The round table, hosted by Senator Ron Johnson, was titled, American Health & Nutrition: A Second Opinion. Those who testified included: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Dr. Jordan Peterson, Calley Means, Dr. Chris Palmer, Dr. Marty Makary, Max Lugavere, Dr. Casey Means, Grace Price, Courtney Swan, Alex Clark, Jason Karp, Brigham Buhler, Mikhaila Fuller, Jillian Michaels, and Vani Hari. The coalition testified about their own experiences taking on personal health challenges while confronting medical orthodoxy and the industries that intentionally poison the food supply for profit.
These are serious discussions that will impact the future of children’s health – discussions that should be expanded and acted upon, to ultimately alter the chronic disease epidemic that is currently ravaging the country.
Toxic chemicals are intentionally put in American products to addict consumers and boost corporate profits
One of the speakers – Vani Hari – talked about overcoming her health challenges and questioning the American food supply. Vani has been a clean food activist for over a decade and started her own company offering clean products. In her speech, she called out American food corporations for manufacturing products that are drastically more toxic in America, while selling the same products in Europe, but with far less toxic ingredients.
Vani called out the “unethical policies of American food companies” that insist on selling “safer versions of their products in other countries, while selling our own citizens ingredients that are heavily regulated or banned abroad.”
The American version of these products often contain artificial dyes, BHT and MSG which are linked to endocrine disruption, infertility, neurological dysfunction and cancer. The American products have a longer shelf life because they contain chemical preservatives. The American products are also intentionally designed to be more addictive, but the chemicals used to trick consumers into eating more are toxic and linked to brain damage.
For example, Gatorade Zero Fruit Punch in the U.S. contains caramel color and Red 40, while the German version doesn’t contain either toxin. The alternative versions sold in Europe are colored with natural pigments from fruits and vegetables.
McDonald’s French fries contain 11 ingredients in the United States, but only contain 3 ingredients in the UK. One of the ingredients in the U.S. version is dimethylpolysiloxane, a foaming agent preserved with neurotoxic formaldehyde. By using this foaming agent, McDonald’s workers do not have to change out the cooking oil as often, boosting corporate profits at the expense of consumer health.
Food corporations should be subject to stringent regulations to protect Americans’ health
With these revelations now going mainstream, American food corporations must consider providing Americans with the same products they sell to Europeans. To hold these corporations accountable, LEGISLATION should be written at the federal level, complete with scientific citations documenting the harms that these dyes, flavor chemicals and preservatives cause. This legislation should mandate that American food products be free of brain-damaging, endocrine-disrupting and cancer-causing ingredients.
A database of all the toxic ingredients could readily be compiled, along with a product list that includes these toxic ingredients. Future regulatory pressure should incentivize sweeping changes to the American food supply, providing strict deadlines for food manufacturers to eliminate toxins and reformulate their products. If mass harm can be proven for an individual ingredient, and a corporation refuses to remove it from their products, then they should be prosecuted in a court of law for injuring Americans’ health. A restructured FDA must be equipped to enforce new regulations on an industry that is causing health problems across generations. These actions could help break up monopolies and allow smaller, clean food companies to compete in the marketplace as well.
Sources include:
]]>If I had to guess, she had spent over $10,000 on it all, which is a decent amount for a mid-length bug-in situation. Unfortunately, she’s skipped an extremely important step.
When I asked to see her regular pantry, she was a bit confused. What did any of that matter if she had enough long-term storage food to feed her family for a year? When we looked at what she had in “regular” food she had about 3-4 weeks worth, which is better than the average American household. It wasn’t enough.
It’s not a great situation if a family is already breaking into their survival food that has a 10+ year shelf-life a couple of weeks after a long-term emergency strikes. Instead, individuals or families should have several months worth of “regular” food rotating in their pantry. Much of this will be medium-term food such as canned meals, pastas, grains, and even dehydrated meat.
Keep in mind that I own a long-term storage beef company, yet I still advise not buying any of it until a family has at least several months worth of normal foods. It doesn’t make sense to have to bust open a bucket of freeze dried lasagna on week 3 of bugging in.
The reason is simple: Freeze-dried meals and meats are more expensive than their canned or boxed counterparts. Canned tuna, chicken, and beef can supply a lot more protein per dollar spent than survival meats. Granted, canned beef is, in my humble opinion, far less appetizing than tuna, chicken, or even Spam, but it fills its purpose.
It’s important for these items to be something you’d eat regularly. Most canned foods are shelf-stable for 2-5 years. Frozen meats generally last 12-24 months. Boxes of pasta or rice can last a couple of years, though they can be transferred to vacuum sealed food containers with oxygen absorbers to more than double their shelf-life. The same is try for flour, though it’s best to have whole grains and a mill (one electric, one manual) rather than the flour itself.
