Not on the Label

Wow, yet another great book! I have just finished reading Blink, which blew my mind, and I am now reading 'Not on the Label'....Which is also blowing my mind. I have been really fortunate with books lately. Normally I manage to read a few good ones in a row and then go through a dry period, but at the moment...I am on a roll!

Blink...I can't recommend this book enough..it is all about how we as humans make split decision's about situations, people etc etc in a fraction of a second, most of the time we are unaware. This is something I do a lot. I have a strong tendency to act on gut instinct all the time.....sometimes driving those around me mad...so it was good to read that this is normal and I am not alone! The style is also great too, it isn't a heavy read, I read it in just over 3 days (few hours a day whilst traveling) and couldn't put it down!

Not on the label. Hmmmm now this book is pretty disturbing. It is about what is in our food....Yeah we all know about the 'bad' food....but I was shocked to hear what they do to the 'good food'...salad, veggies,bread, organic food etc. Totally shocked. The book is very anti-supermarket, which I suppose is a good thing, but I always try to play the devil's advocate when it comes to books/people/media etc etc which are very pro/anti anything. But even so, there is no denying the damage we are doing to the planet and, in someways more importantly, ourselves. We trust food companies to provide us with good food, but most of what we buy is nutritionally pointless and full of 'special chemicals'....it is a big money business.

The author has done her homework, the facts are there and so are the references and counter references. I give her full credit for that. Whilst the anti-supermarket focus pops up a bit, if you read beyond this you can see the terrible impact that our quest for 'cheap' food is having. I can't remember many of the facts (a second read is in order), but things that really stick in my mind are
-The treatment of chickens, how they live, why they live, the drugs pumped into them (eg growth hormones) and therefore us when we eat them
-The fact that chicken nuggets are nothing but pulp made from skin and general chicken crap
-The fact there is an illegal trade in condemned meat, which has a tendency to make its way into the food chain.
-That there have been numerous instances of meat meant for dog food being 'relabelled' and made into human food
-The amount of pesticides etc that are placed on salads items, the extended growing seasons. The treatment of workers who pick Veggies.
-The fact that 'nicely' packed vegetable selections are flown from Kenya to the UK for inspection, and then back to Kenya to be 'topped and tailed' and then flown back to the UK.
-The power supermarkets have and the demands they make on farmers, whilst making sure there is no comeback on them.
-The way vast farms are extracting everything from a fragile soil, destroying the land and then moving on to the next place.
-The fact that 'organic' food....Doesn't really mean anything at all.
-The fact that the average journey for most of our food is over 2500 miles

I am guilty...I shop at a supermarket. But this book has really got me thinking....I mean really got me thinking. I don't think I will be able to look at a chicken breast from a supermarket the same again. The same for the veg.....prepacked salad....never again...what with it being washed in bleach. Perhaps it is time to start growing my own.....I am not joking, perhaps it is time to realise that meat is more of a luxury. Perhaps it is time to really find out what I am eating!

I don't think I will be come vegetarian...I am not a hypocrite, but I think it is time to find the local farm, pay more for the meat, but know where it has come from....and yes the cost will mean that I eat it less. I have no quarms about eating meat...I am not sure about the moral argument. I can't find a solution to that one.....I am pretty much convinced on a philosophical level that it is 'morally' wrong to eat meat....but I can't convince myself to stop. I have killed animals with my hands, plucked them, gutted them and eaten them. So I guess I have a better understanding in someways to what goes on, rather than thinking that a chicken is just there....as it is in a supermarket.

I am worried about the way the planet is headed. Humans are behaving just like parasites, using up all the resource and moving on (leaving a trail of destruction and rubbish). It is time for a change, but unless a change means money for the corporations.....it ain't never gonna happen....pessimistic I know....but having worked for large corporations...I know how they think......$$$$$$$'s and $$$$$$$'s buy people...and governments....we all know that!

Peace

Neil