Farming Politics
Government Posters Humour
Technology Religion
Nature Me Links
Hurrah! At last Mr. Purdy's theory of Organ-o-Phosphorus chemicals is getting a chance. I believe that the combination of OP's and "offal in feed" is the real culprit, one built the bridge for the other to cross. Both of these were requirements of government, who were advised by the Min of Ag, but, who were the vested interests who promoted them?, who are the "scientists" that convinced parliament that the treatments were safe?, and who employed them?. It may be considered that BSE will be the end of this saga, wrong, the "scientists", the brains of society, are working overtime building bridges between plants and animals. The current episode is just a "storm in a tea cup" compared with what will happen when plant or animal viruses/diseases cross the divide. YES, I talking about Genetic Engineering!!. If the genes from a fish can be put into plants etc, what else will walk across the bridge?. I know it cannot happen, the scientists have told us so.
Dear Editor
??? comments re cattle fed with sewage (27/10/99)
Farmers cannot feed cattle with sewage, fish or offal, they will not eat
it, It has to be processed to make it edible, hence, it is the feed
manufactures taking short cuts by putting cheap contents in the feed
that causes the problem (and not declaring the contents). Do you know
what goes into your processed food, or your cat/dog food? Why do you think
manufactures are being forced into ever increasing label declarations of
contents.
==================
In view of the current concern with food safety, should the food industry do some basic damage limitation procedures by establishing a risk related scale of identification of the different types of food that are available?. The BSE scare was both predicable and inevitable, if the industry had done damage evaluation instead of waiting for the government, then the outcome may not have been so severe. ( They are still waiting for the government). The consequence is that the public trust has been severely damaged and the respect of farmers is on par with that of politicians and scientists. The current legislation implies that (after complying with various pieces of legislation and codes of practices) all food is equal in terms of risk, this is an illusion which can only deceive the consumer (and give the producer an increasing amount of problems). A dirty potato is safer than a washed one, (no one would have any doubt that dirty potato needed washing, where as it may be assumed a washed potato was clean). A bag of salad maybe washed before use, a salad bowl cannot. Unfortunately the Sell by/Best before/Use by is not an indication of the risk, it is more related to the light/temperature induce deteriation of the modern selling requirements, and has no relation to the bacteria development potential. The Basic Hygiene Course gives instruction on which foods could, or should not be stored together, all this this seems to ignored when it comes to commercial practice with mixed products which realise high retails. Yet as prime producers we are being asked to use only potable water for irrigation, to limit the use of target specific insecticides and use non-specific insecticides for the production of crop designated for the processing industry. For an individual the greatest risk is Allergy which is totally down to the consumer. Next would be Bacteria, which is low (subject to consumer hygiene) increases with the following list, because nothing can be done about it. The risk with Chemicals is slight (with current legislation), unless additional allergic susceptibility, but increases with the following list. 1:- Organic. Risks.
2:- Organic Washed/Pre-pack.
3:- Conventional Produce.
4:- Conventional Produce treated with Post-Harvest Chemicals.
5:- Conventional Produce Washed/Pre-pack
6:- Conventional Produce treated with Post-Harvest Chemicals and Washed/Pre-pack.
7:- Conventional Produce Prepared
6:- Conventional Produce Cooked
8:- Conventional Produce Cooked and Prepared.
9:- Conventional Produce that has been cut/sliced/diced and mixed with produce.
10:- Conventional Produce that has been cut/sliced/diced and mixed with produce and meat products.