Without rotation, a lot of the food could be wasted. And if it’s food you wouldn’t normally eat, then it’s just going to sit there until it goes bad unless, God forbid, an emergency strikes in the near-term.
Bottom line is this: It’s important to have long-term “survival food” ready to eat if necessary, but having regular food that can keep your family fed for months is the step to take first.
]]>He made his latest remarks in an interview with data scientist Hannah Ritchie. When their conversation turned to artificial intelligence and its potential utility in addressing environmental issues, he shared his surprise at how quickly the technology has been advancing.
“I was very stunned how the AIs went from basically not being able to read or write at all, to doing that in a very facile way,” he told her.
When asked if he thought AI could play a role in taking action on the climate, he answered, “Absolutely.” He then cited the example of genetically modifying beef cattle with AI so that they produce less methane, or using AI to somehow produce “meat without the cow.”
Ritchie pointed out that people are not embracing the idea of meat alternatives, and that’s something Gates is also quite familiar with as he has invested in multiple companies that produce fake meats, such as Impossible Foods, Upside Foods and Beyond Meat.
He has said in the past that “all rich countries should move to 100% synthetic beef” and that he is optimistic fake meats products will be a “very good” alternative for consumers as many people are reluctant to cut meat out of their diets.
Last November, Beyond Meat cut nearly 20 percent of its non-production workforce following plummeting sales as customers eschew the highly processed and unhealthy concoction. Once heavily hyped, its stock has fallen more than 60 percent, and an opinion piece in the New York Times recently referred to lab-grown meat as “the revolution that died on its way to dinner.” Some assessments have revealed that such products don’t offer much in the way of environmental benefits and may even be causing more harm than good.
Gates is also going after cow burps, investing in an Australian startup that is focused on preventing cows from burping methane emissions by feeding them a dietary supplement with a synthetic version of an ingredient in red seaweed that prohibits methane formation.
A spokesperson for Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Gates’ investment fund, said: “Although cows are a significant [greenhouse gas] source, livestock agriculture remains one of the cheapest protein sources globally, which means technologies that can reduce emissions from the existing cattle supply chain today and in the future are critical.”
Gates is overlooking the impact of AI on the environment
Gates may have a lot of ideas about dealing with cows, but does he really have the environment’s best interests at heart? He said that he sees AI as potentially being useful in modifying cows, but what about the impact that AI is having on the climate?
If carbon really is as bad as he claims, shouldn’t he be concerned about the large carbon footprint involved in developing, maintaining and disposing of AI technology? The emissions from the IT technology industry as a whole are expected to account for 14 percent of global emissions by 2040, especially the data centers involved in AI, while training AI models is said to produce 626,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, which is equal to around 300 round-trip flights across the U.S.
Of course, placing all the blame for the planet’s woes on cows and glossing over the negative impact of AI on the environment makes a lot more sense when you consider his sizeable financial investments in meat alternatives and OpenAI.
Sources for this article include:
]]>But now a report by the Epoch Times warns that diseases riding the flood of illegals into the United States actually could threaten the nation’s food supply.
That tuberculosis, for example, already has infected cattle in Texas, the report said. And worse could be coming.
The report noted with “unfettered illegal immigration – some 9 million encounters since 2021” – there’s simply no option for screening for “unwanted diseases.”
It was Dr Michael Vickers, a veterinarian for 50 years and member of the Texas Animal Health Commission, who said the tuberculosis cases in dairy cattle were just the start, and “it’s only a matter of time before U.S. agriculture experiences a fresh disaster on a grand scale,” the report explained.
“These people are just destroying our country. And our food supply is going to be a real critical issue,” he confirmed in an interview with the Times.
He said in recent years “thousands” of cattle in Texas have been slaughter after being infected with TB, and not just TB, but drug-resistant TB, through contact with illegal aliens.
In 2015 one disaster hit a herd of about 10,000 cattle in Castro County and in 2019 another calamity hit a herd of 13,000 in Sherman County, the report said. The Times revealed tests confirmed the strains originated outside of the U.S.
The infections are spread because, officials explained, illegal aliens are often hired to care for the herds, actually doing the milking many times.
Vickers told the Times the USDA bought the Castro herd and slaughtered it. In the later case, TB tests continue with infected animals removed.
He said, in the report, 12 illegal aliens working with those herds also were found to be infected. The problem is that rules intended to screen people who are carrying such infections out were “sidelined” by Biden.
Ammon Blair, of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told the Times, “We’re really just mass releasing these people into the United States that could be carrying multiple diseases that aren’t even checked.”
