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Thanks, DJ, it's a fascinating topic.

Isn't it true that one of the "natural" flavors used to mimic vanilla comes from a beaver's anal gland? They can call it "natural" because it derives from nature, not manufactured from chemical compounds. I always wondered 1) how they figured out that they could get a vanilla flavor from that source? And 2) is it commonly used? Oh, and who has the job of milking Beavers' anal glands??

I stick at least 90% to real food, mostly with one or two ingredients if it even has a label
(Eg almonds and salt). The most amazing thing is how GREAT things taste when various flavorings are not present to mask the sugar and salt that's in processed foods. Who knew Brussels sprouts taste like candy if you roast them?

Funny, one of the packaged foods I do eat on rare occasions is turkey bacon since I don't eat pork. ;o)

Good topic: Now I'm torn between the left wing do-gooder food police and the Burger King 'Have it your way' crowd. Pretty much a good metaphor regarding life and social politics in general.

Having spent eight years in the food industry and overseeing manufacturing equipment design and protocol, I'd have to agree with a lot of what Dogjudge said. No manufacturer is perfect tho and I saw my company get bit in the ass a few times for oversights.

A little goes a long way when it comes to high quality fat.
Especially real bacon.

Beaver anal glands are a new one to me.

There are certain foods that are part of a group that has a "standard of identity". These are foods where the US government says, "If you want to label a food as such and such, it MUST be made from these ingredients and these ingredients alone." Ice cream, butter, chocolate, vanilla extract are some of the ones off the top of my head.

For ice cream, you can always tell the difference on the front panel. I don't know what the specifics are for ice cream off the top of my head, but essentially you'll see two things when it comes to ice cream and ice cream products. Ice cream (per the standard of identity laws) will have the specific words "Ice Cream" on the front panel. When you start having things marketed, such as ice cream that has been whipped more, they label it as a frozen desert. Jams and jellies versus fruit spread. Those types of things.

So I don't gross you out, I'll only give you one example of food things you don't want to know about.

As I'm sure you're aware, for various dry products, the food industry will use screening to get rid of things such as mouse droppings.

Many spices are grown in third world countries. Nearly all spices are dried. That drying happens in those countries because companies don't want to pay for shipping water and then drying the spices here. Many spices are simply left on the ground to dry.

Okay, now the part you don't want to know. I've yet to find a bird that doesn't consider the world its toilet. Ditto other animals and their urine. You can irradiate spices, which will kill things, but then no one is going to buy them because they've been irradiated. So enjoy those spices!

Dogjudge wrote: but then no one is going to buy them because they've been irradiated.

*waves hand* I would!!!

palerider wrote:

Dogjudge wrote: but then no one is going to buy them because they've been irradiated.

*waves hand* I would!!!

I would too, PR. I think the food safety benefits override any far-flung radiation issues. However a lot of people I know to this day won't even use microwaves because they think their internal organs will be fried. A close relative of mine is a case in point - she insists on leaving the house when we microwave some butter for popcorn. But then she often eats cloves of raw garlic to prevent cancer... I usually feel the need to leave the house when the resulting vapors come out of both ends of her So I guess it all works out. As a side note: Sadly, after years of eating thousands of cloves of raw garlic she managed to get cancer... twice. She's still alive and fighting tho.

I would def. buy irradiated spices. They can irradiate just about anything as far as I'm concerned as long as it makes it safer to eat. People are just idiots.

Sir NoddinOff wrote: Sadly, after years of eating thousands of cloves of raw garlic she managed to get cancer... twice. She's still alive and fighting tho.

and not learning a damn thing.

Does she realize that the microwaves nuke cancer? Duh.

Paralel wrote:Does she realize that the microwaves nuke cancer? Duh.

I have YET to see a single cancerous growth on ANYTHING I've taken out of my microwave!

Exactly!

Beaver anal glands

That one can pretty much be ruled out. Snopes has the definitive article - http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/castoreum.asp

That always bring to mind the classic question, "Who was the first to try this?"

Dr. Bruce Ames has done the most referenced work showing that,

1. Excluding cancers from smoking, all other cancers are declining in the U.S. population.

2. Environmental pollution, pesticides and chemical additives account for less than 1% of cancers.

3. Most organic vegetables and fruits contain naturally occurring pesticides and other substances that test positive as carcinogens.

Plenty can be found with any browser. Here are a couple,

http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/2007/06/na ... ts-of.html

and

http://www.pnas.org/content/87/19/7772.full.pdf

Organic food, non-GMO is all marketing and BS. Many have fallen for it, including plenty of my friends whose pronouncements can be very annoying at times.

"Pesticides and Other Chemicals Don't Cause Cancer" just does not make headlines that sell the products of the media.

The studies you cite don't negate the dangers of pesticides. Plants do have natural defense systems that may be carcinogenic but the dose makes the poison. Some things, like nuts and legumes, should be soaked and rinsed before consuming to reduce the natural plant toxins.

The real danger of GMOs is not so much the alteration of genes--it is that gmo plants are bred to be resistant to pesticides so MORE pesticides can be used. You can eat all the pesticide laden produce you like, not me.

Eating organic food is not just about the consumer. I spent my latter childhood in Salinas, California. Most people have no clue how "salad" veggies arrive on their tables. The fields your veggies are grown in are bathed in pesticides and so are the workers who work those fields. (And the used to spray the pesticides from crop dusting planes that made their turns over my house. I often think my father's digestive cancer may be because of this. The at workers breathe it in, it penetrates their skin, they can't avoid it. And then the pesticides run off into the water supply. There are documented increased rates of cancers, birth defects, and developmental disabilities among these workers and their children directly related to the pesticide exposure. Are you going to try to tell me this is benign? :roll

Janknitz wrote: gmo plants are bred to be resistant to pesticides so MORE pesticides can be used

You have that wrong. Pesticides are expensive and farmers manage their crops so that they can minimize the use of pesticides. No farmer wants to "bathe" their crops in pesticides. Every ounce of pesticide used is costing the farmer his hard-earned money.

There are documented increased rates of cancers, birth defects, and developmental disabilities among these workers and their children directly related to the pesticide exposure.

I would like to see medical studies published in the last 15 years showing "increased rates of cancer" caused by pesticide exposure.

I find your posts about your diet to be emotional and of a "religious" nature. Not trustworthy.

If I understand it correctly, you had a sedentary lifestyle and ate many empty carbs including desserts and other sugar-laden items. You changed your diet so that you ate "lots of vegetables" and some fruits and nuts. The change from empty carbs to vegetables and a lowering of caloric intake enabled you to lose a lot of weight.

You claim your diet is,

Janknitz wrote:Fats 65% or greater

I am not buying this. If you eat "lots of vegetables" the math to get to 65% fat in the diet just does not work.

You are not a credible source of general information about a diet that is good for our population.