is working FINE. I say that we elect an official from Monsanto or Cargill to Congress and let him fix health care. That'll kill 2 birds with one stone. They get to take care of the entire food processing AND health care. Trust me, it won't hurt ... for long.
Treating obesity and its related health problems accounts for roughly 9 percent of total U.S. medical costs, according to a 1998 study — roughly $92.6 billion a year in 2002 dollars. That is one area of our health care crisis that needs to be addressed.
But yet ... the health care system in this country is working FINE. I say that we elect an official from Monsanto or Cargill to Congress and let him fix health care. That'll kill 2 birds with one stone. They get to take care of the entire food processing AND health care. Trust me, it won't hurt ... for long.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Monsanto the Monopolizer
ST. LOUIS — Confidential contracts detailing Monsanto Co.'s business practices reveal how the world's biggest seed developer is squeezing competitors, controlling smaller seed companies and protecting its dominance over the multibillion-dollar market for genetically altered crops, an Associated Press investigation has found.
With Monsanto's patented genes being inserted into roughly 95 percent of all soybeans and 80 percent of all corn grown in the U.S., the company also is using its wide reach to control the ability of new biotech firms to get wide distribution for their products, according to a review of several Monsanto licensing agreements and dozens of interviews with seed industry participants, agriculture and legal experts.
The whole story is here
Here's a little history of Monsanto:
As you can see from the story above, this is a LARGE corporation, wielding unheard of power about ONE thing. Food. Simply put, small farmers throughout the world, will not be able to compete with a monolith like this. Monsanto's "Our Way or the Highway" mentality is ultimately destructive for the entire farming community worldwide. There has never been a company with this much power.
Here's some little facts you may or may not know about Monsanto:
Since 1995 they've spent in excess of $8 billion (US) buying seed companies.
It is estimated that Monsanto owns 11,000 patents on seeds.
Here's a little story about their Pollution Legacy.
I'll be posting more on this later as well as tweeting it.
With Monsanto's patented genes being inserted into roughly 95 percent of all soybeans and 80 percent of all corn grown in the U.S., the company also is using its wide reach to control the ability of new biotech firms to get wide distribution for their products, according to a review of several Monsanto licensing agreements and dozens of interviews with seed industry participants, agriculture and legal experts.
The whole story is here
Here's a little history of Monsanto:
As you can see from the story above, this is a LARGE corporation, wielding unheard of power about ONE thing. Food. Simply put, small farmers throughout the world, will not be able to compete with a monolith like this. Monsanto's "Our Way or the Highway" mentality is ultimately destructive for the entire farming community worldwide. There has never been a company with this much power.
Here's some little facts you may or may not know about Monsanto:
Since 1995 they've spent in excess of $8 billion (US) buying seed companies.
It is estimated that Monsanto owns 11,000 patents on seeds.
Here's a little story about their Pollution Legacy.
I'll be posting more on this later as well as tweeting it.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Wild animals are wild no matter how tame we think they are.
This story from the Huffington Post:
(AP) BERLIN -- German police say a zookeeper is in critical condition after being attacked by three tigers.
Hamburg police said Wednesday that the 28-year-old animal handler at the private Hagenbeck Zoo tripped during a performance involving five tigers Tuesday night.
As he lay on the ground, three of the tigers descended upon him, clawing and biting him.
Bild newspaper reports the tigers were driven back into their cages with blasts of water and the man was rushed to a hospital for treatment.
Police say the wounds are considered life threatening.
-- The Telegraph quotes one of the guests as saying the tamer, Christian Walliser, "didn't stand a chance" in the incident.
"They were on him in an instant," the guest said.
------------------------------------------------------------
While I feel saddened that yet another "animal tamer" has had such a tragedy befall them, let me remind people of something, a tiger is a wild animal. It will never be tame, no matter how much time you spend with it. Incidences like this occur far too often, because humans will let down their guard and think that they know an animal or because they forget how to respect a wild animal and its instincts. My thoughts are that this may not be the first time that Mr. Walliser had a "run in" with his cats, but the first time it was ever this severe.
(AP) BERLIN -- German police say a zookeeper is in critical condition after being attacked by three tigers.
Hamburg police said Wednesday that the 28-year-old animal handler at the private Hagenbeck Zoo tripped during a performance involving five tigers Tuesday night.
As he lay on the ground, three of the tigers descended upon him, clawing and biting him.
Bild newspaper reports the tigers were driven back into their cages with blasts of water and the man was rushed to a hospital for treatment.
Police say the wounds are considered life threatening.
-- The Telegraph quotes one of the guests as saying the tamer, Christian Walliser, "didn't stand a chance" in the incident.
"They were on him in an instant," the guest said.
------------------------------------------------------------
While I feel saddened that yet another "animal tamer" has had such a tragedy befall them, let me remind people of something, a tiger is a wild animal. It will never be tame, no matter how much time you spend with it. Incidences like this occur far too often, because humans will let down their guard and think that they know an animal or because they forget how to respect a wild animal and its instincts. My thoughts are that this may not be the first time that Mr. Walliser had a "run in" with his cats, but the first time it was ever this severe.
Dr. Jane Goodall
Ok so I had intended to put a video here of Dr Jane Goodall on the Daily Show that I had seen a few weeks ago but their code is all kinds of weird, so I'll just post the link to it and you can go see it on the Daily Show's web site.
Go watch the clip here.
Go watch the clip here.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
What a beautiful place New Zealand must be
(Original story here)
Mopping up this morning's offal spill between Woodville and Dannevirke was not going to be a pretty job, contractors said.
The mess of blood, fat and discarded pieces of butchered animals spread 15km, and was up to 30cm deep in parts after a tailgate opened on a truck.
Commuters were asked to take a 10-minute detour, as the section of State Highway 2 was closed for the clean-up between Condoit Rd and Maharahara Rd.
A report that a car had skidded and crashed at the spill alerted police to the situation.
New Zealand Transport Agency contractors on the job said it was a "pretty bloody awful" scene, with animal heads and carcasses among the mess.
"It's not really a good day for my boys," a spokesman said.
"Offal spills have a huge amount of fat in them and that poses a risk to the public so we closed the road."
The contractors intended to pick up the worst bits with loaders, use a biodegradable detergent and put a crusher dust (similar to sand) on top of it. It could be "a bit ripe" for the next few days as there was likely to be some residue.
NZTA state highway manager Errol Christiansen said they were looking for a suitable dumpsite and the road was likely to be closed until noon.
Volunteer firefighters were called to the scene but not required.
Police are warning road users to wash their vehicle thoroughly to avoid infection.
Mopping up this morning's offal spill between Woodville and Dannevirke was not going to be a pretty job, contractors said.
The mess of blood, fat and discarded pieces of butchered animals spread 15km, and was up to 30cm deep in parts after a tailgate opened on a truck.
Commuters were asked to take a 10-minute detour, as the section of State Highway 2 was closed for the clean-up between Condoit Rd and Maharahara Rd.
A report that a car had skidded and crashed at the spill alerted police to the situation.
New Zealand Transport Agency contractors on the job said it was a "pretty bloody awful" scene, with animal heads and carcasses among the mess.
"It's not really a good day for my boys," a spokesman said.
"Offal spills have a huge amount of fat in them and that poses a risk to the public so we closed the road."
The contractors intended to pick up the worst bits with loaders, use a biodegradable detergent and put a crusher dust (similar to sand) on top of it. It could be "a bit ripe" for the next few days as there was likely to be some residue.
NZTA state highway manager Errol Christiansen said they were looking for a suitable dumpsite and the road was likely to be closed until noon.
Volunteer firefighters were called to the scene but not required.
Police are warning road users to wash their vehicle thoroughly to avoid infection.
I apologize
I haven't posted anything here in a few weeks (my other blog is suffering from me not being very "inspired" lately too)and I just wanted to say that there's a lot going on right now, I just haven't been feeling very "ranty." I've been kind of lazy and really haven't been doing much so for that I apologize. I promise that I will get back to posting more stuff on here very soon. Maybe I'll even have a virtual little Xmas present on here for the Holidays. Who knows. Keep checking back though.
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