The report said there also have been spotted outbreaks including screwworm, tick fever, malaria-like infections and worse. The diseases can arrive as larvae riding on illegals, in luggage, on backpacks and more.
The report explained the problem: “President Joe Biden rescinded former President Donald Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, under which would-be asylum-seekers stayed in Mexico while awaiting adjudication on their immigration court case. Instead, most are released directly into the United States. That has allowed wholesale importation of illnesses that illegal immigrants may have.”
And it noted there have been cases in which illegal aliens brought into the U.S. chicken pox, mumps, measles, leprosy, COVID-19, and sexually transmitted diseases.
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]]>On the other side of the world, hundreds of millions of people do not have enough food to eat on a regular basis and children are literally dropping dead from starvation. Here in the United States, nobody is dropping dead from starvation, but demand at food banks is absolutely exploding as U.S. households struggle to deal with how oppressively expensive groceries have become. Unfortunately, things are about to get even worse.
Right now, the largest fire in the entire history of Texas continues to rage out of control…
The biggest inferno in Texas history is being fueled by winds and high temperatures as it rages Sunday, threatening to incinerate more buildings, cattle and livelihoods across the Texas Panhandle while residents sift through ashes of what used to be homes.
Critical fire weather conditions were expected to continue Sunday in the area, with strengthening winds gusting to 50 mph and dry conditions combining to set the stage for rapid wildfire spread, the National Weather Service warned.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire has been burning for nearly a week and has torched more than 1 million acres in Texas alone, making it the largest fire on record in the state – and it is only 15% contained.
With each passing hour, even more cattle are being engulfed by the fires. Nobody knows for sure how many have been killed so far.
Most news reports that I have seen say that it is “thousands”…
The largest wildfire in Texas history has devastated the state’s agriculture, blazing through more than 1 million acres of land in the Panhandle, killing thousands of livestock, destroying crops and gutting infrastructure.
The agriculture industry, a big driver of the state’s economy, was already facing pressures from prolonged and widespread drought that forced ranchers to manage smaller herds, contributing to a decrease in beef production nationally. The series of wildfires in the Panhandle this week is another blow as many ranchers tried to rebuild their herds and operations during the cooler months of the year.
What will the final death toll be?
According to Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, there are more than 10 million head of livestock in the region…
State Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller told The New York Times that the Panhandle is home to roughly 85% of Texas’s cattle herds.
The region supports over 10 million head of livestock. Most of the cattle are kept in feedlots and dairy farms as farmers and ranchers attempt to shield their herds from the wildfires, Miller said.
“There are millions of cattle out there, with some towns comprising more cattle than people,” Miller told The Wall Street Journal.
Even before this disaster erupted, supplies of beef were really tight. At this point, the size of the U.S. cattle herd is the smallest since 1951, and the size of the Canadian cattle herd is the smallest in 30 years…
Canada is the next nation to report a multi-decade low cattle herd.
At the beginning of the year, the USDA reported the lowest total U.S. head since 1951 at a little more than 87 million.
Now, Statistics Canada is reporting the Canadian cattle herd is at its lowest level in more than 30 years, totaling just 11 million cattle and calves on farms.
And even without the tragedy in Texas, we were already being warned that the U.S. cattle herd would get even smaller this year because we are looking at the “smallest beef calf crop since 1948”…
But that supply of feeder cattle will likely tighten during the rest of this year. The smallest beef calf crop since 1948, brought on by drought and high feed prices and the contraction of the beef cow herd, along with a significant decrease in replacement beef heifers, means that there won’t be as many cattle to put in feedlots to replace those going out.
Beef is now considered to be a “luxury meat”, and prices are only going to go higher throughout the remainder of 2024.
So if you enjoy beef, I would stock up now. Of course it isn’t just beef that is going to become more expensive.
All over the western world, “green policies” are making things extremely challenging for farmers and ranchers.
During a recent appearance on Fox News, one industry insider warned that more U.S. farmers are going out of business “every day”…
While nationwide organizations like the FFA are going strong and statewide affairs like the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show and Iowa State Fair continue to draw exhibitors and guests alike, beneath the surface are troubling signs, two guests on “The Ingraham Angle” warned this week.
Globalist “green” policies as well as inflation and rising costs have led to thinner herds, and in some instances, foreclosure or shuttering of farms altogether, bringing with them a potential domestic food crisis, they said.
“Farmers are going out of business every day,” said John Boyd Jr., founder of the Black Farmers of America.
We have already seen farmers engage in wild protests all over Europe, and it is probably just a matter of time before we see similar protests here in the United States.
But even if government control freaks left our farmers alone, they would still have to deal with weather patterns that have gone completely nuts.
