The Future Is Here

[spicer]

I've told this story before, but here goes.

Visited an AK'er in Vermont several years back, he was giving me boxes of classical records for free. Yeah, a heck of a hump from Ky, but I'd never seen Vermont.

His wife is a serious gardener, and provided a small (toast size) plate of black beans she grew herself, rice, and a small chicken breast from the local farmer's market.

The wife and I ate this quality, tiny meal and were not hungry for 12 hours.

Vitamins and minerals are what the body craves. When it doesn't get it, it tells you to eat more. Couple that with the continual slathering of "taste modifiers" and what some call "excitotoxins" and you have a perfect storm for obesity and disease.

Excitotoxins are substances, primarily food additives like MSG, aspartame, and hydrolyzed protein, that overstimulate neurons to death, causing brain damage, excitotoxicity, and neurological issues
. They work by overloading glutamate receptors, causing excessive calcium influx, leading to cellular dysfunction, memory loss, anxiety, and potential neurodegenerative diseases.

What Are Excitotoxins and How Do They Affect the Body

• Definition: Excitotoxins are compounds (often additives) that activate neurons to the point of destruction.
• Mechanism:They hyperactivate NMDA receptors (glutamate receptors), causing an excessive influx of calcium into cells
  . This causes the cells to die (apoptosis)
  .
• • Common Sources: Monosodium glutamate (MSG), aspartame (NutraSweet), cysteine, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and natural flavoring.
  • Impact: They are linked to neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Symptoms of Excitotoxicity (Glutamate Overload)
Symptoms often relate to nervous system dysfunction due to cell damage:

• Neurological: Agitation, anxiety, panic attacks, depression.
• Cognitive/Physical: Memory loss, sleeplessness, low energy.
• Other: Fatigue and pain, often associated with disorders like fibromyalgia.

Key Aspects of Excitotoxicity

• Cellular Excitotoxicity: A process where excessive extracellular glutamate triggers a massive calcium influx, causing neuronal cell death.
• Vulnerability: The immature nervous system (infants) is highly sensitive to these toxins. Elderly consumers are also more vulnerable.
• Management: Reducing intake of processed foods containing added monosodium glutamate (MSG) or aspartame is recommended to avoid symptoms.

Wondering here. If processed food is the cause of many health issues isn't 3D printed meat the ultimate example of processed food. Seems to follow. Carnivores living in the wild kill every day to eat, from Hawks to fox's to wolves, to cats, to sharks savagely kill to eat on a regular basis. Guess there's a lot of work to be done. My dog's looking at me funny, sometimes I think he can read.

 

[ta240]

Wondering here. If processed food is the cause of many health issues isn't 3D printed meat the ultimate example of processed food. Seems to follow. Carnivores living in the wild kill every day to eat, from Hawks to fox's to wolves, to cats, to sharks savagely kill to eat on a regular basis. Guess there's a lot of work to be done. My dog's looking at me funny, sometimes I think he can read.

I've always thought that one of the things that makes us human is rising above the behavior of animals. I've heard the excuse 'animals do it' used before for some very unsavory behavior.
While it is worth looking into the effects of the processed fake meat, it seems overly simplistic to dismiss it with 'it's processed, so it is worse'. It is one data point and we don't even know if the processing done there shares issues with the other types of processed foods.

 

[spicer]

I've always thought that one of the things that makes us human is rising above the behavior of animals. I've heard the excuse 'animals do it' used before for some very unsavory behavior.
While it is worth looking into the effects of the processed fake meat, it seems overly simplistic to dismiss it with 'it's processed, so it is worse'. It is one data point and we don't even know if the processing done there shares issues with the other types of processed foods.

Not an excuse, just an observation. Some processed food might be better for the processing. Not to dismiss it but it is worth looking into. They're selling it. How do they make it, what's it made from and what is the process that turns it into 'meat'. I have no idea, never looked into it but it would seem to be quite involved. I know I'd rather have butter over margarine for a variety of reasons including health. Just thinking on it.

