alsandor wrote:
> a écrit :
>
>
>>What foods do you guys know of that aren't as good as they used to be?
>>Here's the ones I know.
>>
>>1. Salmon.
>>
>>2. Coffee.
>>
>>3. Meat
>
>
> The issue here is bio-uniformity for the sake of profits over what
> nature originally offered us and which we blithely refer to as
> bio-diversity (which is the natural state of things without man
> screwing it up). On top of that, bio-uniformity stresses longevity (a
> condition of profits), not taste or quality. Longevity is a function
> of two things: transport and shelf-life. Foods have been travelling
> farther in the last 50 years than they did in all the millenia before.
> Just because it says "farm-fresh" on the nice crinkly plastic package
> doesn't mean it isn't two weeks off the vine. Large chain food stores
> are responsible for the shelf-life issue. One can hope the current
> gasoline crisis will intensify rather than abate, which should
> encourage the establishment of local provenders (many in each
> neighbourhood) and the use of local food stuffs over imported ones.
>
> But back to shelf-life: a product, say a green pepper, will be chosen
> because it lasts longer on the shelf, and better tasting but less
> durable ones will be destroyed to make room for the elected varietal.
>
> The slow food movement which began in Italy stresses a return to
> bio-diversity. In some cases, it is impossible to do, as
> non-conforming varieties no longer exist, but every effort should be
> made to develop not GM varieties, but naturally occuring ones.
>
> One stated need for GM varieties is the need to eliminate chemical
> pesticides by creating resistant strains. As as response to one
> chemical nightmare, they resort to another, inserting animal DNA into
> vegetable matter. Has no one ever heard of the Sepoy rebellion?
>
> However, these strains would not be susceptible had all varieties been
> available. The recent potato blight which ravaged Prince Edward Island
> crops would not have had that impact had we not reduced the available
> varieties of potatoes to four or five instead of the original 15 or 20.
>
> http://www.slowfood.com/
>
And the blight that ravished Ireland, long before GM or whatever? Or
the pest that wrecked the grapevines in france?

Or Dutch Elm Disease, or the disease that killed all the wild American
Chestnuts?

Loon.



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Del Cecchi
"This post is my own and doesn’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions,
strategies or opinions.”