For example, this weekend an absolutely massive blizzard dumped up to 12 feet of snow on some parts of California, and wind gusts in some areas actually reached 190 miles per hour…
Hundreds of miles of California highways remained shut down Sunday as a powerful blizzard pounded parts of the Golden State and Mountain West with snow totals that could reach 12 feet amid howling winds with gusts that hit 190 mph − well above the 157 mph threshold for a Category 5 hurricane.
National Weather Service meteorologist William Churchill warned of “life-threatening concern” for residents near Lake Tahoe, calling the storm, now in its third day, an “extreme blizzard.” Areas of Nevada, Utah and Colorado were also affected.
“Moderate to heavy snow has persisted overnight across the northern Sierra Nevada,” the National Weather Service in Sacramento said in a social media post Sunday. “Wind gusts … are continuing to result in blizzard conditions.”
As I sit here, I am having a hard time even imagining what a blizzard with 190 mph winds would look like.
I cannot remember anything like this ever happening before.
But the truth is that weird storms like this will be the new normal.
Weather patterns all over the globe are breaking records, and that is making it really difficult for farmers and ranchers to do their jobs.
We have entered a time when a confluence of factors is creating a “perfect storm” for global food production, and global hunger has been steadily on the rise since 2015.
Sadly, the outlook for the years ahead is exceedingly bleak. The amount of food that will be produced won’t even be close to what is needed to feed everyone on the planet, and so there will be a mad scramble for whatever is available.
Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.
]]>(Mercola)—The short video above features three American biodynamic farmers who supply the raw materials that go into our biodynamic product line. The first is Justin Trussoni, president of Fifth Season Cooperative in Viroqua, Wisconsin. Trussoni grows biodynamic hemp and vegetables.
The second is Cecil Wright, a biodynamic maple farmer and founder of the Maple Valley Co-op. The third is Brian Wickert, vice president of Fifth Season Cooperative. He’s been growing biodynamic vegetables and herbs since 1997. Wickert is also the primary formulator of the biodynamic soil preparations used by other biodynamic growers.
As noted by Wickert, my biodynamic brand, Solspring,1 now has one of the largest assortments of biodynamic products of any company in the world. We offer more than 70 Demeter certified biodynamic pantry staples, from snacks and spreads, to coffees and teas, and that’s in no small part thanks to our partnership with growers like Wickert, Wright and Trussoni, who put their hearts and souls into their work.
What Is Biodynamic?
Biodynamic agriculture is a spiritual-ethical-ecological approach to agriculture, initially developed by Austrian scholar Rudolf Steiner,2 Ph.D., (1861-1925). Today, it meets both organic and regenerative certification standards, and then some.
Biodynamic farming provides superior crops both in volume and increased density of nutrients. Biodynamic farms are also completely self-sustaining — something that cannot be said even for most organic farms. For example, biodynamic standards do not simply require farmers to use organic animal feed. Most of the feed must actually originate from the farm itself.
And, while an organic farmer can section off as little as 10% of the farm for the growing of certified organic goods, 100% of a biodynamic farm must be in compliance with biodynamic standards to qualify for certification.
In addition to that, 10% of the land must also be dedicated to increasing biodiversity. This could take the form of forest land, wetland or insectary, for example. Biodynamic farming also has all of the features associated with regenerative agriculture, such as crop rotation, the use of cover crops and so on.
Having animals integrated on the farm, with a focus on animal welfare, is another core principle of biodynamic farming. In short, the farm is viewed as a living, self-sustainable whole, and biodiversity of both plants and animals are integral parts of that.
In my view, this is really as good as it gets, and buying foods produced by farms certified as biodynamic through Demeter offers the greatest assurance of food quality and environmental sustainability.
If you want to take a deeper dive into the biodynamic principles pioneered by Steiner, check out Jonathan Stedall’s documentary “The Challenge of Rudolf Steiner,” below. It’s also available on Amazon Prime Video.
The Need for Regenerative Agriculture Has Never Been Greater
Modern chemical-based agriculture has resulted in the destruction of rural economies, water and air pollution, depletion of aquifers, destruction of pollinators and biodiversity, soil erosion and loss of soil fertility, climate destabilization, food contamination, nutrient degradation and the deterioration of public health.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,3 6 in 10 American adults now have a chronic disease; 4 in 10 have two or more, and one of the primary reasons for that is poor nutrition.
The most recent government data4 back that up, showing that 45% of Americans do not meet the daily requirements for vitamin A, 46% don’t get enough vitamin C, 95% fall short of their vitamin D requirement, 84% don’t get enough vitamin E, and 15% don’t get enough zinc. Any one of these deficiencies can spell trouble. As noted by the authors:5
“A well-functioning immune system is essential for human health and well-being. Micronutrients such as vitamins A, C, D, E, and zinc have several functions throughout the immune system, yet inadequate nutrient intakes are pervasive in the US population.
A large body of research shows that nutrient inadequacies can impair immune function and weaken the immune response … Dietary supplements can help address nutrient inadequacy for these immune-support nutrients …
Given the long-term presence and widening of nutrient gaps in the U.S. — specifically in critical nutrients that support immune health — public health measures should adopt guidelines to ensure an adequate intake of these micronutrients.”
Sad to say, I don’t think that will happen, because even if you consume the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, you’ll still fall short of nutritional requirements for the simple reason that today’s conventionally-grown produce contain far fewer nutrients than their counterparts 50 years ago.6
The reason for this is because plants get their nutrients from the soil, and if the soil is depleted of nutrients, the fruits, veggies and herbs will contain lower amounts as well.
Factory farmed, GMO grain-fed meat, eggs and dairy also typically contain lower levels of omega-3s, vitamin E, beta-carotene, antioxidants and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) than 100% grass fed and biodynamically-raised animal products.
Research7 has consistently shown that organic foods contain significantly higher amounts of antioxidants, especially in no-till regenerative systems,8 and an antioxidant-rich diet is associated with reduced risks for chronic diseases, including heart and brain disease and certain cancers.
And again, biodynamic is organic on steroids, so it stands to reason that biodynamic foods might be even more nutritious than certified organic, primarily because so much of the focus is on optimizing the soil.
An Agricultural U-Turn Is Necessary
Food security is no longer a given, even if you have plenty of available land, and here’s why:
- Groundwater depletion is accelerating.9
- Water pollution is worsening — Precious water sources are also threatened by pollution from large-scale monocrop farms and concentrated animal feeding operations.10 According to a report11 by Environment America, corporate agribusiness is one of the biggest threats to America’s waterways.
- Soil erosion and degradation is rapidly worsening — Twelve years ago, in 2012, University of Sydney professor John Crawford noted that 40% of agricultural soils around the globe were already classified as degraded or seriously degraded.12 In large part due to conventional farming methods, topsoil is also being lost 10 to 40 times faster than nature can regenerate and replenish it naturally.13,14
- Desertification is speeding up — Land is turning into desert at a rapid clip and, with it, we’re losing biodiversity of both plant and animal life.
Biodynamic Agriculture Is the Answer Everyone’s Looking For
The good news is that biodynamic farming addresses all of these problems and more. We just need to get a larger segment of agriculture to make the transition. Our decision to partner with Maple Valley Co-op and Fifth Season Cooperative is just one small part of the effort to expand and normalize that niche. Expanding the demand by buying biodynamic products is how you can help in that effort. As noted by Wickert, reasons to buy biodynamic food include:
- It’s more nutritious, so you don’t need to eat as much
- It has longer shelf-life than conventional produce
- Biodynamic supply chains engage in association economics, making sure everyone in the supply chain, from the bottom to the top, is able to make a decent living
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little “sneak peak” into the biodynamic farms that are part of our brand. Knowing who your farmers are, where your food comes from, how it’s grown and according to which principles — these are all important aspects of a truly healthy lifestyle.
So, get to know your local farmers. Talk to them. Visit their farms. Most will be happy to show you around and discuss their processes. Organic, regenerative and biodynamic farmers tend to be extremely passionate about their work and most will embrace the opportunity to educate consumers about what sets them apart.
- 1 Solspring
- 2 Biodynamic Association, Rudolf Steiner Bio
- 3 CDC Chronic Diseases in America
- 4, 5 Nutrients June 2020; 12(6): 1735
- 6 Rodale Institute Nutrient Density
- 7 McCarrison Society. Healthy Soils, Healthy People
- 8 White Paper March 2015/2016
- 9 Nature 2024; 625: 715-721
- 10 CDC.gov, Understanding CAFOs and Their Impact on Communities (PDF)
- 11 Environment America June 29, 2016
- 12 Time Magazine December 14, 2012
- 13 FEWresources.org Losing Ground (Archived)
- 14 Scholar Archive, Environment, Development and Sustainability 2006; 8: 119-137 (PDF) (Archived)
While that might be true in the sense that chemical-laden processed foods are indeed harming human health, he’s actually talking about traditional farming, which he claims is contributing to climate change, along with the usual demonization of meat consumption.
In a video address, he said: “Our food systems are harming the health of people and planet. Food systems contribute to over 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, and account for almost one-third of the global burden of disease. Transforming food systems is therefore essential by shifting for this healthier, diversified and more plant-based diets.”
After claiming that 8 million people’s lives could be saved each year with healthier diets, he went on to announce the WHO’s commitment to supporting countries in implementing policies aimed at improving people’s diets and stemming climate change. More than 130 countries have already signed a declaration to this effect, he said.
A United Nations nutrition page entitled “For People, Planet and Prosperity: Nutrition at COP28” refers to the adoption of a new initiative known as the “Global Stocktake.” This is an agreement to move away from depending on fossil fuels and toward “climate-resilient food systems.”
At the recent COP28 summit, the UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) published food guidance for first-world countries aimed at decreasing carbon emissions, and their message to wealthy nations was to eat less meat.
“Nations that over-consume meat will be advised to limit their intake, while developing countries — where under-consumption of meat adds to a prevalent nutrition challenge — will need to improve their livestock farming, according to the FAO,” Bloomberg reported about the guidance.
One might expect that those attending the UN climate summit and pushing for wealthy nations to stop eating meat would lead by example. However, on the menu at the COP28 summit was a variety of food offerings such as “slabs of succulent meat”, “juicy beef”, wagyu burgers, African street BBQ and Philly cheesesteaks, among other meat-based dishes.
Representative Mike Flood (R-Nebraska) said in a statement: “COP28 putting meat on the menu just proves that we need beef and all kinds of meat to help feed the world. And that’s why I’ll keep fighting the U.N. and the global elites who are trying to kill meat production, which would only shatter the world’s food security and end an age-old way of life for millions of farmers and ranchers around the world.”
Globalists want people to eat less meat and more insects
The EAT-Lancet Commission, a panel of agriculture, climate and nutrition experts, recommends that people do not consume more than 15.7 kilograms of meat per year; the average American is consuming around 127 kilos of meat per year. The figure for those in the Democratic Republic of Congo is just 3 kilograms.
As part of the campaign against meat, there has been a very big push for people to start consuming bugs and artificial “meat” as these options are more “sustainable” and do not consume the resources that traditional livestock does. According to the World Economic Forum, edible insects are capable of providing quality protein and are better for the environment.
However, the question remains whether any of this is really necessary. Critics point out that the American agriculture industry only makes up around 1.4 percent of global emissions and just 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, with China producing more greenhouse gases than every other developed nation in the world combined.
Sources for this article include:
]]>This year’s climate summit was the first to extensively address food production. There was a Food Systems Pavilion with eight thematic days, and one of those days was exclusively about how to “Advance Protein Diversification.”
In other words, how to get people to eat stuff they don’t want to.
The publishing industry is getting into this, too. You can find dozens of books that have been recently brought to market, earnestly promoting insects as food to save the planet. These are not to be outdone by books swearing that lab-grown meat will revolutionize food.
They discussed how to “push” consumers toward novel protein.
Discussions highlighted innovations in Israel, Brazil, Singapore, Denmark, and the Netherlands, all countries that have pioneered research in either insect farming or cultured meat. The folks at the climate summit discussed “how we can push others toward the tipping point in protein diversification.”
One discussion focused on circular agrifood and biomass. “Circular agrifood” sounds high-tech but really boils down to waste processing. For example, a farm may be perfectly circular if livestock exclusively consumes vegetation on the farm, their poop is spread around the pastures, they get processed on-farm, and the waste materials are buried, fed to dogs, or otherwise kept on the property. Two hundred years ago, most farms were “circular agrifood systems.”
So, are they promoting the traditional closed-loop, locally-owned, independently operated farms?
Not quite. This discussion was chaired by an expert in waste management and a representative of an innovative food processing company, not managers of closed-loop farms.
In fact, if you live in a wealthy country, these people may see your local farmer as the problem, not the solution. Speakers at COP28 summits blame overconsumption in wealthy countries for food instability in poorer ones.
This is a gross simplification of an incredibly complex set of problems.
Overconsumption of food isn’t just a “rich people problem.” It’s the opposite.
For starters, overconsumption of food is not necessarily related to overall wealth. You don’t see overweight people walking around elite enclaves like Malibu or Aspen. They’re in the poorer parts of major cities, and throughout rural America.
I spent much of my childhood in a low-income household. People at the bottom of the socioeconomic food chain are not overconsuming pastured steaks and Kerrygold butter. They’re overconsuming the stuff their SNAP benefits pay for at Dollar Tree, foods like Doritos and Mountain Dew. These foods are artificially cheap because they are made of processed corn, which is heavily subsidized by the government.
US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is aware of this. He was less militant about eliminating meat from American diets than his European counterparts. His talks during “Food Day” emphasized less food wastage rather than eliminating meat and dairy. However, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) insists that affluent Westerners need to reduce meat and dairy consumption by 35-50% to achieve climate goals.