 

[onwardjames]

Wondering here. If processed food is the cause of many health issues isn't 3D printed meat the ultimate example of processed food. Seems to follow. Carnivores living in the wild kill every day to eat, from Hawks to fox's to wolves, to cats, to sharks savagely kill to eat on a regular basis. Guess there's a lot of work to be done. My dog's looking at me funny, sometimes I think he can read.

Friend of mine works for the USDA. He said, and I quote, "I won't tell you what I know. You'd never eat again."

I don't have the answers, but from what I understand, the meat is simply proteins that grow around a framework of sorts, in much the exact same way real tissue cells divide and reproduce.

Certainly more work is necessary, but most of our staple crops have been heavily changed from their initial look and nutritional value. Bananas, watermelons, some potato varieties, all have been manipulated by man (mostly, for our benefit).

 

[devnull]

Hmmm - we had a nice lunch today - miso soup, followed by a tray of rice, ginger, wasabi, and fish bits ...
I'm not a fan of wasabi so I stick to the ginger and soy sauce ...
dead fish is more humane than dead pigs, cows etc (tho I do love an occasional great steak)
View attachment 3696101

But wasabi is the best noun ever.

 

[spicer]

Friend of mine works for the USDA. He said, and I quote, "I won't tell you what I know. You'd never eat again."

I don't have the answers, but from what I understand, the meat is simply proteins that grow around a framework of sorts, in much the exact same way real tissue cells divide and reproduce.

Certainly more work is necessary, but most of our staple crops have been heavily changed from their initial look and nutritional value. Bananas, watermelons, some potato varieties, all have been manipulated by man (mostly, for our benefit).

You know, simply proteins that grow around a framework of sorts, in much the exact same way real tissue cells divide and reproduce... I hear you but that sounds like something an ad department would write. Not talking at you but with you... a framework of sorts, exact same way real tissue cells divide and reproduce... well, that opens up the subject for examination... a framework of sorts, what ever that means, and the exact same way real tissue cells divide and reproduce, okay but I wonder how or what induces the cells to divide and reproduce outside of an organism, that is a very complex operation. To me there is something extremely squeamish about the whole idea, artificial, 3D printed meat... enough to cause me to have vegetarian thoughts. I think many of us have read Upton Sinclair's book, The Jungle, reportedly responsible for the Pure Food and Drug Act, truth in labeling, from which the FDA evolved, efficacy. The processed food that seems to be a health concern is all FDA approved. So... I don't know... artificial meat. If it's for sale it must have been approved.

 

[SoCal Sam]

The $1.50 Costco hot dog that most of us love has hidden cost...

https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/sustainablefoodsystems/2021/09/03/a-hot-dog-could-cost-you-36-minutes-of-healthy-life/

 

[YY1]

I've read that before and also that every hot dog you eat causes an uptick in the chance you will get leukemia.

 

[rickb119]

The processed food that seems to be a health concern is all FDA approved.

And the FDA is comprised of many former pharmaceutical executives, who continue to profit (via their stock) from those companies that treat those health concerns. Talk about an incestuous relationship.

 

[onwardjames]

And the FDA is comprised of many former pharmaceutical executives, who continue to profit (via their stock) from those companies that treat those health concerns. Talk about an incestuous relationship.

Pay to play. This comment is the takeaway. Right the eff on, my dude.

I wonder how many fumbles we as the public will allow where the FDA is concerned. Do I dare go over the most sterling examples of "Hush hush, we got so much invested in this drug"??

I think we might start with thalidomide. Pregnant and nauseous? Don't ingest cannabis, that's the devil's lettuce. Use a drug that causes your unborn child's limbs to wall off and never grow. I am Gen X, and still remember that so many were affected by this.

 

[Johnny_Law]

 

[DesertRatt]

I've always thought that one of the things that makes us human is rising above the behavior of animals.

