Ongoing Food Crisis Thread

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

On 3/12/2023 at 5:41 PM, alexa said:

YHWH Hates You Eating Swine and This Is Why

 

Just watched this for the first time, I’d heard of this before but never seen it.

Are we sure it’s not just the phosphoric acid in the cola reacting with the sodium nitrate preservative in the pork, pushing it out into strings? Are they really alive? It looks like the same white stuff that accumulates on the outside of bacon and other meats when you cook them, it’s just water (filler) and sodium nitrate (preservative). 
Or maybe not! I want to see them actually moving on their own, not wiggling from the pressure of a chemical reaction. Then I’ll really believe it

[Human10]

47 minutes ago, DaleP said:

 

Yes that's because if you call spirits name 3 times, he has to deliver what you ask for.

I need to try 

[Human10]

23 minutes ago, LastOneLeftInTheCounty said:

Just watched this for the first time, I’d heard of this before but never seen it.

Are we sure it’s not just the phosphoric acid in the cola reacting with the sodium nitrate preservative in the pork, pushing it out into strings? Are they really alive? It looks like the same white stuff that accumulates on the outside of bacon and other meats when you cook them, it’s just water (filler) and sodium nitrate (preservative). 
Or maybe not! I want to see them actually moving on their own, not wiggling from the pressure of a chemical reaction. Then I’ll really believe it

Maybe it's a way to get rid of chemicals from the meat? 

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

9 minutes ago, Human10 said:

Maybe it's a way to get rid of chemicals from the meat? 

Exactamundo! It’s a chemical reaction for sure. Like putting Trebor mints in a bottle of coke or putting bicarbonate in vinegar. 
Violent spurts! 

[alexa]

36 minutes ago, LastOneLeftInTheCounty said:

Just watched this for the first time, I’d heard of this before but never seen it.

Are we sure it’s not just the phosphoric acid in the cola reacting with the sodium nitrate preservative in the pork, pushing it out into strings? Are they really alive? It looks like the same white stuff that accumulates on the outside of bacon and other meats when you cook them, it’s just water (filler) and sodium nitrate (preservative). 
Or maybe not! I want to see them actually moving on their own, not wiggling from the pressure of a chemical reaction. Then I’ll really believe it

 

Maybe,  but either way it looks gross. 

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

42 minutes ago, alexa said:

 

Maybe,  but either way it looks gross. 

Agreed. Still won’t be eating pork. 
Ever tried goat? 

[alexa]

3 minutes ago, LastOneLeftInTheCounty said:

Ever tried goat? 

 

No never & never will  Have you ?

[Human10]

1 hour ago, alexa said:

 

No never & never will  Have you ?

Are you vegetarian? 

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

1 hour ago, alexa said:

 

No never & never will  Have you ?

Once, it was a goat curry cooked by a Jamaican woman, it was so spicy I couldn’t even finish one mouthful. Put me off eating goat but would like to try it again. 
Why won’t you eat it? Good question are you veggie? 

[alexa]

38 minutes ago, Human10 said:

Are you vegetarian? 

 

No not at all 

[alexa]

33 minutes ago, LastOneLeftInTheCounty said:

Why won’t you eat it? 

 

I once had two pet goats.......

[Human10]

17 minutes ago, alexa said:

 

I once had two pet goats.......

I had a bunny... He was so smart like a dog... I think if you knew really good any animal you would become at least vegetarian... 

Edited March 15 by Human10

[alexa]

6 minutes ago, Human10 said:

I had a bunny... He was so smart like a dog... I think if you knew really good any animal you would become at least vegetarian... 

 

I've often thought of becoming a veggie but I like my lasagna, spaghetti bolognese  & shepherds pie to much - Yummy 

[Bombadil]

https://www.foxnews.com/world/european-farmers-fed-climate-policies-shock-political-establishment

 

Farmers party win most seats in Dutch elections

 

[Human10]

On 3/15/2023 at 6:20 PM, alexa said:

 

I've often thought of becoming a veggie but I like my lasagna, spaghetti bolognese  & shepherds pie to much - Yummy 

I use sometimes Quorn in place of meat. Tastes the same or better. I know i's not perfect but in my case for sure better than soy protein... 