Climate change is being blamed for food shortages in developing countries. However, you cannot ignore the role distribution problems play. These might be related to war or to internal problems such as corruption. They are not necessarily affected by the actions of wealthier countries.
Solving the problem of low-income, overweight Americans would involve massive cultural changes. It would involve fixing the subsidy system that makes junk food so cheap. It would involve a huge push to re-introduce home economics classes, empowering people to prepare their own food. And it would involve a change in cultural expectations. When working multiple part-time jobs is the norm, it’s really hard to find time to prepare healthy meals.
Food scarcity in developing countries isn’t because of “rich Westerners,” either.
Solving the problem of food scarcity in less developed countries is no small feat either. It would involve better infrastructure, such as roads and refrigeration facilities. It would also require accountability at the local level in terms of ensuring corrupt officials do not keep donated goods for themselves.
All of these solutions involve increasing local control and self-empowerment for individuals to make better decisions for themselves.
So, is that what the food giants and the attendees of summits like COP28 are working toward?
These summits promote consolidation and processed foods.
No, they’re going to keep moving toward consolidating food companies and putting more highly processed junk food on the market.
The “Big Four” meatpackers (JBS, Cargill, Tyson, and National Beef Packing) control more than 80% of the market. Of these four, JBS, Cargill, and Tyson have invested in cultured (lab-grown) meat.
They are beginning to see themselves as in the protein business rather than the meat business. Also, it doesn’t hurt that investing in alternative proteins helps companies’ ESG scores.
They are not just investing in cultured meat. Cargill and Tyson have also been investing in insect production.
In 2022, Cargill partnered with Innovafeed, an insect meal producer. They feed livestock waste to black soldier flies, which then are in turn fed to farmed fish, chicks, and piglets.
Now Tyson’s getting in on the game. In October, Tyson purchased a minority stake in Dutch insect farming company Protix. They plan to build a black soldier fly facility in the US for use in pet foods and livestock feed. Tyson says they do not plan to add insects to human food “at this time.”
Fish, chicks, and piglets do naturally consume insects. But I still think this drive toward partnerships between giants in the traditional livestock industry and insect producers is worth our attention.
In a previous article about eating bugs, I referenced studies finding that putting the infrastructure in place for insect protein production is not as climate-neutral as it pretends to be. Constructing the facilities required for a substantial amount of protein production would require a significant amount of space and energy. A whole new infrastructure would need to be built, and in a more freely functioning market, investors would need to see demand before making those kinds of commitments.
As we noted in another previous article, the demand for novel proteins has not been developing organically, and a huge infrastructure for conventional meat processing already exists. Consumers are not choosing novel proteins. They’re being pushed on us by people who seem religiously convinced that eating insects is good for the planet.
Tyson may not be planning to put insect meal into their meat products “at this time,” but they’re investing in the infrastructure that could make that happen when they think the time is right. With all the talk about how good eating insects is for the environment, it’s reasonable to assume that companies will start looking at how to incorporate insect protein into their food products.
How to really improve the agricultural system
There are absolutely ways in which the agricultural system could improve. But the real solutions lie in working toward fewer middlemen. This would make locally produced food more affordable, wherever “local” is for you, and more profitable for the farmers. Customers need more transparency to make better dietary choices, and building connections with local farmers and custom processors is a great way to achieve that.
I have eaten crickets that still look like crickets. I am not interested in processed foods with hidden ingredients. As the food giants move toward novel proteins, it will be more important than ever to know where your meat comes from. Unless, of course, insect nuggets sound delicious to you.
What are your thoughts, though? If you could save money, would you eat lab-grown meat or insects? Do you think this type of “food” production is good for the planet? Are you interested in trying these products?
Let’s discuss it in the comments section.
About Marie Hawthorne
A lover of novels and cultivator of superb apple pie recipes, Marie spends her free time writing about the world around her.
]]>Since meat animals are now being injected with the same types of “vaccines” that the human “herd” received through Operation Warp Speed, it has been increasingly coming to the forefront that the direct consequence of this is toxic meat and dairy products hitting the market.
At the current time, according to Dr. Malone, “we don’t have any of these products that are authorized for cattle, whether it’s beef or milk.” These products, in this context, refers to mRNA products for animals. There is, however, an mRNA product that was developed by Merck & Co. for swine herds, meaning bacon and other forms of pork are likely already contaminated.
“And there absolutely is interest in deploying this kind of technology into chicken houses,” Dr. Malone explained about where mRNA technology is headed next. “But as all of you know in the chicken industry, the margins are just squeaky, squeaky tight. And so, any technology, vaccine technology, that’s going to be deployed into chicken houses has got to come in at pennies per dose.”
