I am supposed to blog on politics, the environment and the media. For anyone who has been reading, watching or following the civil strife that has erupted in Quebec over university tuition fees, all three come into play – big time!!

The issue. The Quebec government has proposed raising university tuition fees by approximately $1,400 annually over a five year span (Quebec currently has the lowest tuitions of any province by a huge margin). A very small segment of the student population has rebelled and there have been violent protests, smoke bombs in subways, injuries and arrests.

Notwithstanding that public polls seem to support the government’s position, Premier Jean Charest has made some modifications in the government's position but it is clear nothing will satisfy the radical element who oppose the increases except total capitulation and a withdrawal of the entire proposal.

The ongoing controversy is receiving more and more attention every day, not only across Canada but in the international media as well. This morning things just got worse. After two months of trying to walk a middle line, political rigormortis has set in and the Charest government is at a crisis.

Line Beauchamp, the deputy Premier and Minister of Education, abruptly resigned stating there was no desire or intent by the radical student element to negotiate or reach any compromise. To make matters worse, Ms. Beauchamp, an experienced and respected individual, not only resigned her cabinet position but also announced she was quitting politics completely. She has had enough!!

What is the connection here to protests and opposition to projects that we all may have been subjected to? The reality is that a very small group of aggressive students have boycotted classes while the vast majority of students are still in school and wanting to graduate next month. These radicals have used civil disobedience, are receiving wide media coverage and have brought the government to a standstill on the issue.

A news report stated that one group, FORCE ETUDIANTE CRITIQUE, has vowed never to negotiate and it is their intent to change the way the government in Quebec does business and makes decisions on education and other social issues.

While these actions are not exactly the same as protests to block rail lines for landfills or roads for new pipelines, the fundamental issue remains the same. Civil disobedience (or the threat of it) combined with media manipulation results in governments who, in many cases, change policies or run for cover.

Unfortunately I think the Liberal Government of Jean Charest has reached a crossroads. Get the rules straight with this small radical element or get out of town. Keep watching because whatever happens in the next few weeks will have major implications for Quebec and other political parties in Canada.

www.trashedpoliticalgarbage.com
TRASHED! How Political Garbage Made the United States Canada’s Largest Dump

Posted by Gordon McGuinty at 12:38 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

This week I’ll be at the annual conference of the Waste Management Association (WMA) in Hockley Valley, near Orangeville, Ontario, where I look forward to catching up with colleagues and old friends. If you’re going, please say hello.

And now, to continue my whacked out voodoo health journey, here’s some fascinating information about the almighty banana, a fruit you’ll never look at the same way again after reading this. (And thanks to my mother for forwarding the email from which I copied this information.) I usually manage to consume a banana every day or two, and will step it up a notch after this.

By the way, they’re a great ingredient with which to sweeten a fruit smoothie. I was concerned on my recent 12-day trip to Las Vegas that I’d lose track of my healthy food regimen: when I discovered my condo had a blender and that there was a Whole Foods supermarket at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and the 215, I knew I would be fine, with smoothies every morning. The recipe was easy-peasy: coconut juice, powdered super-food supplement, some frozen blueberries, a half or full banana.

Okay, here’s the skinny on bananas:

Bananas contain three natural sugars -- sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills -- eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat high blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school (England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a “cooling” fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking & Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40 per cent!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. So, maybe it's time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, “A banana a day keeps the doctor away!”

PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time! I will add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe... polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit!

Posted by Guy Crittenden at 9:47 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I’m on a week’s holiday in Las Vegas after attending last week’s very busy and successful, re-energized Waste Expo -- the largest waste-related trade show in North America.

I have friends who don’t know how I can stand to spend more than a week in Sin City but they don’t do Las Vegas like I do it.

First off, I don’t stay on The Strip – too crowded and overwhelming.

