Sustainable Food and Talking Toxics: What Does Your Food Eat?
The EU depends on imports of feed crops like soybeans to feed their animals, majority of which are genetically-modified. Raising the question: do we want to eat animals that eat GMOs if we do not eat GMOs ourselves?
Talking about sustainable food and toxics in food can be uncomfortable, and it is particularly uncomfortable when you are an omnivore. Those of us who eat animals find ourselves thinking about the welfare of these animals and the conditions under which they are raised. In an era where mad cow disease has become an ever-present reality, it is important to talk about what our food eats, even if this discussion is uncomfortable. If it's uncomfortable, it is likely a necessary piece of our thinking about sustainable food.
In Europe, there is a ban on feeding animals to cows, pigs, and chickens as feed, brought on by the BSE or mad cow disease scare. Ideally, this means that cows, pigs and chickens are wholesome and not harboring any unwanted diseases passed on by other animals.
In the United States, there is now a ban on feeding cattle to cattle to prevent the spread of mad cow disease. Cows are fed grain as the majority of their diet, but the rest may be made out of other animals such as pigs or chickens. Even chicken feathers get the ok. Oddly enough, chickens are fed bone meal from cattle, completing the circle.
All of this thinking about animals may also lead you to question the amount of meat that you eat. How does all of this meat get so cheap, and how is it that it is easier to buy a burger that is not so sustainable rather than a bag of fresh produce? If you do eat meat, you may start thinking about how to eat animals that are gently-raised and fed on their natural and sustainable food sources like grass. These animals eat food that is sustainable and natural, which means vegetarian animals eat vegetables.
The next time you order a steak or go to the grocery store, think about your food. It's more than a supply chain - it is your food chain. You need to know not only how the animals you eat are treated, but you need to know what they are eating. If you are an omnivore, you are what you eat and what your food eats. And if the animals that should be grazing in the fields and plants that nature has grown are eating something else, do you really want to eat them?
Copyright: arcticle: JustMeans
Original article from: http://www.justmeans.com/Sustainable-Food-Talking-Toxics-What-Does-Your-Food-Eat/16513.html
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The EU depends on imports of feed crops like soybeans to feed their animals, majority of which are genetically-modified. Raising the question: do we want to eat animals that eat GMOs if we do not eat GMOs ourselves?
Talking about sustainable food and toxics in food can be uncomfortable, and it is particularly uncomfortable when you are an omnivore. Those of us who eat animals find ourselves thinking about the welfare of these animals and the conditions under which they are raised. In an era where mad cow disease has become an ever-present reality, it is important to talk about what our food eats, even if this discussion is uncomfortable. If it's uncomfortable, it is likely a necessary piece of our thinking about sustainable food.
In Europe, there is a ban on feeding animals to cows, pigs, and chickens as feed, brought on by the BSE or mad cow disease scare. Ideally, this means that cows, pigs and chickens are wholesome and not harboring any unwanted diseases passed on by other animals.
In the United States, there is now a ban on feeding cattle to cattle to prevent the spread of mad cow disease. Cows are fed grain as the majority of their diet, but the rest may be made out of other animals such as pigs or chickens. Even chicken feathers get the ok. Oddly enough, chickens are fed bone meal from cattle, completing the circle.
All of this thinking about animals may also lead you to question the amount of meat that you eat. How does all of this meat get so cheap, and how is it that it is easier to buy a burger that is not so sustainable rather than a bag of fresh produce? If you do eat meat, you may start thinking about how to eat animals that are gently-raised and fed on their natural and sustainable food sources like grass. These animals eat food that is sustainable and natural, which means vegetarian animals eat vegetables.
The next time you order a steak or go to the grocery store, think about your food. It's more than a supply chain - it is your food chain. You need to know not only how the animals you eat are treated, but you need to know what they are eating. If you are an omnivore, you are what you eat and what your food eats. And if the animals that should be grazing in the fields and plants that nature has grown are eating something else, do you really want to eat them?
Copyright: arcticle: JustMeans
Original article from: http://www.justmeans.com/Sustainable-Food-Talking-Toxics-What-Does-Your-Food-Eat/16513.html
Forward this news message: