The Gastrocast

The world is apparently going mad. From the forum there is this gem about Cloning animals for food:

When asked if the industry was looking at ways to defend these products, Galen said the issue is less about defending food from cloned animals because it’s going to be a very small portion of the marketplace. The larger challenge is educating people about where their food comes from, according to Galen.

People have misconceptions, not just about cloning, he said, but about where animals come from and how they are raised. “That’s where there is a real big disconnect between consumer perception and the reality of agriculture today.” And, while there is an ongoing effort in the dairy and food industry to educate consumers, Galen adds, “unfortunately, you have to break through a lot of clutter with all the marketing and advertising messages. (from CapitalPress)

While I agree that there is a “disconnect” between consumers and farmers and that most people don’t know where their food comes from I also don’t think that an industry poised to allow cloning of animals for food or using animal fats for bio diesel is the one to set the record straight. The commercial agriculture machine does not exactly have a track record on the best ways of raising animals in a clean, humane, consumer-friendly way. Any opportunity they do take must be seen as purely propaganda for their cash-hungry greediness and against ethical, sustainable ways of farming.

Hopefully the Gastrocast helps “break through. . .the clutter. . .of the marketing” in some small way.

Technorati Tags: farming, food, biodeisel, animal cloning, gastrocast, tyson, forum, fuel from fat

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A few months back Heather over at Wiggly Wigglers asked me to comment and give my views on what the trouble with farmers is, for a meeting of LEAF. Well I thought it over and recorded a provocative rant. It was a bit difficult as I wasn’t in front of the small group of farmers my audio was being played in front of.

You can pop on over and have a listen here–Show #65.

The other three speakers–knowing their audience far better than I–did a fantastic job bringing some important issues to light. I regret that I wasn’t actually there for the meeting myself. I have done some reading on LEAF and I am very impressed with their organization. We really need something like it in the States. My comments might be harsh, and somewhat off the wall, but I do hope they sparked some discussion and at least a few people saying–”I know someone like that. . .they need to change. . . .” But of course, as is so often the case, I may just have missed the mark by a wide margin.

Technorati Tags: trouble with farmers, leaf, linking environment and farmers, wiggly wigglers, podchef, farming, podcast

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