Room 101

[Dogatron]

I dunno if you guys in the US have seen the show or have your own version of it but it's here if you haven't here is an episode http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-yKAyVITXw

k so now you have the idea I thought that maybe it would work in a forum style...someone suggests a pet peave, we can then maybe comment on it then have some sort of vote to decide if it goes into room 101* it works best when it's a universal thing that we can all relate to rather than saying 'my lecturer' or someone we know one else knows...right this might go well or we'll have another dogatron thread with 3593454 views and 1 sympathetic reply from mere...

*or some forkeresque twist to the name*


k so my first choice is 'Organic food'

I choose this not because I think the food itself is bad as it's what I buy if I have the choice but because of the marketing behind it to make it seem like it's a new thing and it's like turbocharged fruit and veg etc where every bite is like pure superhealth in the same way that the same people think every draw on a cigarette is pure cancer...'organic' food has always been around except there was no negative stuck to onto it ('genetically modified, 'factory farmed' etc) to give us the illusion that 'organic' or 'free range' is something above some classes of society...I know common sense would say 'well they have to mark them as organic or free range to differentiate them from gm or factory farmed foods and the higher costs it entolls' but you know some of their mark up is simply because they know that there is something of a 'keeping up with the joneses' type feeling around these products and that people who buy into that lifestyle will pay a good deal more than they need to just so that they can be a part of the lifestyle...

[aquaphase]

I say no. I'm not sure how it is in the Europes, but there really isn't a lot of marketing on truly organic food in the US. The organic food squeezle and I buy is definitely a higher quality, and the produce we pick up (while ugly as all shits), does give me the wohlgefühl of having helped out a farmer that gives a rat's ass about who consumes his/her goods. Yay organics!

[katie]

this may or may not be on-point with the original intent of the post, as i haven't checked out that link yet. i'm also on painkillers, so pardon if this doesn't quite make total sense.

that being said, i worry about the future of organic food. so many people are starting to hop on the bandwagon, and i worry about the mass production of organic food. i don't know much about it, but is there a clear label on what "organic" means? is there a possibility of standards being drive down as the demand increases? could food potentially become less "organic" in order to meet the demand for it?

i guess i have more questions than commentary.

[mere1975]

Organic food yes -- because its superiority has been proven to me, at least in one case.

Cow's milk makes me ill, so I was drinking soy milk for a while.

Smart Zenmomma suggested I try organic cow's milk -- and I did -- and it WORKS! I can drink it all day and not get sick, which makes me wonder what's in the regular milk hat upsets my stomach.

Anyway, to organic dairy products, I say yes.

If other organic food is within my price range, I prefer it too.

Keep it out of Room 101.

So there's my sympathetic response.

- Mere "that rice pudding story of Ricky's is grooooooossssss" 1975

[Dogatron]

Organic food yes -- because its superiority has been proven to me, at least in one case.

what I mean though is the spin that organic food has to make it seem better than it is...lets go back to before fruit and veg was mass produced and sprayed with pesticides and tampered with and before cows and chickens were herded into factory farms and injected with hormones to grow faster and bigger...no supermarket ever sold this as 'inferior' food which is what it actually is, and consumers just happily accepted that economies of scale had taken place and supermarkets are a good thing because now the cost of living is cheaper...by having none of the negative effects of shitty mcdonalds grade tumor ridden meat physically justifies a positive when it's not...bah, it's way too late and I've edited this post a bajllion times and this is only supposed to be a light hearted thread and I've said and 85 times when there should have been a comma...organic food stays out...someone else submit a pet peave please




p.s. imapolyphone http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/Consumers/brochure.html
the definition of free range is so vague on the website "In order to use these terms on a label, producers must demonstrate to USDA that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside." I saw on another website that the chickens only needed to be let outside for 5 mins a day to be certified free range...

[katie]

p.s. imapolyphone http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/Consumers/brochure.html
the definition of free range is so vague on the website "In order to use these terms on a label, producers must demonstrate to USDA that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside." I saw on another website that the chickens only needed to be let outside for 5 mins a day to be certified free range...

yeahhh, man. it's fucking creepy. if i was ever to decide to switch to eating organic, i would have to make sure i knew exactly what i was buying into. i feel like too many soccer moms heard that the latest celebrities were eating organic and now they're all into it to try and lose that extra five. it just makes me sad how most people don't even research before they hop onto a bandwagon.

[zenmomma]

Cow's milk makes me ill, so I was drinking soy milk for a while.

Smart Zenmomma suggested I try organic cow's milk -- and I did -- and it WORKS! I can drink it all day and not get sick, which makes me wonder what's in the regular milk hat upsets my stomach.

Normal milk tasted weird to me. Like it had chemicals in it or something. The milk here is pretty good and doesn't upset my stomach.

I was actually craving a some Soy Nog just yesterday... oh the fond memories.

[James]

That's one thing I have enjoyed about the UK for sure; the quality of the food. Hitchin has a farmer's market on Saturday and there's also a little green grocer that stocks fruits and veggies only grown within 50 miles or so. In the US, milk upset my stomach as well so I avoided it, but since I've been here I've been able to have it regularly. I suppose it's easier to do it here though as it's an island where the distances aren't so great, but there's no doubt I'm reaping the benefits of a healthier society. Of course, most people ruin it when they go down the pub....

[Dogatron]

someone must have a pet peave

[Irock]

someone must have a pet peave

Threadjackers.

[jen]

i don't care about organic food one way or the other, but then i'm a solo shopper on a budget, so it's usually not an option for me.

BUT i think we should put people who don't pick up after their pets in this room of yours...

[Irock]

BUT i think we should put people who don't pick up after their pets in this room of yours...

YES.

I actually managed to work this into an essay for Spanish class last week.

[mere1975]

YES!

This falls into the "just take responsibility for yourself and the world will be a better place" category in my head. Don't litter. Don't leave your pet's crap on someone else's yard. Don't cough on people when you're sick. Park your car in one parking space (not two.)

Plus, dog poop spreads illnesses like heartworm and viral infections. My dog got sick so many times when I first got her because so many of my neighbors don't pick up after their own dogs.

- Mere "bagging dog poop twice daily since 2004" 1975

[jen]

mine too. my neighbors are horrible about picking up, and lucy got hookworm several times when i first got her.

[zenmomma]

someone must have a pet peave

People in this country just stop in the middle of the pavement to have conversations, or take up the whole pavement or block entrances/exits to stores. They see you coming, but they don't really care. I guess it would be the equivalent to road rage -- but now I walk to work. WALK RAGE!

** and yes, people should pick up after dog poo. I also have to dodge that on the way to work!