Thought For The Day

Here's something I was sent by my grandparents from Canada. Couldn't help but laugh when I read it...

If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can get going without pep pills,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can overlook it when something goes wrong through no fault of yours and those you love take it out on you,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him,
If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
If you can say honestly that deep in your heart you have prejudice against creed, colour, religion, or politics,

Then, my friend, you are almost as good as your dog.

Have a great weekend! :D

Have Lawmakers Finally Seen the Light On the Lack of Security On America's Foods?

Due to the seeming increase in such events as E. coli, Salmonella and even the most recent melamine contamination inside America's shores, US lawmakers are pushing a bill that will take all food safety responsibilities and place it under one common federal agency.
After a little bit of my own research, it was quite evident how convoluted and "mismashed" the system really is (I apologize for the technical jargon, but I couldn't quite express it any better way.... hahahaha..) There are currently 12 federal agencies, enforcing 35 laws in keeping our food safe. The two major agencies are the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As described by the article on CNN's website, simply put the USDA is in charge of meats and poultry, and the FDA is in charge of dairy and vegetables.
With over 22 different E. coli breakouts since 1995, and consistent cuts to the agencies budget's, the overall picture is not heartening.
The goal of these lawmakers is embodied in the the Food Safety Act of 2007, the bill that they have introduced, which would create a Food Safety Administration responsible for ensuring the security of the food supply from all forms of contamination.
I agree that something must be done, and while further government awareness is crucial, I don't always believe that new legislation, a brand new behemoth centralized agency, and a pack of concerned lawmakers will cause greater action. I want to believe it will, but you might as well toss a penny in a fountain on Capitol Hill. You might find you get the same results.
Whereas the original design of the Government of the United States of America is to first and foremost protect it's citizens, once again I believe it will be the triumph of the individualistic spirit of each and every American that will ultimately beat this. That is the spirit upon which this great country was founded and grown, and I don't believe that kind of attitude becomes old.
So stay educated. Read about what's going on and protect yourself with a proactive mentality. Don't let yourself become victim to the standards of others. Set your own HIGH standards and hold the rest accountable.

Related News Stories
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/05/17/food.safety.law/index.html

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Menu Foods, Inc. thinks it'll survive, while other US Stock Feed go under the scope...

The legend continues....
Late in May, Menu Foods, Inc. confidently pronounced that they, as a company, will survive this fallout from the recall. Due to company assets and increased lines of credit of over 20 million US dollars, Chief Executive Paul Henderson said on a conference call that they are sure that Menu Foods, Inc. will weather this storm.
You know... He's probably right. But I'm not happy about it. Once again, just to bring in the REAL focus in this story, even though Menu Foods was the company that manufactured the foods, they weren't actually at fault for the tainting of the wheat gluten additive. That responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of our beloved cheap labor, Capitalist-Communist partners, China. The fault for not properly testing the gluten before using it to manufacture the food is where Menu Foods screwed the whole thing up. I, for one, am hoping that this will begin to revolutionize the industry as a whole and make even the "big guys" sit up and realize that it's in their best interest to provide high quality, healthy, REAL food for their clients, America's pets. Because if there's one thing I know about the American market after having watched millions of American's buy a $5 cup of coffee everyday at Starbucks, it's that we are willing to pay whatever price is brought to bare, so long as the value is there. So go ahead "Big guys!" Raise the bar on pet foods, rather than constantly trying to cut corners and offer the lowest possible CRAP.
Another noteworthy story that's surfaced recently is how melamine is being used as a binding agent inside of feed fed to our livestock. Now granted, the industry and US Officials alike insist that it is used in such small quantities that it could not harm the fish or livestock it is being fed to, but you have to think about how all these things are being introduced into the food chain. After all, this is the very food we are feeding ourselves and our children.
I'm just growing tired of all this spinning of stories and heavy handed media "calming." I'm just not convinced that it's all so easy to take when it seems that while the lifespan of the population may be getting longer, I'm not seeing more people living longer, healthier lives. It's just not clicking with me....

Stories
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,276835,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007May30/0,4670,FDAMelamine,00.html

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Pet Food Recall Waves Continue...

On March 16th, 2007, Menu Foods Inc., a company out of Ontario, Canada, was forced to issue a nationwide recall on all it's "cuts and gravy" styled foods, manufactured for most of the top brand names on our shelves. The initial echos are still reverberating, now across the globe. In a country where, for all intents and purposes, the pet food industry is allowed to regulate itself, Canadian organizations and citizens alike are angry that there has been no investigatory actions taken. This even 2 months after the recall was announced. Federal Minister of Agriculture Chuck Stahl said four weeks after the initial recall that while the Canadian Government is willing to review whether pet food should be regulated that it doesn't mean that it necessarily will or should be regulated saying that "regulation in the United States didn't prevent the recent deaths of pets from tainted food." Now this being my own opinion, and as flippant as his comment initally appears to be, he's got a point. I always find issue with people out there who automatically think that because a governmental body said they're going to "regulate" an industry, it means that said industry is now squeaky clean. My viewpoint is, for the most part, grandeous bureaucracies are often so large and cumbersome that when and if an event occurs like this recall, they are so slow to action that it's almost farcical. It's often like watching the Titanic turn on a dime. With quite a few class action law suits floating out there on the horizon, the subject of this recall becomes real quite quickly. No matter how much blame or legal action is thrown around, nothing will mend the damage already done. I am truely sorry for anyone who reads this post and has been directly or indirectly affected by this awful event. Unfortunately sometimes it takes a disaster of large proportion like this to wake us out of our day to day monotany, make us sit up and really take an active role in shaping our lives. Not just being victim of circumstance. Most recent list of recalled foods: http://www.menufoods.com/recall/PressRelease05222007.htm Canadian Government Ignores Calls to Investigate Food Industry: http://www.ccnmatthews.com/news/releases/show.jsp?action=showRelease&searchText=false&showText=all&actionFor=653692 Pet Food Recall Widens: http://www.planet-pets.com/petfoodalert.htm www.fda.com