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

2 hours ago, Bombadil said:

https://www.foxnews.com/world/european-farmers-fed-climate-policies-shock-political-establishment

 

Farmers party win most seats in Dutch elections

 

That’s good news. I’d like to think something like this would work over here in uk, but the situation is a little different here.

 

There’s some great farmers in this country who would/will stand and fight when the nations bellies are groaning and we realise the (real) food is running out, but the vast majority are obsessed with how much money, land and equipment they can hoard, a ‘keeping up with the joneses’ mentality of one up manship. 
Where the big boys play, dealing with thousands of acres, millions of pounds worth of machinery, property and livelihoods, coupled with the greed the large agrochemical companies tend to instil, the arena is often more cutthroat than politics or any industrial venture, leading to many getting ‘fucked over’ by their peers. 
Small scale, cottage industry, organic principles, animals plus rotation strategy will be the future for REAL food production, unless we’re all happy eating insect burgers, lab grown meat, GM soya and mRNA Franken animals? In which case I give us all about 10yrs before we all die a horrible malnourished death.

‘When the last apple has been picked from the tree, the big farmers will realise- they can’t eat solar panels.’

[Gurualvin]

On 3/15/2023 at 6:07 PM, Human10 said:

I had a bunny... He was so smart like a dog... I think if you knew really good any animal you would become at least vegetarian... 

Animals are great. I respect animals more than most humans.

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

27 minutes ago, Gurualvin said:

Animals are great. I respect animals more than most humans.

Same here, I don’t trust humans, but I trust animals, even though I’ve hunted and eaten some species- rabbit and pigeon. 

We have a group of robins who will literally fly right up to you, perch next to your face and start singing beautiful songs, whenever I come onto the property. There’s one who will nearly take food from my hand. He follows me around helping with jobs, supervising etc. He’s a total gangster! Always full of joy and happiness.
Even the muntjac deer and kestrels come and say hello. 
It’s strange how over the years animals are becoming less scared and more trusting of people 

[alexa]

1 hour ago, Human10 said:

I use sometimes Quorn in place of meat. Tastes the same or better. I know i's not perfect but in my case for sure better than soy protein... 

 

I find Quorn so expensive for what it really is, I did try some Quorn sausages once & I must admit I enjoyed them.

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

Urban land could grow fruit and veg for 15 per cent of the population, research shows

by University of Sheffield
 

Credit: University of Sheffield

Growing fruit and vegetables in just 10 per cent of a city's gardens and other urban green spaces could provide 15 per cent of the local population with their 'five a day', according to new research.
 

In a study published in Nature Food, academics from the Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield investigated the potential for urban horticulture by mapping green spacesand grey spaces across the city.

They found that green spaces including parks, gardens, allotments, roadside verges and woodland cover 45 per cent of Sheffield—a figure similar to other UK cities.

Allotments cover 1.3 per cent of this, while 38 per cent of green space comprised of domestic gardens, which have immediate potential to start growing food.

The interdisciplinary team used data from Ordnance Survey and Google Earth to reveal that an extra 15 per cent of the city's green space, such as parks and roadside verges, also has potential to be converted into community gardens or allotments.

Putting domestic gardens, allotments and suitable public green spaces together would open up 98 m² per person in Sheffield for growing food. This equates to more than four times the 23 m² per person currently used for commercial horticulture across the UK.

If 100 per cent of this space was used for growing food, it could feed approximately 709,000 people per year their 'five a day', or 122 per cent of the population of Sheffield. But even converting a more realistic 10 per cent of domestic gardens and 10 per cent of available green space, as well as maintaining current allotment land, could provide 15 per cent of the local population—87,375 people—with sufficient fruit and veg.

With just 16 per cent of fruit and 53 per cent of vegetables sold in the UK grown domestically, such a move could significantly improve the nation's food security.

The study also investigated the potential for soil-free farming on flat roofs using methods such as hydroponics, where plants are grown in a nutrient solution, and aquaponics, a system combining fish and plants. These techniques could allow year-round cultivation with minimal lighting requirements, using greenhouses powered by renewable energy and heat captured from buildings, with rainwater harvesting for irrigation.
 

