Ok, everybody take a long, deep breath! Relax ...
Ok, while we're taking a break .... Hey NTB, I don't know if all o'youse network or not, but would you happen to know a big rice farmer in N. California? He's actually in Wheatland, but has dirt all over the Sacramento area up there. AND ... even though there's supposedly a drought going on, he has PLENTY of water. I have no clue where he gets it, but he said that drought shit is nonsense. Wells I suppose? Anyway, after all these years, I realize I haven't a clue how he spells his name. He's Italian ... Al Lasaga? Al Lasauga? Anyway, that's close enough. He grows that top of the line, high quality rice and I believe 100% of it goes to Japan. Heck, you can buy his rice in the states ... but I think it actually comes here FROM Japan! That silly stuff sells here for something like $16.00/lb!
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain
I know the name Thump. I have a friend who supposed to be all organic, who I think buys some from him.
I'm sure the water shortage is real, but somehow they keep planting the majority of their acres.
The name of the rice they grow that is so coveted, is Calrose. They have a little goldmine with that gem.
Heck, I buy Calrose here at times... well, Lynn does anyway. I have no clue what his is called, but it's brown rice. Any Calrose I ever had was white, but I don't know squat about that stuff, I just eat it. I don't know if it remains brown or if they process it in Japan. I suppose I could ask.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain
Heck, I'm clueless ... all I know is he's not even allowed to sell locally (I don't think). 100% of his crop goes directly to Japan. At least that's the way I understand it, but I could be wrong.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain
I don't remember anything about being organic per se ... just super high quality from what I understand. I do know the Japanese are extremely picky about their rice ... kinda like their sushi grade fish! If you market quality Blue Fin ... it'll end up in Japan. Heck, I think it was just a couple years ago, Japan bought a (under 500 lbs) Blue Fin for just under $2,000,000. (Don't remember the persact weight/figure)
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain
Googled it! It was 2 1/2 years ago. The tuna was 489 lbs. and they paid $3,603/lb!
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2...rd-176-million
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain
Still thinking about this, IF they wanted to put something helpful on the label. It should be a complete breakdown in percentages of WHO was paid what, from start to finish. That would be something to see !
GREAT THREAD! Typical of what I like about this site.. still a bit confused on where a couple of the points made were "headed".. but - well worth the read. and you guys kind of lay off Barry.. We found out today that we have very much the same political "leanings"... and that's definitive..
If you turn a dog loose to hunt – you’d better to be ready to deal with what he trees.
I have a video of few months ago when i was in Japan at the Tsukiji fish auction. I'll try and post it later. You'd be amazed at 1) the price that the fish goes for but mostly with 2) that they start with a bazillion pounds of fish and 30 minutes later it all auctioned and accounted for. I very cool scene. I'll try and post it later.
I've been thinking on this topic too since it caused such a stink. And in searching around, there really aren't many 'facts' on GMOs anywhere that a person can hang their hat on. Sure, there's articles that cite science but they all have one thing in common: they tout the science that supports their position and they poo poo the science that doesn't. And in this case, I can't find that there is any real consensus about any of it. The one thing I do find is that 85% of our food is made up of some GMO component. I guess we're in this whether we want to ask questions or not. Its also clear that in food production, efficiency and yield are the two great drivers of everything. Its also clear that to question that model is damn near heresy.
Heresy or not, I can love what farmers do for us and hate the mantra of better living through modern chemistry. What it may boil down to is its a necessary evil. Thats also a common thing you read. But the science part is unsettled, unless of course, it supports your position, then they're all geniuses.
Still, a topic for a good conversation, but appraently not wirh farmers!
PbKB
not sure where I stand on genetic modification but I know where I stand on food and I appreciate all the hard working farmers who provide it for me. I do agree with posthole in that most science is going to agree with whoever's dollars are funding their research
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones"
Albert Einstein
I just get tickled when I parse Posthole's comments on stuff.........and see the bias while he's trying to claim there is none. I can point those out in his last post, but he'd change subjects or tell me I'm off base in some way. But I do admit he's very good at making folks think he is asking unbiased questions in the sincere quest for truth, justice, and the American Way!
I don't know if this stuff is good or bad. My first take is that it's good. But that's without any science. And maybe there is none. Somehow, I bet someone somewhere is studying the issue, though. Till then, I'll just have to eat what I can forage for.......and be happy to get it.
WARNING - Due to the rising costs of ammunition, warning shots will no longer be given.
Hey I said what my opinion was in the very first post. If you're saying that I'm being misleading then that's your own goddamned reading problem. So go ahead and make your little smarmy remarks. And then claim that anyone who simply disagrees with some opinion of yours is persecuting you.
BKB
Now go calm down.
I'm saying that you historically claim no bias, then introduce a lot of bias. I see it in your last post. I am not sure I don't do the same thing, the other way. But I can point it out to you if you want to listen.
But I am sorry I made your biased self so upset. Forgive all o' me.
WARNING - Due to the rising costs of ammunition, warning shots will no longer be given.
And I just re-read and I had to get to Post #7 to see anything resembling your opinion.
WARNING - Due to the rising costs of ammunition, warning shots will no longer be given.
Its not biased to have an opinion. I am open minded enough to think that people who have different opinions aren't stupid, immoral, or going to hell. That doesn't mean I won't argue what I think is a valid truth though.
So the right thing to do is to just STFU if someone disagrees with you? That's what you call a discussion?
Of course I'm biased. Again, I said what I thought in the very first post.
