http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149 I can't make up my mind - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_Foods_Market">super healthy</a> or <a href="http://www.organicconsumers.org/supermarket/060103_walmart_grocery.cfm">super cheap</a>?  I love <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mung_bean">Mung bean sprouts</a>, and have some growing in the kitchen almost every day (I've got <a href="http://www.wheatgrasskits.com/sproutingkits.htm">three sprouters</a>). On the other hand, I still like some processed food, like <a href="http://www.b en-us Mon, 21 Jan 2008 12:08:01 EST Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:48:57 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#32 Here's a couple <a href="http://www.dadamo.com/bloggers/4/archives/00000198.htm">good breakdowns</a> on why it's <a href="http://www.inciid.org/cgi-brd/getmsg.pl/13/4123">so awful</a>. I disagree with the one poster about rice being okay--I only eat the br Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:48:57 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#31 <i>"I suppose during the cold months in nordic regions, dairy is more readily available than vegetables, tho, for things like calcium."</i><p> I'm not much of a milk drinker, but I do love cheese.  Hard to make a decent omelet, frittata, Welsh rarebit Fri, 25 Jan 2008 13:32:52 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#30 My question was an honest one and not meant as a slap. Other than taste, I don't know of any benefits to dairy that aren't more easily gotten elsewhere. Personally, it makes me tired and (excuse the honesty) constipated. I suppose during the cold months in Thu, 24 Jan 2008 20:13:31 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#29 "Wild" is as opposed to farm raised. From a purely statistical stand point, you simply don't get the diversity in genetic background in a farm environment. This leads to both more static taste (good for masses, not what I'm looking for) and higher likeliho Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:54:25 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#28 Sure, if they did it exactly the same way it's done in the fields, with the same level of exposure, with the same timing between spraying and eating.   What would be the difference? Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:26:04 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#27 <blockquote>I've never seen any convincing scientific evidence that whatever "toxic residue" is left on/in non-organic foods is harmful to you.</blockquote><p> If somebody came to your house and sprayed toxic pesticides on the fruits and vegetables in your Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:01:02 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#26 Well, yeah, I did mean other than that:) Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:39:36 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#25 <i>There's almost no reason for anyone to eat dairy.</i><p> Except that dairy products can be t-total fucking-a delicious.  Hell...I might go buy some ice cream right now! Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:37:53 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#24 Well, my northern European ancestors have been eating dairy products in great quantities for millennia.  We are quite nicely adapted to it.  Some people are not, they should try to avoid dairy products.  What I've never understood is the nea Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:25:38 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#23 The fatty meats I will go with but in what way do you mean with the cheese? There's almost no reason for anyone to eat dairy. Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:18:06 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#22 <i>it's unlikely that replacing the syrups with plain sugar would yield a product that...</i> <p> ...still tastes the same when you open the package 5 years later. Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:15:51 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#21 The USDA "organic" label is essentially meaningless from the consumer's point of view.  There are better certifications from states (esp. California) and from private organizations.<p> If you're really interested in the topic I recommend the book <a h Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:27:42 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#20 I once had the hardest time convincing a friend that not a single person was killed, or even injured in the Three Mile Island accident.  "But it was such a big nuclear disaster, somebody had to have died, or why would they have made such a big deal ab Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:15:09 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#19 Same place as the public outcry from radiation emitted by coal mines. Agricultural runoff is 'natural' pollution because salt-of-the-earth farmers do it. BP on the other hand is an evil industrial corporations who fuel their furnaces with orphan stem-cell Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:30:48 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#18 I've never seen any convincing scientific evidence that whatever "toxic residue" is left on/in non-organic foods is harmful to you.  I do think that many modern farming practices are harmful to the land, and the environment.  