Sunday, February 14, 2016

The Future of Food Production and Diets - What Would Benefit the world?

Travelling around the world you encounter different diets in different cultures. The Muslims and Jews don't eat pork. The Jews don't eat shellfish and won't mix meat and milk at the same meal. Hindus don't eat beef.

Animal lovers avoid battery farmed eggs and veal. Vegans avoid eggs and milk. Vegetarians eat vegetables and fruit and grains.

Health-conscious people aim for organic food.

Dieters go fro fruit juices and avoid starches. (Other diets avoid fats, or sugars.)

Americans avoid Malaysian vegetables, grown in 'night soil' - manure or sewage; whilst Malaysians avoid Australian vegetables 'grown in chemicals'.

Arab countries and poor countries admire the fat and wealthy, well-fed look.

Western countries like the thin and energetic look this century. (In the painter Titian's day fashions in female forms was obviously different. Maybe painters preferred patrons who were and looked wealthy.)

Shakespeare did not like the lean and hungry look. (But Shakespeare and Marlow also liked drinking in taverns.)

As for drink, Muslims and Hindus are against alcohol. But the Irish and British are fond of alcohol. In the last century it was safer to drink alcohol than polluted water.

What of the future? We hear and read a lot about global warming. The UK is now proving wines.
Foods from distant lands are imported.

If you were a visitor from Mars, what would you think would be the best solution?

Hindus who don't eat meat, to preserve cows and oxen, work animals which roam freely, eating wherever and whatever and belong to the ruling classes?

The Chinese and / or there view that you eat anything with four legs except a table? (That would include stray dogs.)

Certain African tribes which eat insects?

Eating game? This would include lions, birds of prey, and so on.

Eating domestic pets? Rabbits?

Licensing all animal owners.  Marking animals, not just sheep and cows, and dogs, but also cats and chickens.

Killing animals which eat or attack humans? This would include crocodiles, some elephants, lions, jaguars, leopards.

Killing animals which eat others? This would include killing lions and foxes. Large snakes. Crocodiles.

Killing animals which eat crops or damage trees. This would / could include d e e r, birds.

Introducing animals which eat others?

Moving animals which eat others' eggs? (Removing hedgehogs to new places when they eat birds' eggs.)

Allowing everybody to eat everything like the Chinese?

Making everybody vegetarian like the Hindus?

Having meat-free days, just as the Catholics used to eat fish on Fridays. Copying some Indian groups have vegetarian day? Giving up wheat food which was given up in Lent after using up the wheat leftover from last year in pancakes, to ensure no contamination by mould of the new crop?

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, researcher, author and speaker.


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