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I am sorry if this was already mentioned (which it probably was) but there are 12 pages of responses so I am sure you will understand not wanting to read each page haha
Does anyone like almond milk? Is there any known dangers of drinking it? Is it healthier or as healthy as soy and rice milk. Other than the sugar content if you do not buy the unsweetened kind, of course. I just bought the vanilla kind today yummy
If the price for that product was higher, there would be more like that.
Awhile back, I watched an Oprah show and didn't realize how dense she is about agriculture. She had on a panel promoting more "simple" ways of farming.
One guy was a hog farmer who has his sows on grass /legume pasture and they farrow ( give birth) in individual huts in the pasture. ( He was a full time hog farmer)
He stated he enjoys raising hogs that way and has a contract with a packer who pays a good premium as they are slaughtered seperately and their meat sold to certain accounts. The farmer said without that premium$$$$$$ he could not do it cuz he loses efficency.
Another consumer panelist said that type of pork was expensive to the average consumer, however.
Oprah then stated--------" If more and more farmers did it this way, there would be more supply and the prices would drop for the consumer"
What ???????????
Evidently Oprah forgot that the hog farmer said the only way it is profitable is with that premium $$$ being paid.
True.
Most people who go to buy for this weekend's cookout are not checking to see if their hamburger was grass-fed or their short ribs were not stressed by their slaughter. They are looking at PRICE; the more burger and ribs they can afford and put on the grill, the less they care where it comes from. They know that 'farm raised', 'free-range', 'organic' and 'non-stressed' mean a higher price tag - and many know that it means that the REASON it is higher-priced is because those practices are more human-labor intensive and more costly as to feed production and procurement. Folks who say that they "only buy organic" remind me of the "Hybrid" show of SouthPark.
I can buy grassfed beef here straight off the ranch - the same as any big buyer. The only difference is that I don't take it in truckloads to feedlots and stuff it full of all sorts of products to raise my profit margin, then sell it for twice what I paid. I can buy "organic" locally raised produce, and even trade for it. But unless you have direct access to ranches and farms, you are at the mercy of the middlemen who raise the prices, as well as at the mercy of the corporate farmers whose sole purpose in life is to stuff as many chickens in a quonset hut or as many cattle or pigs on an acre as they can, for a hefty overall profit.
I saw an interesting clip from some folks who went to China. In China, they have little video viwers above the meat and produce sections. Turn one on, and you 'meet' the farmer who raised that steer or that produce, and he describes how the animal/produce was raised, and even how it was butchered, with video backup of his claims. Folks in China prefer to buy from farmers they "know" rather than generically-produced products - EVEN IF IT COSTS THEM MORE. Until Americans change their attitudes about "cheaper and more is better" and that quantity is ALWAYS better than quality, then nothing will change about how American food is produced.
Yup! I agree. A few companies are more in tune with pre- factory farm ways of raising/keeping cows for dairy. "doing their part", with smaller farms and caring a bit more about the land/environment, health of animals and our planet, at least this is my hope!
It has been worth it to me to spend the extra $$$ on products from these types of companies because they do seem more responsible and aware of the concerns of the environment and concerns that consumers have, things that are important to consumers such as quality product and environmentally conscious company.
...wish there were more like this!
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady
Stonyfields Farms is doing their part, returning the cows' diet to one that more accurately reflects what they evolved to eat. As do those who raise grassfed beef,for much the same reason.
I purchase Stonyfield whenever I can! I know and trust their products.
If the price for that product was higher, there would be more like that.
Awhile back, I watched an Oprah show and didn't realize how dense she is about agriculture. She had on a panel promoting more "simple" ways of farming.
One guy was a hog farmer who has his sows on grass /legume pasture and they farrow ( give birth) in individual huts in the pasture. ( He was a full time hog farmer)
He stated he enjoys raising hogs that way and has a contract with a packer who pays a good premium as they are slaughtered seperately and their meat sold to certain accounts. The farmer said without that premium$$$$$$ he could not do it cuz he loses efficency.
Another consumer panelist said that type of pork was expensive to the average consumer, however.