Flat roofs were found to cover 32 hectares of land in Sheffield city centre. While equivalent to just 0.5 m² per person, the researchers believe the high-yielding nature of soil-free farming means this could make a significant contribution to local horticulture.

The UK currently imports 86 per cent of its total tomato supply—but if just 10 per cent of the flat roofs identified within the centre of Sheffield became soil-free tomato farms, it would be possible to grow enough to feed more than eight per cent of the population one of their 'five a day'. This increases to more than 60 per cent of people if three quarters of the flat roof area is utilised.

Dr. Jill Edmondson, Environmental Scientist at the University of Sheffield and lead author of the study, said: "At the moment, the UK is utterly dependent on complex international supply chains for the vast majority of our fruit and half of our veg—but our research suggests there is more than enough space to grow what we need on our doorsteps.

"Even farming a small percentage of available land could transform the health of urban populations, enhance a city's environment and help build a more resilient food system."

Professor Duncan Cameron, co-author and Director of the Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield, said: "It will take significant cultural and social change to achieve the enormous growing potential of our cities—and it's crucial that authorities work closely with communities to find the right balance between green space and horticulture.

"But with careful management of green spaces and the use of technology to create distribution networks, we could see the rise of 'smart food cities', where local growers can support their communities with fresh, sustainable food."

The Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield brings together multidisciplinary expertise and world-class research facilities to help achieve food security and protect the natural resources we all depend on.
 

More information: Edmondson, J.L., Cunningham, H., Densley Tingley, D.O. et al. The hidden potential of urban horticulture. Nat Food 1, 155–159 (2020). doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-0045-6 , www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-0045-6

Journal information: Nature Food 

Provided by University of Sheffield 

 

 

[Human10]

On 3/16/2023 at 8:50 PM, Gurualvin said:

Animals are great. I respect animals more than most humans.

People judge animals by their intelligence and lack of verbal communication while emotional intelligence and intuition is much higher in animals... They also have some superpowers - like echolocation, super sensitive senses, seeing things  that we are blind too, and so on... We consider ourselves better because our creations are more advanced but unfortunately could bring also suffer and destruction... And we will never be able to treat other species better then ourselves like for instance dogs can do... It's funny but I think most dogs have human on the top of Maslow's pyramid... 

[Human10]

On 3/18/2023 at 3:22 PM, LastOneLeftInTheCounty said:

Urban land could grow fruit and veg for 15 per cent of the population, research shows

by University of Sheffield
 

Credit: University of Sheffield

Growing fruit and vegetables in just 10 per cent of a city's gardens and other urban green spaces could provide 15 per cent of the local population with their 'five a day', according to new research.
 

In a study published in Nature Food, academics from the Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield investigated the potential for urban horticulture by mapping green spacesand grey spaces across the city.

They found that green spaces including parks, gardens, allotments, roadside verges and woodland cover 45 per cent of Sheffield—a figure similar to other UK cities.

Allotments cover 1.3 per cent of this, while 38 per cent of green space comprised of domestic gardens, which have immediate potential to start growing food.

The interdisciplinary team used data from Ordnance Survey and Google Earth to reveal that an extra 15 per cent of the city's green space, such as parks and roadside verges, also has potential to be converted into community gardens or allotments.

Putting domestic gardens, allotments and suitable public green spaces together would open up 98 m² per person in Sheffield for growing food. This equates to more than four times the 23 m² per person currently used for commercial horticulture across the UK.

If 100 per cent of this space was used for growing food, it could feed approximately 709,000 people per year their 'five a day', or 122 per cent of the population of Sheffield. But even converting a more realistic 10 per cent of domestic gardens and 10 per cent of available green space, as well as maintaining current allotment land, could provide 15 per cent of the local population—87,375 people—with sufficient fruit and veg.

With just 16 per cent of fruit and 53 per cent of vegetables sold in the UK grown domestically, such a move could significantly improve the nation's food security.

The study also investigated the potential for soil-free farming on flat roofs using methods such as hydroponics, where plants are grown in a nutrient solution, and aquaponics, a system combining fish and plants. These techniques could allow year-round cultivation with minimal lighting requirements, using greenhouses powered by renewable energy and heat captured from buildings, with rainwater harvesting for irrigation.
 

