Do You Use Re-Usable Shopping Bags?

I came across an article the other day which worried me a bit: Are Reusable Shopping Bags Making Us Sick   The article went on to say that "studies seem to link reusable grocery bags to food borne illness" along with the increase in stolen food.

Well, it was the illness part that concerned me and I would hope that people would read the entire article before passing judgement as it goes on to add that although different microbes were found and "more than half the bags contained some sort of coliform bacteria" what the study didn't say were the specific strains of E. coli found in the bags.  According to Dr. Susan Fernyak, director of San Francisco’s Communicable Disease and Control Prevention division, “Your average healthy person is not going to get sick from the bacteria that were listed,”

I can remember as a child, my mother always used string bags or a cane basket to do her shopping.  It was in the days before supermarkets and we would go to the butcher, (who wrapped the meat in brown paper), then onto the vegetable market, the baker and the grocer for flour/sugar etc.  None of the items were put in plastic, in fact, other than the meat, I don't remember anything else being wrapped…..oh, wait a minute, I think the bread was put into a paper bag.

I think the string bags would go through the wash periodically, but the cane basket I don't know, she may have wiped it out.

Now I realize that the bacteria and other microbes bugs have mutated and become more vicious over the years, but maybe if those who use reusable bags are educated into making sure the bags are washed regularly we just might be able to win the war on plastic.

I did come across a string bag made from hemp:  www.allgreenthings.com   Having a "see through" bag would also stop the food being stolen as well.

Another thought - why doesn't someone invent a thin disposable bag, (like the plastic bag), made from hemp….good for the environment, the growing of hemp is easy, sustainable and good for the land and it's strong enough that bags won't split.  Supermarkets would use these instead of the plastic bags and we could use them as bin liners.  Oh, that's right, growing hemp is illegal unless under license.


Happy Eating
Fee
website:  www.thevegetariancenter.com

Kudos to the Creators

I came across this (below) on FaceBook the other day.  Mercy For Animals  has put out a hard-hitting T.V. advertisement exposing the hidden ingredient in meat products.  It's only on a few channels in very few cities in the USA and on one national station.

Naturally I took a look at the ad and I was simply wowed by the dramatic effect this ad has.  All I can say is that I sincerely hope it gets air-time, that the people who do see it, (even just a small percent), take the message it gives and re-consider eating anything "meat" from the fast food industry or any other processed animal foods.

As I've said before, I'm a realist and know that there will always be meat eaters.  Rather than try and convert them to vegetarianism, (much as I'd like to), I hope to get the message out there to them that they should GET TO KNOW how and where their meat comes from - and it's ads like this that, in my opinion, help to spread the word.  Wouldn't it be great if we could see a world-wide campaign.

More about this ad:  https://www.charity-pay.com/mfa/madsausage.asp

Milking Cows

Some time ago I posted a video on my FaceBook page that, when I saw it, had a huge impact on me.  I'm going to post it here as well at the end of this blog post.  Don't worry there's no violence in it, in fact, there's not a cow in sight.

Here in New Zealand, the general consensus is that our dairy farmers treat their cows exceptionally well when in actual fact that's not always the case.

Many a time I have driven past farms where the cows are on the path wandering slowly towards the milking shed, heads down, udders bursting.  It has made me wonder just how they feel.

And, recently a farmer was jailed for cruelty to the cows in his herd....won't go into details but if you do want to read more: Farmer Jailed

And presently we are in drought conditions.  The sight of animals, both sheep and cows trying to find food on dry and barren farms are a constant "news item".  What appalls me is the lack of shade on these farms.
Oh there's the odd one that has trees, but the majority of land is tree-less and these animals are subjected to the heat of the sun.  This happens in summer here regardless of whether it's a drought or not.

Now, I'm not saying that all farmers disrespect their animals,  on the contrary, yes New Zealand is probably one of the better countries for treatment of dairy cows , but it also has a long way to go.

I'm just talking about the day to day life of a cow or sheep who is lucky enough to stay alive……….I read in the news this morning that the price of meat is coming down due to the fact that the market has been flooded because "we're all killing these animals flat tack, that's created the price." (quoted from online TVNZ news). 

I wonder, if there was ever a great food shortage, whether people would be slaughtered?  No, I'm just being silly…..cows are just animals, a money source - they don't have feelings.

The Problem With Chicken

Aren't I just the cutest!

I've had a problem with chicken for 30 years after discovering a size 20 chicken in the supermarket freezer and thinking it was a turkey.  Back then I was eating meat, fish and poultry and never considered being vegetarian, but when I saw that chicken I just knew something was wrong with it.

Living my childhood in the 50s we were lucky enough to have chickens in the yard, veggie garden out the back and fruit trees to climb in...and we lived in a town.  So I did know how big a chicken grew under "normal" circumstances…..and a size 20 was not normal.

So I looked into this newish company, (I'm not going to mention names here), that had brought mass chickens to the freezers of New Zealand and what I discovered went against all that I believed to be humane conduct.



How can we live in a society that treats animals so badly?  Maybe 30 years ago when we didn't have the internet and information.  But every year we see more and more videos and T.V. shows about the intelligence of animals.  We now know that animals do have feelings, that they can cry, that they can grieve, that they can work things out, that they can have maternal feelings.

