| |
 |
Tuesday, August 12, 2003 |
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of live on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
- - Albert Einstein
KNOW YOUR HISTORY - AUGUST 12th
1997 - - A hamburger recall is issued to cover some 1.2 million pounds. The Hudson Foods Inc., of Rogers, Ark., issued the recall due to E. coli poisonings in Colorado.
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9708/17/bad.beef/index.html
1999 - - A Belgium McDonald's was destroyed by fire. The Animal Liberation Front was suspected.
http://www.animalliberation.net/
RHINO HERE:
To fast food or not to fast food? Is that ever the question for you & yours?
I've been waiting a long time for the fast food giants to serve veggie burgers & finally, Burger King is selling the BK Veggie & its even good. And for those concerned about their patty being cooked on the same grill as the critter kind, you can ask for yours to be cooked in a microwave, making it really vege.
Horseshoes, Hand Grenades, and Veggieburgers
The new McDonald's jingle? Two all-soy patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese?
But then I was given the audio version of the amazing non-fiction book, "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser, which is much less about healthy diets & more about the history of meat & potatoes in America & the Globalization of the McDonalds model which means; the manipulation for profit, of everyone from their suppliers, their employees, their franchisees, the taxpayers & most importantly, the kids. Digesting "Fast Food Nation" was an awe inspiring experience that didn't inspire me to want to try the new McVeggie which is now being test marketed in Southern California.
The real point of the book is that even more than any government law or regulation, we as consumers can have an effect on the corporate monoliths that now define & provide America's majority cuisine. A case in point is made by The Nation article which is RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE today. It seems McDonald's formally acknowledged in late June that the heavy use of growth-stimulating antibiotics by the meat industry threatens human health. McD advised its poultry suppliers to phase out the practice or face the prospect of losing the business of America's largest buyer of meat products. The article poses the question: "Are any of the presidential candidates brave enough to talk about hamburgers?"
Fast Food Nation & Reefer Madness
If you'd like to read the introduction to "Fast Food Nation" it's post online at The Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/fastfoodnation.htm
Fast Food Nation is Eric Schlosser's 1st book but his 2nd is out & selling. Schlosser received a number of journalistic honors, including a National Magazine Award for an Atlantic Monthly article he wrote on marijuana (WAIT - I mean the topic was... OK you know what I mean) called "More Reefer Madness."
http://www.TheAtlantic.com/issues/97apr/reef.htm
He then wrote the book entitled,
"Reefer Madness : Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0618334661/103-6784965-1203029?v=glance
7:32:30 AM 
|
|
Victory at McDonald's
by William Greider, The Nation, July 31, 2003
Since McDonald's is a global icon of cultural imperialism and the target for numerous other social complaints, it's a little awkward to celebrate the world's largest fast-food corporation for a progressive political breakthrough. Nevertheless, McDonald's has taken on what American politics lacks the nerve to confront: the dangerous practices of agribusiness in producing chicken, beef and pork--that is, the food McDonald's sells to families. The company formally acknowledged in late June that the heavy use of growth-stimulating antibiotics by the meat industry threatens human health. It advised its poultry suppliers to phase out the practice or face the prospect of losing the business of America's largest buyer of meat products. The warning is less firm for hogs and cattle, but those suppliers know they are on notice too. Mickey D is listening to his customers. "We would love to be a catalyst for change industrywide," McDonald's director for social responsibility affirmed.
All these issues are the subject of contentious conflicts around the nation, especially in the farm states, yet the politics of food is not on the agenda of either major party. Does Ronald McDonald perhaps know something about Americans that the pollsters for Republicans and Democrats have overlooked? The explanation for their indifference is well understood. Both major parties (and most state governments) are fully aligned with the big names (and campaign contributors) of corporate agriculture. Most politicians embrace the industry's economics--the logic that says bigness is better--and pols typically hide behind the veil of "sound science," that is, industry claims that public complaints about health, environmental damage or the destruction of rural communities are mere sentiments...
...Republicans are hopeless--no surprise. Some Democrats (including Representative Dennis Kucinich, a presidential candidate) do understand the centrality of food as a public concern--and recognize that the issue of food can unite people across the usual political divisions. A new presidential campaign is under way, and voters should listen carefully. Are any of these candidates brave enough to talk about hamburgers?
READ IT ALL AT:
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030818&;s=greider
"RHINO'S BLOG" is the responsibility of Gary Rhine. (rhino@kifaru.com)
Feedback, and requests to be added or deleted from the list are encouraged.
SEARCH BLOG ARCHIVES / SURF RHINO'S LINKS, AT:
http://www.rhinosblog.info
RHINO'S OTHER WEB SITES:
http://www.dreamcatchers.org (INDIGENOUS ASSISTANCE & INTERCULTURAL DIALOG)
http://www.kifaru.com (NATIVE AMERICAN RELATIONS VIDEO DOCUMENTARIES)
Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of international copyright law.
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
All copyrights belong to original publisher.
6:12:47 AM
|
|
© Copyright 2005 Gary Rhine.
|
|
