OneGuyFromBarlick

I saw a lot of good farms ruined in the 1950s and 60s by the infamous ICI 'Blue Bag'. It was straight nitrogen and when you put it on old meadows and pasture grass that was growing on soil where the nutrient levels had been gradually increased with many decades of good farming it was like a miracle. But all it was doing was pumping fertility out of the ground that was already there. After a few years of heavy use the crop deteriorated. In those days the best way of raising the general fertility of land was to import hay and straw which eventually found its way into the soil in the shape of bedding muck containing the dung of cattle. That's why many farm tenancy agreements, particularly the Church Commissioner's, prohibited the export of hay and straw off the holding.

I've mentioned before on OG how the race to higher nitrogen levels by cereal farmers led to a crisis in bread flour quality. It increased the content of protein, which had always been an important measure of bread baking quality, but the gluten protein no longer did its job properly during doughmaking. At that time I worked next door to a team of protein chemists who showed that it happened because nitrogen and sulphur went out of balance. The action of gluten protein in dough depends on the linking of sulphur atoms between the molecules. If you boost wheat nitrogen too far you end up with weak gluten.

Only on OG..... Wonderful Tiz!

The proposed banning of Glyphosate weedkiller probably the most common weedkiller used in agriculture. Ordinary gardeners will know it better as 'Roundup' etc. The residue is now being found at high concentrations in ground water and is evident in almost all the bread type foods. Link. This sounds like one of those ticking bombs that's likely to explode at any time. Organisation’s IARC cancer agency found that it was “probably carcinogenic to humans”. Against this minor negativity 'Farming' would take a big hit with crop production being severely affected. Got to get our priorities right!

With Pathclear now banned too we'll all have weedy gardens!

Never mind, after Brexit we will be able to use all the dangerous chemicals we want.....

Yes, and we'll be able to send little boys up chimneys to sweep them!

My favourite American GP told me that he had an itchy nipple and it was breast cancer. He realised that because of an oversight they had been eating meat and drinking milk from cattle who had been 'enhanced' with growth hormones. He survived.......

More trouble over `fake farm food'... LINK

I wonder if he registered it? I have a brand... 'I A Research and Photography'. It was registered at Companies House in 1979. If anyone ever used it I would ask them to buy it!

In a new study at the Université de Montréal, family meals in early childhood are found to be very beneficial on both a child's physical and mental health over the long term. LINK

Sorry if I sound cynical but there's a surprise! All right I know it's valuable information for young families who weren't reared the old-fashioned way and I'm glad it being pointed out. I hate the syndrome where kids eat in their bedrooms and I've seen that done!

`Antibiotic use in meat revealed by UK supermarkets' LINK
Three UK supermarket chains have published figures on the amount of antibiotics used by their farm suppliers, in an effort to cut use of the medicines. Marks and Spencer, Waitrose and Asda have all revealed the quantities of antibiotics in meat and dairy produce. Campaigners have called on all supermarkets to follow their lead. Overuse of antibiotics can cause drugs resistance leading to the prevalence of superbugs such as MRSA. England's Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies warned in October that if antibiotics lost their effectiveness it would "spell the end to modern medicine".

I suppose some use of antibiotics is unavoidable and my understanding was always that a certain time had to elapse between administering the drug and slaughter to allow it to be flushed from the system.
Another thing that has always concerned me is the use of hormones. I first came across them when we used to implant a hormone pellet in the necks of cockerels to chemically castrate them and they grew fat for the market as a consequence. Again, In the US hormones were administered to milking cattle to increase yield and I think this is still allowed. A GP friend of mine in Minnesota had an enlarged and sore nipple and he took advice. He had mastitis and it turned out it was a consequence of drinking hormone treated milk. He switched to hormone-free milk and the condition cleared up.

Stanley wrote: ↑23 Dec 2017, 04:56 I suppose some use of antibiotics is unavoidable and my understanding was always that a certain time had to elapse between administering the drug and slaughter to allow it to be flushed from the system.

I think the concern is less about antibiotic residues in the meat and more about the cow's bacterial flora becoming resistant and the antibiotics reaching the environment in general.

You're right about hormone use in farm animals being allowed in the US but not in the UK. It's not allowed here because EU regulations prohibit it - after Brexit it's up to the UK to decide whether it follows the EU route or allows it in order to get a trade agreement with the US.

Then there is the leakage of female hormones into the eco system originating from use of the pill.....

Looking at a pack of Tesco Cauliflower Cheese I see the front of the pack says it contains mature Cheddar cheese. On the back there's more detail and the ingredients list tells me it contains `vegetarian Cheddar cheese', no mention of simply Cheddar cheese. How can cheese be vegetarian when it's made from milk?