Of course humans are animals. For about 2-1/2 million years we survived and thrived in natural harmony. I certainly don't imagine there is another 2-1/2 million years in our future. We have outsmarted ourselves. We are swimming in pollutions and toxins and "forever chemicals" inconsistent with life. Endocrine systems in children are collapsing, fertility is collapsing, the end is near. In just 300 years--a blink of an eye- we have nearly made Earth uninhabitable.

You can blame science directly. Science directly defied Nature and pretended that humans were transcendent from the bounds of Nature.
So when the world became too obese to tie their shoes, science ran in with Wegovy to the rescue, instead of promoting a Natural healthy diet, it's another chemical quick fix.

I just don't see it working out for humans. Every human on Earth now has plastics in their blood stream. Heaven help us.

 

[onwardjames]

Every human on Earth now has plastics in their blood stream.

And yet, despite mountains of evidence, outright lies spoon-fed to impressionable, young minds concerning recycling truths, and a sea fit to burst with islands of indestructible waste, plastic use has only grown.

What the actual fcuk?

 

[Mystic]

The avg Merican' diet already has a head start on that.

WAY WAY WAY head start.

 

[Mystic]

I'm not so certain that whether people "purchase" it or not is the question.
I wonder what choice many will have.

With that said, I'm rooting heavily for Beyond Meat and other such startups. Wouldn't a world where sentient animals don't have to be slaughtered en masse be a better one?? My friend slaughters hogs at a facility. Said that he has nightmares about the work, and that it weighs heavily on those who aren't full-blown psychopaths, and there are many in the industry.

one would have to be, I would think.

If they're hungry, they'll eat it. They'll eat anything ... I can't tell you whey/how I know this, but months in food-deprived war zones later ...

cc @Mart Mccall

 

[krautmaster]

If they're hungry, they'll eat it. They'll eat anything ... I can't tell you whey/how I know this, but months in food-deprived war zones later ...

cc @Mart Mccall

It is surprising what you'll eat if you're hungry enough... AF survival school tip: don't chew the bugs, just swallow them AFTER you pull their legs off - otherwise they try to crawl back out and you'll puke.

 

[Mystic]

It is surprising what you'll eat if you're hungry enough... AF survival school tip: don't chew the bugs, just swallow them AFTER you pull their legs off - otherwise they try to crawl back out and you'll puke.

Yep ... and that's only the beginning of surprising "bites" .

 

[Mart Mccall]

If they're hungry, they'll eat it. They'll eat anything ... I can't tell you whey/how I know this, but months in food-deprived war zones later ...

cc @Mart Mccall

You're right of course but that doesn't apply to people cruising round the supermarket.

I think the worst thing I ever ate was duck tongue in jelly. I managed to keep it down but my colleague had to rush away and throw up.

Shark is pretty nasty too.

Has to get pretty desperate to eat bugs. There's a Bear Grylls episode where he eats some long legged spider he finds in a cave. After a while he doesn't feel too good and throws up. Could actually be death in a real survival situation as you get too ill to carry on, better off not touching that sort of thing. If it'd got that desperate you're probably done for anyway.

 

[Mystic]

Has to get pretty desperate to eat bugs.

I think maybe a few of us are alluding to desperate times ... when organized grocers and such are kaput. The time is coming.

 

[init4fun]

You're right of course but that doesn't apply to people cruising round the supermarket.

I think the worst thing I ever ate was duck tongue in jelly. I managed to keep it down but my colleague had to rush away and throw up.

Shark is pretty nasty too.

Has to get pretty desperate to eat bugs. There's a Bear Grylls episode where he eats some long legged spider he finds in a cave. After a while he doesn't feel too good and throws up. Could actually be death in a real survival situation as you get too ill to carry on, better off not touching that sort of thing. If it'd got that desperate you're probably done for anyway.

I think Gefilte fish was the worst so called "food" I've ever experienced.

..... And, historically, I generally like (most) fish/seafood...