Flat roofs were found to cover 32 hectares of land in Sheffield city centre. While equivalent to just 0.5 m² per person, the researchers believe the high-yielding nature of soil-free farming means this could make a significant contribution to local horticulture.

The UK currently imports 86 per cent of its total tomato supply—but if just 10 per cent of the flat roofs identified within the centre of Sheffield became soil-free tomato farms, it would be possible to grow enough to feed more than eight per cent of the population one of their 'five a day'. This increases to more than 60 per cent of people if three quarters of the flat roof area is utilised.

Dr. Jill Edmondson, Environmental Scientist at the University of Sheffield and lead author of the study, said: "At the moment, the UK is utterly dependent on complex international supply chains for the vast majority of our fruit and half of our veg—but our research suggests there is more than enough space to grow what we need on our doorsteps.

"Even farming a small percentage of available land could transform the health of urban populations, enhance a city's environment and help build a more resilient food system."

Professor Duncan Cameron, co-author and Director of the Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield, said: "It will take significant cultural and social change to achieve the enormous growing potential of our cities—and it's crucial that authorities work closely with communities to find the right balance between green space and horticulture.

"But with careful management of green spaces and the use of technology to create distribution networks, we could see the rise of 'smart food cities', where local growers can support their communities with fresh, sustainable food."

The Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield brings together multidisciplinary expertise and world-class research facilities to help achieve food security and protect the natural resources we all depend on.
 

More information: Edmondson, J.L., Cunningham, H., Densley Tingley, D.O. et al. The hidden potential of urban horticulture. Nat Food 1, 155–159 (2020). doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-0045-6 , www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-0045-6

Journal information: Nature Food 

Provided by University of Sheffield 

 

 

But... That would mean a lot of heart attacks 

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

4 hours ago, Human10 said:

But... That would mean a lot of heart attacks 

Yes I’ve heard, gardening and sunshine, a lethal combination! 
 

 

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

Oh dear… be afraid…. be very afraid…. here it comes-

 

U.S. moves closer to green-lighting lab-grown chicken in stores
 

Lab grown chicken is a step closer to making it to a grocer near you.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent a “no questions” letter to Good Meat, a manufacturer of so-called “cultivated chicken,” the company says. That’s a crucial step along the road to consumer distribution and follows a similar letter to Upside Foods, another manufacturer of the meat, last November.
 

Before consumers can take a bite, though, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will need to sign off on the food as well. Good Meat says it is working with the agency on “necessary approvals.”

Cultivated meat is created from cells, rather than slaughtered animals, and proponents say it’s a more sustainable way of eating and safer, since it’s created in a cleaner environment and less prone to contamination from E. coli, salmonella, and other pathogens.

The lab-grown food is produced in a tank, and the production area could easily be mistaken for a brewery at first glance. Meat can be harvested from the cultivator in four to six weeks.

One of the meat’s supporters is chef and humanitarian José Andrés, who has vowed to offer Good Meat’s chicken to customers at his Washington, D.C. restaurant once it is approved.

“The future of our planet depends on how we feed ourselves…and we have a responsibility to look beyond the horizon for smarter, sustainable ways to eat,” said Andrés in a statement.

Singapore was the first nation to approve the sale of the meat, poultry and seafood clones just over two years ago.

Lab-grown meat won’t be a cheaper alternative upon release. Like plant-based meat alternatives, it will initially be sold at a premium, but prices are expected to fall as competition grows and efficiencies to the process are streamlined.
 

 

https://apple.news/AisVx2k8WQZS-lUESR7PDAA

 

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

It has begun

 

Commercial development of gene-edited food now legal in England
 

By Pallab Ghosh

Science correspondent

 

Gene-edited food can now be developed commercially in England following a change in the law. 

Supporters of the technology say it will speed up the development of hardier crops that will be needed because of climate change.

Critics say that the change could bring ''disaster'' to our food production and the environment.

Gene editing involves making precise changes to an organism's DNA to enhance certain characteristics.

• What is gene-edited food and is it safe to eat?