Oprah then stated--------" If more and more farmers did it this way, there would be more supply and the prices would drop for the consumer"
What ???????????
Evidently Oprah forgot that the hog farmer said the only way it is profitable is with that premium $$$ being paid.
IF more farms switched to more humane ways of raising livestock, their prices would go up, therefore closing the gap between confinement animal products and the free-range organic stuff. so, in theory, organic/free-range/humane prices would not be so much higher.
all our animals are on pasture. it is natural for a cow to graze, a chicken to scratch, and a hog to root.
soy is used for feed because it makes things grow bigger, faster. am i going to eat it? no.
Do any stores carry these? My son is allergic as well
There are a lot of choices in the stores (mainly stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, but some mainstream ones too, various Krogers, Target, etc...). Mainly Silk brand but there are others like 8th continent, etc... Generally these are all "westernized" versions of soy milk (which is really more bean juice (not unlike extracting coffee)). Of course you can also choose rice, almond, etc... I always get vanilla, because plain is not too great. Vanilla almond is pretty good. I never could drink the Asian soy juice without adding sugar.
Cows are a major cause of gas emissions so anything that reduces the need for cows would be a good thing right? Well thats what I thought until I read the following.
If producing all this soy is causing deforestation and loss of habitat and all the other problems listed which is the better option?
When possible please provide links if you are citing something
Not sure what the point is (except for the companies selling the stuff. Soy "milk" is really bean juice, not too unlike coffee (although coffee beans are not true beans), as the process is similar (run crushed beans through with hot water). Most of the soy grown is for feed and industrial and fast foods anyway.
It's really a cultural/genetic thing anyway. SE Asian cultures consume soy products and "bean juice," while cow milk is genetically accepted among certain European and Middle Eastern (other geographically similar areas). Which is why people have the hereditary ability to continue lactose consumption (after stopping breast feeding) or not.
I drink a little bit of everything, "conventional" 2% milk, organic 2% milk, and chocolate soy milk.
I tried plain soy milk and it was AWFUL.
That's because it has no sweetness, although Asian people drink it like this normally (I always had to add sugar). In the Westernized versions they normally add vanilla or sugar. But it's not really different than people adding sugar and other sweeteners to coffee (which is more closely like soybean juice).
The difference between typical asian daily soy intake and USA soy intake is this: they tend to ingest modest amounts of Fermented soy products, while the USA uses "textured hydrolized protein" or some other form of essentially raw soy derived product ... in large doses. An average consumption might be 9 grams/day for the asian, while USA can get as many as 20 grams in just one "hot dog" or snack food.
In Western countries, many of the soy foods are more processed, however, the Asian intake is not just "modest amounts of Fermented soy products" as you say. Where did you get that from anyway? Most of those posts have little basis and are inaccurate as they are generally based from anti-soy groups. I really get irritated when people propagate erroneous information like this (those articles are generally written by people who are writing about Asian soy consumption, but those people are not Asian and don't know anything about it).
"Intake of soy among Asian-Americans is still relatively high; the median intake was 12 mg isoflavones/day, approximately one-third of that reported in a recent study in Shanghai, China. The risk of breast cancer was significantly inversely associated with soy intake during adolescence and adult life."
That means in Shanghai they are consuming about 3x the soy amount than Asian-Americans in this study.
"Soybean cultivation and consumption in Asia dates back to 2838 BC with a documented evidence of soy farming between the 7th and 11th century. In most Asian countries soy products have become staples, which include soy cooking oil, soy flour, soy sauce, soy beverages, various forms of soybean curd (tofu) and soy infant formulas."
The Health Consequences of Early Soy Consumption -- Badger et al. 132 (3): 559S -- Journal of Nutrition
"Before birth and after weaning, most Americans are not exposed to appreciable levels of soyfoods other than foods that have small amounts of processed soy components. The opposite scenario occurs in Asia, because Asians are more likely to consume relatively high levels of soyfoods throughout life, except between birth and weaning, when breastfeeding or milk-based formula are common."
The Asian grocery stores are full of whole soy foods, not just a few fermented items.
I would agree with what TexasHorseLady said about this, it is somewhat genetic in what people are used to eating and can benefit from eating.
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