I think it's the Rennet.

Rennet is used in the production of most cheeses. The mammal's digestive system must be accessed to obtain its rennet. Non-animal alternatives for rennet are also available.

I'm still puzzled though by the request for 'vegan cider' on a recent 'First Dates' programme.

Perhaps it's cider which hasn't been 'fined' (a process where fish meal is used to precipitate solids for a clearer product). Or even more esoterically, the addition of dead meat into the cider as part of the maturing process. I'm afraid that in my book vegetarians and vegans are OK as long as they aren't impinging on my world. Many of their ideas are misguided and show little appreciation of how Nature works..... Ask one what their attitude is to using human excreta as a fertilizer for vegetables.....

Tripps wrote: ↑03 Jan 2018, 10:47 I think it's the Rennet.

That's not the point, Tripps. Cheese is made from milk. Milk comes from animals. So how can something made from animal material be classed as `vegetarian'?

I can only think that the so-called cheese is actually not cheese but a food made from a vegetable material, e.g. squashed up soybeans. But then I wouldn't call it cheese. As The Donald would say, "It's fake cheese, bigly fake cheese".

Tizer wrote: ↑04 Jan 2018, 10:53 As The Donald would say, "It's fake cheese, bigly fake cheese".

Yes, BUT HE WOULD HAVE HAVE TO SHOUT IT, MULTIPLE TIMES.

My Sister in Law and partner are Vegan, they don't eat any dairy produce.

I think vegetarianism is quite 'broad spectrum'. I think We are talking about the difference between vegans and vegetarians here. As I understand it, vegans avoid all animal products so milk would be a no no. I guess there are vegetarians who would take milk and cheese so long as it was made without animal derived rennet.

What has long puzzled me is why they all don't just eat the vegetables, and not waste time trying to get them to imitate meat, by making them into sausages, burgers etc..

I note that on David Attenborough, most creatures seems to be pursuing, killing and eating some other creature - why should we be any different - we're just better at it.

Retires and reaches for steel helmet. . .

Tripps wrote: ↑04 Jan 2018, 11:38 What has long puzzled me is why they all don't just eat the vegetables, and not waste time trying to get them to imitate meat, by making them into sausages, burgers etc..

That has always puzzled me as well. I suppose they have to shape soya and other bean products into something and many "meat shapes" such as sausages and diced produce are convenient shapes for cooking or heating. I know Sally doesn't go out specifically to buy vegetarian bacon shaped soya or anything like that but does have the cubed stuff for adding to stews and the like.

Sally is primarily vegetarian, she stopped eating meat in protest and with regard to factory farming methods. She is not over jealous about it and she does eat dairy products, eggs (free range) and fish. She certainly would not starve if push came to shove, that's why I said primarily, predominately would probably be a better term.

40 years ago when she was first pregnant with our Carla, her craving was for liver, cooked for no longer than about 10 seconds in the pan. It used to make me heave watching her scoff it down, (I like my meat properly cooked). She had no vitamin deficiency at the time either before anyone asks.

Ian, Vera couldn't be trusted to cut liver up, she ate half of it!
My dad told me about a Chinaman who had the night soil contract for Dubbo, NSW around 1900. He was also the best greengrocer in the town and was very popular until people found out what he was doing with the night soil..... One of the biggest sources of waste through history is how we have thrown away nature's answer to land fertility and soil health. Incidentally, farmed animals are what keeps land in good heart.....
I heard a good quote in a Natural History programme about Man being the most invasive species on the planet the other day......
The fastest and strongest animals are all carinivores or omnivores..... I rest my case.

See THIS BBC report on some 'surprising' results during a trial to determine whether Coconut Oil is a 'Superfood'. I hate that term but that's how they are putting it. The bottom line is that the coconut oil increased the amount of 'good cholesterol in the blood. Part of this controversy is of course the knee jerk reaction of those who haven't studied the research to the fact that the old canard about saturated fats still has an effect even though it's reputation is not deserved.
My view is that what counts is what sort of saturated fat you are ingesting and whether you are doing enough exercise to burn it off. The bottom line is the proportion of long chain Omega3 fat to other forms of Omega3, some of which are actually harmful to the balance. I shall continue to take my Cod Liver Oil each morning and have my half hour walk! This is a complicated subject and all that matters is what suits you and seems to work. By all means substitute Coconut Oil for other vegetable oils that are not as good for you but recognise that you are taking in more calories and must burn them off to avoid weight gain.