Phil's Questions

[Guest guest]

On Tuesday, February 18, 2003, at 11:41 PM, (AT) (DOT)

com wrote:

 

> Well, mostly I really enjoy the recipes.

>

> Also, learning about food additives that may be harmful and not on the

> " approved list " for vegetarians is a biggie -- it seems a lot of bad

> ingredients get hidden by the general term " natural flavoring " . I

> remember the big scandal over McDonald's using beef flavor in their

> french fries.

 

They sneaked in beef lard, actually, among other things and yes, were

successfully sued.

 

> They were sued (successfully I believe) by a Hindu man (oops-there's

> religion again, GRIN) who was a regular consumer of those fries till he

> found out he was eating cows.

 

This is not a negligible consideration. Islamic and Hindu vegetarians are

very strict about the consequences of eating meat, even accidently or

unknowingly. What MacDonald's did is unconscionable, and the judge agreed.

This is why my family boycott McDonald's. They are underhanded and have

done many such sick things.

 

> It was not a matter of religious cleansing for my wife and I but we

> were disgusted to find out that we too had been eating cows unknowingly

> for years -- while believing that we were true vegetarians. We're more

> careful about ambiguous ingredients now.

 

Indeed, there was, before the current regime took over, (yes, religion and

politics really do affect every aspect of our lives whether we like it or

not), when there was a push on for more accuracy in food labels, etc.

That's all gone now, so we're left with a weak revamping of label

standards and no FDA teeth to make anyone adhere to them, plus no

oversight of compliance, etc. Caveat emptor in excelsis, deo, basically.

 

What I'm saying is, labels can now lie. They can leave off ingredients

the manufacturers know will cause some to balk. They can mislabel, but

putting incorrect ingredients or amounts on the labels. They can claim

" error " or " fair competition " or whatnot. It's sad all around for those

of us wanting to be conscientious about what we eat.

 

However, as Zen teaches, we must do what we can and learn to let go of

those things we cannot affect. We can, however, to be political again,

vote and write and otherwise change these things, if we wish. What we

choose to buy, whom we choose to support, and other daily decisions all

add up to a powerful voice, if we choose to use it.

>

> Another topic might be vitamins - do we need them, and if so what should

> be avoided and why.

 

We chew a daily Flintstones multi-vitamin just be be sure. That we we don'

t OD on stuff like iron -- dark green leafies are full of this, for

instance, and calcium -- but make sure we cover the ones we might not get

enough of daily.

 

In truth if you make sure to eat a hand full of nuts and seeds each week

or so, you're probably fine. As long as you're balancing your diet, of

course.

 

Enjoy what ever choices you make, I'm sure you'll do fine.

>

> Thanks,

> Phil M.

> Kailua, Hawaii

>

>

Education: That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the

foolish their lack of understanding.

-Ambrose Bierce, writer (1842-1914)