I was amazed at the Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:08:06 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#17 <i>"Generally speaking I eat whatever I crave for -- this is usually a general mix of salads, burgers, steaks, soda paying little attention to ingredients. If it tastes good, I eat it again."</i><p> We're pretty much on the same page there.  I have my Tue, 22 Jan 2008 07:14:16 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#16 Ok lest I be thought of a fat simpleton, allow me to say that I'm 5' 10" and around 160...that at least takes care of the fat part. <p> What's the deal with  food labeling and what does it mean? Can someone give me a laymans definition of what the ter Tue, 22 Jan 2008 04:15:06 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#15 <i>I actually think sodas are the worst.  Lots of sugar, not much nutritional value.</i><p> I used to LOOOOVE Coke.  Love it love it love it.  Of course, I kept gaining weight.  When I stopped drinking Coke (<i>and did nothing else</i>) Mon, 21 Jan 2008 21:04:48 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#14 A Twinkie has sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, and dextrose. I think it's unlikely that replacing the syrups with plain sugar would yield a product that tastes the same. Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:21:40 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#13 It's probably not.  It's just that I live fairly close to Amish country, and travel there quite a lot.   I trust the way they live, work, raise livestock, make <a href="http://www.heinis.com/">cheese</a>, etc.  I've never gotten a single thi Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:13:24 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#12 Or you could just use organic sugar. Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:02:34 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#11 Eating organic has made me the man I am today.<p> I picked up a bottle of Boylan's Ginger Ale the other day, and the store clerk said, "Sometimes you just have to have that fructose-glucose!"<p> I replied, "No fructose or glucose in this soda pop!  Nu Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:45:31 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#10 How is Amish-farmed different from any other organic farming? Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:42:30 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#9 <i>"I heard on NPR that out of a Big Mac, Egg McMuffin and a milkshake, the shake had the most fat and calories..."</i><p> I wouldn't doubt it.  But please don't take my MacDonald's sausage-and-egg MacMuffin away from me.  When I'm traveling, tha Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:35:53 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#8 "Then there is 'organic' food that's really, really bad for you.  I have a fondness for french cheese and 'charcutrie' (e.g. traditionally made cold cuts) which are largely organic in nature, but terrible for your diet."<p> Cheeses and fatty meats are Mon, 21 Jan 2008 18:49:46 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#7 Actually I don't think that's right.  You can't make organic high-fructose corn syrup because you need a number of toxic artificial reagents to produce HFCS, and the use of those chemicals is against the USDA standards for the "organic" label. Mon, 21 Jan 2008 18:45:13 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#6 Then there is 'organic' food that's really, really bad for you.  I have a fondness for french cheese and 'charcutrie' (e.g. traditionally made cold cuts) which are largely organic in nature, but terrible for your diet.<p> There's tons of stuff like th Mon, 21 Jan 2008 18:29:36 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#5 <i>"I tend to go organic but if it's a choice between organic grown 2000 miles away and non-organic local, I will usually go local."</i><p> I try to do the same.  There are still a couple of greenhouses near here that grow hothouse tomatoes, and frank Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:50:49 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#4 Note: non-organic need not be processed.<p> I tend to go organic but if it's a choice between organic grown 2000 miles away and non-organic local, I will usually go local.<p> I guess because I am not convinced non-organic is as bad for me as  the CO2 Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:19:15 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#3 I just bought some Amish-farmed, free-range chicken eggs, because I love them.  I'm thinking of using some of them with my fresh mung bean sprouts and trying some egg foo yung.  <p> OTOH, I've also got some "Little Debbie's oatmeal cream pies" si Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:01:50 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#2 Only if it were sold in a hermetically sealed container able to withstand time, toxic and radioactive exposure.  Otherwise, load up the chemicals. Mon, 21 Jan 2008 13:13:56 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/15/221717/149#1 Isn't entirely possible to have an processed food made entirely of organic components?  I mean, in theory you could make a Twinkie from organic ingredients. Mon, 21 Jan 2008 13:10:58 EST string http://www.treesandthings.com/search/