=================== It is an interesting line of logic that was used to justify GM. If we had not embraced technology like :- 1:-Warble treatments and offal in feed, we most likely would not have BSE. 2:- The diesel engine, farming would have more political clout than the average ethnic minority. 3:- Medicine, we would not have a four fold increase in population since 1900, and an insatiable bill for the NHS. More people are becoming aware that the advantages of technology have a big bill at the end, today's regulations are yesterdays miracle breakthrough. When I started in farming I was told "Farm as though you will live forever. Live as you may die tomorrow", and "Walk gentle on the path as someone will wish to follow". Judging by the number of offspring that want to follow their parents in farming today, (assuming there is something left to follow) then the idiom of following the pretty "painted wagon" of technology has not gained farming anything, it has certainly lost the respect of society, and has gained a very dodgy present, and a more dubious future. I am curious to know:- a:-Have the scientists who "discovered" these miracles which are giving so many problems today, retired with a fat bank balance and a good pension?, because their followers are not likely to. b:- Why is it that "good scientific practice" only finds the problems years later?. c:- Why is that perception of sustainability changes with higher education?, or is it that getting a higher education puts ones head deeper in the trough impairing the ability to see forward?. http://www.bbc.co.uk/makingsense/gmfood/index.shtml ===================== Genetic Engineering
I am not anti-technology, I am a return to Common Sense activist. It is a much maligned factor that does not enter into the modern criteria of judgment, and you cannot get a PhD for it. I have heard/been subjected to the rhetoric (from the scientific fraternity) for years, and the sad fact is we are suffering a chronic over production situation. 1:- Every producer is praying someone else is going to get knocked out by one of the problems the scientists are spending millions trying to cure, in order to get a decent return for their hard work. 2:- Breeders have been breeding for certain attributes whilst ignoring the vulnerability to disease/pests because they can be controlled by chemicals. So now we have high yielding tasteless produce that totally dependant on chemicals, so the boffin's say we must have GE. Rollocks. (my spelling has never been good). 3:- Population. The population has more than doubled in my life (59years) in fact it has quadrupled in 100years with 2 world wars a hundreds of minor ones, and they refer to sustainability, the most unsustainable element is the scientific fraternity with the perception that the need must be met. If the need is met then the population will expand even faster. Perhaps the perception of sustainability changes with a higher education. 4:- With the current state of farming, who will be left to grow the GM crops to feed the millions?, the public with the disassociation with the rural element want a more environmental approach to their food production. 5:- Why are the countries with the starving millions growing and exporting food to feed the pampered over-fed millions in the "developed" countries?. 6:- Why is it that "sound scientific practice" only finds the real problem too late. The society is suffering enough from sound scientific practice, BSE, asbestos, pollution, chemicals, the list is endless and the real problem comes when it is too late to remove it, hence, regulations, paper filling, everyone too busy covering their back-side to look where we are going. 7:- The chemical industry is saying (like their pharmaceutical buddies), that you can cure Cancer and Aids, but we have not seen a cure the common cold. Oop's, I forgot, you are the pharmaceutical company, and you are buying out the seed-breeders. No Professor's, your bucket is full of holes, it does not hold water. Take your head out of the trough long enough to see what you are creating for your children/grand-children. YOU DON'T HAVE TO RE-INVENT THE WHEEL JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE A PUNCTURE. http://www.bbc.co.uk/makingsense/gmfood/index.shtml
Re: Article Published in Defence of Genetic Engineering Good article, but it skipped over the important issue of transfer of animal/vegetable genes. After the saga of BSE, one would have thought opening yet more gates for disease transfer would turned even the most dedicated scientist in to a skeptic. What will happen when they transfer medicinal genes into plants? It will not matter whether you need it, you will get it, and they talk about resistance? It is not only humans that eat plants, what will happen when the lower orders of the food chain are given regular doses of medicine?
Is it:-
A perception of higher education that what happens to their
descendants is of no consequence?.
That they have their head in the trough, which inhibits the ability to see
forward?
That ego gets in the way of logic and conscience?
Which technical break-through has not given major problems after 25 years, and
why don't the originators have to pay, instead of Joe Public?
I would be interested in other readers views of scientists.
========================== Nanny StateA good commentary spoilt by the inclusion of "stupid remarks by Edwina Currie". Her statement was factual (eggs generally did have a high level of salmonella), responsible (warning the vulnerable about eating raw/under cooked eggs), and she was responsible for Health, not Agriculture. What was "stupid" was the media reaction and the industry attacking the Minister, it would have been better too agree with her, adding that "people with colds should not stand naked in a drafty corridor with their feet in a bucket of cold water" either. I do wonder if the attack on someone who spoke common-sense is not responsible for the "nanny state" we now have, because if you cannot tell people what to beware of, then the state will have to make everything safe, which is physically impossible. The industry has to learn to stop defending the indefensible. Identify the problem, not the symptom. The consequence of the eggs scenario was increased medication, the consequence of which is increase calls for legislation on the controls of medication for livestock because of human resistance to medication, which cannot possibly have anything to do with the fact that human use of medication has increased 5billion times in the last 50 years. Just to put the record straight, I am not "having a go" at the egg industry. Farming involves soil, soil has bacteria, I am waiting for someone to say " our crops do not have bacteria on them". Properly prepared food presents no risk. End of story.
|
|
Farming Politics
Government Posters Humour
Technology Religion
Nature Me Links
|