And okay, maybe not the first post. But my opinion is pretty well stated throughout the post. And I also said early on its unsettled science.
Geeze, but you're a nitpicker!
BKB
No the very first post just has a hyperlink and your question "What do you think of this?" Maybe I'm missing it.
I did not claim you were not biased. I did not claim being biased is bad. I said no such thing.
I am merely saying that you many times say you are being unbiased, when the bias is very clear in that very same post. E.G., that's extremely clear in your post #82. You are not merely asking questions looking for an honest answer, as you claim, at least I don't think that. Again, I can point out your bias line by line if you want. And now you are trying to say you do have an opinion and it's ok to have opinions. ???? Sure it is, but up till now you've said you did not KNOW what is what and haven't made up your mind......now you say you DO have an opinion and are arguing that it's ok to have an opinion! Of course it is! But that's not what was portrayed for 80 posts.
WARNING - Due to the rising costs of ammunition, warning shots will no longer be given.
So, you can be a SR. Noticer, and a SR. SD'er, and I can't be a Jr. Nitpicker.
I see. I see.
WARNING - Due to the rising costs of ammunition, warning shots will no longer be given.
OK, reading the last few posts..........
The dichotomy seems to be in the fact that you believe that you stated your opinion clearly all throughout, and I read you all throughout as having a veiled bias but asking questions about the subject as if you were looking for the truth about GMO's and would happily live with whatever you found.
If this is nitpicking, I'm nitpicking.
What's a nit?
WARNING - Due to the rising costs of ammunition, warning shots will no longer be given.
Just to be clear: i don't think removing GMO labels from food and Country of Origin Labels from meat is a good idea until the science is more settled. And the reason is that I don't think less information about our food is better. Clear enough?
Now. i'm willing to hear your opinion and I'm man enough to admit I may be wrong. If anyone who might havesome opinion on it, I'd love to hear it. At least some other opinion than 'you're a fucking communist if you believe this'.
Clear enough?
BKb
You're such a communist.
OK, sorry........couldn't help myself. You're not.
I said all along, or tried to (probably poorly) that I don't know enough about GMO to have a fact based opinion. As I understand it, Country of Origin labels are what is being removed......not because of GMO, but because of......duh.......Country of Origin. I might be wrong in that, but that's what I remember reading.
As to what opinion I do have at THIS time...........I am prepared to eat food that is for sale in reputable places, regardless of GMO or Country of Origin, or anything else, I guess. If later there is some revelation that is bad, I'll stop then. But until then, I am not going to spend even a second worrying about it. NOW.........I cannot tell you that there is a really valid reason for my lack of concern, I just simply don't care. Part of it is maybe that I'm 67 and full of a pile of sicknesses and if something is gonna kill me, I'd just as soon it be food. So, I'll eat whatever tastes good....until someone proves me wrong.
I see that as sort of the opposite of your view. Your view is that you want to (somehow) abstain from such foods until someone proves them healthy...........though you find that difficult to do in real life.
I do not care that you DO that. I was only commenting on your M.O., not your opinion or bias on this subject.
And I do not believe everyone that disagrees with me is a communist. I believe you are a communist and often disagree with me, but that's different (I crack myself up sometimes)!! Seriously, you have no idea the amount of times that you have swayed my opinion 180...........but not always, and often your opinions are goofy. Mine of course, never are.
WARNING - Due to the rising costs of ammunition, warning shots will no longer be given.
See? We can have a conversation. And you're a facist!
There's two bill passed. One was GMO labelling and the other was COOL. They're only related by the fact that there were millions of dollars in lobbying behind them and they are both removing information that people could use if they were avoiding meat from a specific country that used bad practices (maybe even the US!) in their opinion or if they were avoiding GMO foods.
I don't try to avoid GMO foods generally, and its pretty much damned near impossible to in the first place. But aren't we, the buying public, entitled to know that? Mainly that is from the Roundup Ready products in soy, wheat, and corn. I don't even know if they brought rice into the roundup family or not. I know they tried at some point. As for meat, I'm buying more and more beef grass fed products and those at least labelled as hormone and antibiotic free for all types of meat. I don't want to buy fresh meat from another country period. Not fish, not beef, not pork, not chicken. I want to buy all my meat from growers and packers within 100 miles of my home. That's a goal thats not always possible. But if I can do that the majority of the time I'm happy. Obviously there's no seafood caught in that radius. But I do buy wild caught and package in the USA waters if I can. I don't buy Tilapia from Viet Nam for example. But I do buy wild caught Ahi tuna. Its labelled whe its from. Its important when you consider salmon too. Farm raised salmon offer none of the health benefits you get from wild caught.
Anyway, yeah, I do look a labels. If you don't I can live with that. But its hardly a valid reason to take my information away just because you don't. See what I mean?
I do think Monsanto is evil by the way. And I do think the science that brought us NPK farming and the model that gives us "as long as a method improves yield it doesn't matter if its sustainable" is the wrong model. I think monoculture farming is unsustainable. Those 'biases' (I call them opinions) do likely come through in topics like this. Some day, its a model we will be forced to rethink that model. Fuck, I don't know what the best alternative is. I'd like to think it would be a return where we mainly consume stuff that is grown regionally and benefits those who farm it more directly. That,apparently hits some raw nerves.
BKb
Hmmmmmmmm.
I may be a Facist.
Hmmmmmmmmm
WARNING - Due to the rising costs of ammunition, warning shots will no longer be given.