(Related: Back in early fall, Dr. Malone warned that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] had “gone rogue” by approving COVID booster shots without any valid clinical trials to back their safety and effectiveness.)
Just say no to mRNA meat
On the issue of cows raised for beef or dairy, mRNA is also slated for use in them, which eventually means that the entire food supply, at least in the United States, is being deliberately contaminated with DNA and RNA who-knows-what?, which will render it unsafe.
Despite being one of the “founding fathers,” so to speak, of mRNA, Dr. Malone is expressing concerns about what these products he helped develop might do to animals raised for food, and the humans who eat said animal products.
“I’ve had probably more calls and more concerns about this issue than anything else from the general public, the non-agricultural public, who is basically our consumer and our patron, and they’re very concerned about this,” Dr. Malone told Dr. Miller about the mRNA issue.
“And I think it’ll be a very negatively viewed technology in livestock if this is adopted by our industry. I think people are going to reject it, and that’s going to harm our markets, that’s going to harm our exports and it’ll harm our beef consumption in the United States.”
From a medical standpoint, Dr. Malone told Dr. Miller that he comes from a culture where people take care of their animals. He and others like him are extra careful, in other words, when it comes to giving his animals – Dr. Malone raises horses – the newest and latest drug products.
“We can extrapolate from humans, but there’s been a new development that really I think does raise some serious concerns both for the bulls and the cows, but particularly for the cows,” Dr. Malone said.
“And that is that all of these products are contaminated with small fragments of DNA, and they are being delivered using a highly effective system, the most effective non-viral polynucleotide or gene delivery technology ever developed. And that means that the DNA contamination is going to get into the cells of your animals the same as the RNA is.”
You can watch the full interview with Dr. Malone and Dr. Miller at Dr. Malone’s Substack page. You will also find the latest news about the threat of mRNA contamination in food at Frankenfood.news.
Sources for this article include:
]]>This first tenet of his three-steps to centralized globalist domination is manifesting before our eyes in a nation that once opposed Marxism by default. Cities across the country are toying with the concept of government-controlled grocery stores for the sake of equity, climate change, and a nutritional nanny state.
This initiative is not only being driven by Democrats in government. “Charitable” organizations and lobbyist groups are working behind the scenes to sell the concept of State-Owned Enterprises to usher in a new era they hope will yield the Socialist States of America.
And it’s not just theoretical. According to Manic Contrarian over at Red State, this threat is already manifesting…
In the heart of Chicago, a radical and socialist plan is being pushed by Mayor Brandon Johnson. This plan seeks to establish government-controlled grocery stores in areas where inflation and rampant theft have crushed private businesses, leaving residents trapped in what are being described as “food deserts.” And shockingly, or perhaps not so shockingly, other cities across the nation are contemplating following suit at the urging of advocates for so-called State Owned Enterprises.
This government-run grocery store solution may sound enticing on the surface. They promise affordable and nutritious food, support for local producers, and economic growth. But that’s just empty rhetoric. In reality, we’ll see government bureaucracy stifle innovation, diminish choice, and impose rationing measures that infringe upon our freedom to make our own decisions. Wherever government inserts its heavy hand, inefficiency and scarcity follow.
Literally everything that government touches is harmed, spoiled, or completely ruined. That’s the nature of a nation that was built on the concept of limited government but that has seen government power surge for over a century.
Government-controlled grocery stores are, unfortunately, quite easy to sell to a desperate public. We live in a time of contradiction where the vast majority of Americans do not trust government but far too many call on government to fix our problems. This is why we are stuck in a loop of government creating problems for them to be called on to fix.
The current food crisis is being camouflaged by rampant inflation. Most Americans see increased prices at the grocery store as indicative of the overarching economic challenges, but in reality the food crisis is outpacing standard inflation because the food supply itself is under attack.
What makes matters far worse is the delay between food supply challenges and their day-to-day impact at grocery stores. While food prices are clearly up by a great deal, they will go up far higher next year because the effects of supply shortages are months or even years in the making, depending on the product. Many of the foods that are sold at the grocery store today are still part of the 2022 supply. Once our diminished production starts impacting the shelves, we’re going to see prices skyrocket even more than they already have.
Now is the time to become as self-sufficient as possible. Stock up on staple foods that can be stored for the long haul. Get out of cities as quickly as possible. Start gardening at the very least. Get chickens if possible. Do whatever you can to get ahead of any food crash that may soon come. Unless things change for the better very quickly, a full-scale food crisis will come very soon, at which point government-controlled grocery stores will basically become ration distribution centers.
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