The right to know whats in our food and where its from

[deb be]

Am I the only one who happened to see "The Dr's" show on Friday aftn?  It was about genetically modified foods and other things that escape me at this time,  and then for real shock value Travis threw in a remark about how you may be eating something that you NEVER would knowingly eat.  So I hit record.  Later I zipped thru it looking for the answer as I was very busy (a quickie nap no less).  He said that you may have bought items with an ingredient called CASTOREUM in it.  Hmm, what could it possibly be?  Furthermore I heard him say its been used for 80 years.  He said it was  listed as a "natural raspberry flavoring"...  Yeah.  Heres the raspberry part for me.  Its from beaver  glands.  In case the word  gets deleted -- check this out for yourself.

Who CAN you trust?  I USED to love stuff like raspberry licorice.  I think they should make the people who sell that kind of stuff be the official tasters and consumers of it!  I mean it boggles the mind, do they kill the beavers or keep them around to express their  glands?  Travis said it must be sweet too.  Whats wrong with good ole sugar?  How much of this 'stuff' could one beaver put out for crying out loud. 

Then the "pink slime" made the news lately too - hidden in gr. beef.  I'm sorry if this offends anyone but I thought you'd want to know about what it is for real that is touted as a "natural raspberry flavor".  I guess its time to google the ingredients in the foods we buy!!!!!!!

 

My dog once got very sick from the pig ears or maybe it was rawhide chews-- I quit buying them,  its only dog biscuits from the US now.  And I've heard the greenies can lay in their stomachs.

[mysterypickles]

My dog once got very sick from the pig ears or maybe it was rawhide chews-- I quit buying them,  its only dog biscuits from the US now.  And I've heard the greenies can lay in their stomachs.

Well, I dont know about the gland flavoring, but did want to comment about the dog items. There have been far too many issues with China produced dog treats that I am also only feeding US treats (and check carefully, some of them are packaged in USA but the actual food product comes from China!).

On the Greenies, that is no longer true (I looked them up a while back). Apparently the original Greenies could build up in the stomach, but they changed the formula quite some time ago and they are now 100% digestible and are not supposed to get stuck anywhere anymore. Though my dogs eat them so quickly I dont see how they can help the teeth much, but they do have better breath for a day or so afterwards.

[deb be]

Thanks for the update on the greenies.  Maybe I'll try them again.
Hopefully they never import HORSE treats.  You wouldn't imagine they'd ever import horse feed, but supplements may be worth doing a little double checking out the country of origin. 
 

[Anglosaxon]

I check out the following website for info on dog food and treats:
cvhttp://goodnessgracioustreats.wordpress.com
I am aware that the site sells it's own treats and therefore has an agenda but it is still a good source of info.
My spoilt mutts get homemade food, and treats that are screened. Even US made goods have bad things in them.  As for human food, I do my best to eat all natural but today it is almost impossible to get untainted foods unless you grow them yourself.  Not much chance of that in FL.

[deb be]

http://www.ewg.org/release/ewg-cleaners-hall-shame-reveals-hidden-hazards

While this isn't about the foods we eat,  we all clean our houses (albeit not enough in my case);  this is why I like to use vinegar!  Please check this out.  ewg stands for Environmental Working Group.  Between store bought food and cleaning agents - well it just makes you wonder sometimes.  I just used a bunch of those Swiffer damp mops - I'm afraid to even look at the label and had to open windows as the 'fragrance' was so strong and with what else but fabreeze.  I took the trash out early as the ones I tossed were that perfumey smelling.

[deb be]

Channel 12 just mentioned that Tide detergent - a name brand  that all of our Mothers probably used now has something called dioxane in it and it is 'believed' to be carcinogenic.  Sweet ha?  I don't have time to google all day long but why would they even add such an additive?  We're nothing but guinea pigs it seems.  Guess what I use, no more....  I just checked the container and it says 'distributed by Procter and Gamble'.   Is that a "politically correct way to say its not made here......."  Procter and Gamble is a good name I thought --- I guess you gamble with your health if use Tide.  What do you want to bet its from China "IF" they even know where its made.  Just slap on a label and sell it fast.   

Then the other day I heard that they found a cow with mad cow disease that was soon to be dog food but it was caught in time before it was used.   They said if the cow dies on its own its never used for human food.  Isn't that appetizing?  I guess the dead ones go to dog food.....