The new law also opens the door to the development of gene-edited farm animals, but a further vote by MPs will be required before it is allowed, again only in England. 

The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish governments have not permitted the commercial use of gene editing.

 

 

Gene editing in England had been covered under the same tight regulation that has restricted the commercial development of GM crops under EU law. Brexit has enabled the Westminster government to relax the rules for the newer technology. 

The chief scientific advisor for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Prof Gideon Henderson, says that the new rules will lead to better food production and bring jobs and investment to England.

"What's changed is that we can now use precision breeding technology developed in the lab and take it into the fields so that we can grow better crops and bring them to market more readily so that we can use the technology to enhance agricultural outcomes and food production in the UK and globally," he said.

The Precision Breeding Act allows only genetic changes that could also have been produced naturally or through traditional crossbreeding programmes already in use today. GM can involve the introduction of genes from other species and will not be permitted.

Gene editing enables researchers to make precise genetic changes to a plant's DNA, for example adding a gene to boost its growth or reduce dependence on fertiliser. The same change could be produced by crossbreeding different varieties, but it would take much longer. 

The new law allows for the use of gene editing and other methods that may arise in the future, provided the end result is a crop that is no different to a variety that could have been naturally produced.
 

Critics of genetically altered food, such as Pat Thomas of Beyond GM, are concerned that gene-edited crops will not have to go through the extensive testing required of GM foods in the EU, which may result in the introduction of toxins and allergens into the food chain.

"The entire process of this bill has been of the government consulting scientists with vested interests, usually in the biotech industry, who are reassuring the government that this change in the law will have no consequences," she said.

"History has shown that when you remove regulatory control, particularly for food and the environment, there is looming disaster on the horizon.''

There is also concern that labelling of gene-edited food is not a requirement and it is unclear how GE food from England will be prevented from entering other parts of the UK, where it is still banned.
 

A Welsh Government spokesperson said that this would create "unavoidable consequences for Wales".

"Gene-edited plants, animals and products from England will be marketable here without the authorisations our law requires," they said. 

"This undermines the devolution settlement. The UK Government chose not to engage with us, despite our efforts, whilst developing the bill and this means the effects of it have not been properly considered."

The Scottish government has a long-standing opposition to GM and wishes to stay in step with the EU, though its stance is opposed by NFU Scotland who says it puts Scottish farmers at a competitive disadvantage.

The Northern Ireland government has to follow the protocol negotiated with the EU which requires that it remains in step with rules regarding the definition of GM crops in Europe, which also cover gene-edited crops. 

There is however enthusiasm for the use of gene editing among some plant breeders in England. 

 

The National Institute of Agricultural Botany, just outside Cambridge, has been breeding new varieties of crops for UK farmers for more than a hundred years.

They crossbreed different varieties to produce new ones that grow better and are more resistant to diseases. It can take ten to fifteen years of development. The head of the lab, Prof Mario Caccamo told BBC News that he wants to use the technology to develop new varieties that can grow well in the hotter, drier conditions that the UK is experiencing more regularly, because of climate change.

"When we look to how the population is growing and how much we are increasing our yields using traditional methods, we are lagging behind," he said. "The projections show that we have to have an acceleration into how we can improve crops otherwise we are going to be struggling to feed the world."
 

The UK is among the world leaders in research into plant genetics. But that expertise has not been able to take off, because of the effective ban on the commercial development of the technology, according to its supporters. The hope is that the change in law will attract new investment leading to new companies, new jobs and new foods.

Bayer Crop Science has developed GM crops for use across the world, employing more than 30,000 people. 

But in the UK, it has a staff of 90 who are involved in traditional plant breeding. The company isn't ready to announce any new investment plans in England yet - but the firm's head of marketing in the UK, Lindy Blanchard, welcomed the change in the law. 

"We are really, really excited and we are committed to help farmers overcome the challenges of climate change and we want to provide safe sustainable food for society, so no doubt we will be looking at this but it is step by step."

The new act also has provision to allow gene-edited animals on English farms, like these disease resistant pigs, developed in Scotland. But that will require another vote by MPs in Westminster once the government is satisfied that animals won't suffer.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64596453