So why do we keep on insisting on abusing them, torturing them, housing them in crates and stalls that are too small for them, take their babies away from them and don't show them any respect at all?

Oh, that's right…..Money!  I think I've written that reason before on this blog, haven't I?

What to Blog About?

I've been a bit slack lately not keeping up with this blog.  I hope it's not just me, but do others have problems thinking of things to write about?

Don't suppose it would be so difficult if the blog was a general, all round, anything goes type of subject.  And even though I'm really passionate about being vegetarian, about the environment and, of course, about the welfare of animals, I still find it difficult to come up with a blog.

Let's face it, the blog has to be interesting or with one wave of the index finger on the mouse...you're gone............you are still there, aren't you???

Well, the other day I watched a video about a little doggie who was rescued.  It's a simple little story, but so wonderful.  It was the first time in ages that I had tears and smiles all at the same time.

So treat yourself and have a watch.....
I'm signing off this blog - I know, "what was that all about?" I hear you say - just me, trying to get back into blogging.

Are We Killing Our Oceans….or Killing Ourselves?

In New Zealand at the beginning of 2013 there was a  massive wash up of dead Snapper (popular eating fish) onto one of the beaches which, in, not only my opinion, but others, has come from trawling nets ..... legal or illegal I do not condone trawling.  Here's the link:  Dead Fish   you can imagine how this horrified N.Z.ers as well as global sea lovers.

Are people just plain thick?  Can't they foresee that if this continues there won't be any fish.  It's well known that trawlers have increased the time they're at sea because it takes longer to catch the required amount.  Also illegal trawling is increasing as fish are being depleted from legal parts.

Not long after I heard about this I read the book "Killer Fish: How Eating Aquatic Life Endangers Your Health " which certainly opened my eyes to the health risks people take when they consume fish.  More so with farmed fish.

Researchers analyzed samples of farmed Atlantic salmon from different areas - Here's one of the findings that astounded me taken from the book:

"Total PCB concentrations in the farmed salmon were significantly higher than those in the wild Alaskan chinook samples. Organically farmed Norwegian salmon had the highest concentrations of PCBs; their TEQ [toxic equivalent] values are in the higher range of those reported in farmed salmon from around the world."
Well, you could blow me down with a feather….Organically farmed????? - that's outrageous.

But, of course, fish farms, like the meat industry, are over populated.  Fish are crammed into areas which become breeding grounds for viruses. 

With further research I discovered that a recent Harvard study (May 21, 2012) shows that toxic mercury is accumulating in the Arctic - source: Harvard News
"Mercury is considered a persistent bioaccumulative toxin because it remains in the environment without breaking down; as it travels up the food chain, from plankton to fish, to marine mammals and humans, it becomes more concentrated and more dangerous."

And, guess what, we are to blame for most of the mercury.  In itself mercury really isn't that bad at all.  It happens naturally, but in low levels.  However, about half of the mercury released into the atmosphere comes from human activities e.g. burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas, with contributions from waste incineration, mining and other industrial activities.

And so we come to pollution:

This is just the plastic, I'm not going to show pictures of sea animals and fish which have been entangled, injured or died from our complete indifference!

The amount of plastic floating in the Pacific Gyre - a massive swirling vortex of rubbish - has increased 100-fold in the past four decades.  Plastic is the bane of our existence.  Not only is it on land, but the effect it has on the ocean and the fish is simply outrageous.

People think that the oceans have unlimited inertia, but nano-particles of plastic are getting into marine life and the food chain which is affecting fish fertility rates, this, in turn, affects food security and coastal populations. Pollution is having a huge impact on the oceans.

Fish ingest an estimated 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic per year in the Pacific Ocean, according to research from the University of California San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
It's time we stopped treating our oceans as trash bins and started taking responsibility.

Our beautiful, forgiving and generous oceans are simply going to die if we don't stop over fishing and polluting them….they have enough to deal with already with climate change, let's not add to their burden……………maybe the "killer fish" is a way of payback.

Are We Really That Short-Sighted?

Recently there has been t.v. advertising on the wonderful "new" Red Krill Oil supplement pills that have more omega 3 than normal fish oil tablets.  It it contains an antioxidant called astaxanthin. O.k. so it's good for you but here again is just another pillaging of our seas in order to make money.
Flax oil is a wonderful source of omega 3 (actually better than fish oil) read more here so why do we have to keep finding "new and wonderful" animal, or in this case, fish, products when we don't really need to???

Now normally I'd let this one go with just another "why don't you just leave the sea alone" comment at the t.v.  But then last night I watched a program about "Ocean Giants" and that's when the blood really started to boil.

According to the program the blue whale which lives off the coast of Sri Lanka feed on red krill which, due to climate change, is being depleted.  This got me wondering.

So onto the internet this morning to discover that the krill for the pills is harvested from the cold waters off Antarctica and other icy waters. That's not all I found out.  The ongoing harvesting of krill could be threatening the food source of seals, penguins and whales. 
Pretty much what I had concluded.  Read the rest of the article here   

 

What amazed me was the fact that this article was written in December 2008….that's 4 years ago - damn, how many years will it take.  Oh, that's right - it's all about money.

The Blue Whale is just starting to increase in population after being decimated by whaling - hey, why not just take their food….that'll stop them!!!