Conversations

(above, cattle graze on grass)

I’m back to making an attempt at finishing my Sr. Thesis so that I can actually receive my diploma. In the meantime I’ll just link you up to some stuff I’ve been looking at that I have found interesting.

In regard to the recent election and the atrocious media spin. Read this and tell me that there’s a “liberal media bias” in this country! Sounds more like corporate sycophants plugged into the corporate-run major media outlets to me.

Found a little article on Comcast’s homepage which had some far-ranging implications. Tyson Foods, apparently the “world’s largest meat processor” was complaining about their really bad fiscal year, suggesting that it all has to do with the rising price of corn and suggesting that: “Quite frankly the American consumer is making a choice here. This is either corn for feed or corn for fuel, that's what's causing this." I sent out the link to a few folks with queries as to why cattle MUST consume corn and corn only (I always thought of cattle as grazers), wondering how many bio-fueled vehicles one is seeing on the road these days, and also wondering why corn has suddenly been defined as the only source of bio fuel. Here’s what we learned about corn—a highly subsidized farm product that often rotted away in silos—as feed:

http://www.ewg.org/farm/whatstheplan.php --on farming subsides.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2006/07/02/GR2006070200024.html --more on farm subsidies
And this article speaks specifically to the year 2005, the largest corn crop in history.
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0817F93E5A0C7A8CDDA80994DD404482

One article on cow feed. And another on the corn gluten feed that eerily seems as if an attempt at convincing the farmer is being made.

And here’s an article on just one of a number of alternative ways to create a fuel source (thanks Marco). Imagine, too, that if it can be done with pig poop, human waste might work just as well.

In other words, there seems to be plenty of corn to go around, corn needn't be a cow's only source of nurishment, and Tyson is creating a spin (one which I suspect will be seeing a lot of in the very near future) that an alternative fuel source will create higher food prices. Google Agri-business profits and read about the record year many outlets have had. Maybe Tyson is feeling the effects of the movement to fresh, locally-grown foods.

The bottom line, as my little focus group concluded, diversify, diversify, diversify. Depending on one source of fuel, feed, hell, happiness, is patriarchal and foolhardy. As my brother, Marco, stated, “If there is only one important point to make about alternative (low or net zero carbon emitting) energy it is that no one source will or should ever replace oil and coal. Many sources, most efficient and appropriate for specific location, will eventually replace most oil and coal.”

Check out the utter blather over at this blog. This post title: “Death to Germany,” and assorted babbling about the nerve of Germany calling US methods of torture into question, makes me wonder what is operating inside the skull of this particular blogger--all of it very ugly and aggressive. And to think this woman is named Pamela, UGH!