Instead, I stay at a timeshare resort called Grandview that’s in the very south end of the city. I use a savvy points leasing strategy to stay at timeshare resorts, paying 10 cents on the dollar compared to most folks. The Grandview is a 5-star resort with lots of amenities. The one-bedroom condo I have for the week has stainless steel appliances, marble counter tops, a large sunken tub, etc. etc. The best thing is that it’s away from The Strip and I have a feeling more of being in the desert than Las Vegas.

One great thing about this town is you’re pretty much guaranteed to have good weather. It’s been in the nineties Fahrenheit all week and sunny. I’m going for a hike in the Valley of Fire, which is a desert canyon full of “painted desert” rock formations.

I’ve been up to the strip a few times, mostly to walk around. I’ll be heading back Tuesday evening to the Luxor to take in Chris Angel’s magic show “Believe” and again on Friday to see Carlos Santana, my favorite living guitar player, at the House of Blues. (Lucky me!)

I was here four years ago and Vegas is even bigger than I remember it. The scale of development is astounding. Today I went for a stroll through Mandalay Bay resort. There seemed to be no end to it. I paid $18 to visit the very large and beautiful shark display and aquarium, which is as good as anything I’ve seen elsewhere. It’s Sea World scale. And that was just one tiny part of Mandalay Bay, which adjoins Luxor (the resort that looks like an Egyptian pyramid and has a huge sphinx out front) and another that looks like a medieval castle, all connected with a monorail.

In addition to the activities I took a short class in how to play Craps and have so far converted my $40 investment into $160 after two sessions at the tables. I plan to play a few more times and see if I can increase my winnings, but will not spend more than the initial $40 outlay, as I’m just a beginner. It’d be cool if I could win enough to pay for my show tickets.

One benefit of staying in a condo instead of a hotel room is being able to cook for myself. My unit has a blender so I’ve maintained my morning routine of healthy fruit and supplement shakes, plus granola with almond milk. I’ve eaten a lot of salads and avoided fast food, so it’s possible to stay in Vegas and not over-eat or get unhealthy. I’ve made it to the gym most days too.

Oh, and they have a Whole Foods here, too! lol

Well, that’s enough of a blog entry while on holiday. I’m back to my regular schedule next week. Talk to you then, folks…

Posted by Guy Crittenden at 7:13 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

NOTE: I will be in Las Vegas this week at Waste Expo. If you are also there, please look me up! – ed.

I’m researching an article about the health benefits of tea, about which I will write in greater depth another time. This weekend I met a woman who works for the Sloane Tea Company as their “sommelier” – the first person in North America to achieve this designation. My talk with her will be part of that article.

In the meantime, I thought I’d share this article from PreventDisease.com about toxic sodium fluoride in green tea. Don’t simply assume that drinking tea is entirely good for you; there are risks like anything else and this article has some great advice!

Here’s the link, and the article.

http://preventdisease.com/news/10/080610_green_tea_fluoride.shtml

Did You Know Green Tea Contains Dangerous Levels of Toxic Sodium Fluoride?

Green tea has emerged as a major natural substance in fighting diseases like heart disease, cancer and helping with weight loss. It's been mass marketed to billions around the world and many sip it religiously everyday in the hopes that it will make them healthier. All except for one thing, it contains toxic sodium fluoride.

A study in the January 2005 issue of the Journal of American Medicine also found that instant teas appear to contain excessive levels of sodium fluoride. Green tea is one of the worst culprits having double the amount of fluoride as black tea. Brick tea has the highest fluoride concentration and symptoms of fluorosis have been seen in Tibetan children and adults who drink large amounts of this kind of tea.

Tea plants accumulate fluoride in their leaves over time, so the oldest leaves contain the most fluoride, while the youngest contain the least. Therefore, white tea (which is made from youngest leaves and buds) is your best bet to reduce fluoride exposure.

In another study in Caries Research (1996) 30:88-92 Fluoride content in caffeinated, decaffeinated and herbal teas, the average fluoride concentration of infusions prepared from decaffeinated (green & black) tea were found to be 3.19 ppm and ranged from 1.01 to 5.20. This was unexpectedly higher than caffeinated tea and such a difference was statistically significant in this study. It is thought that this is due to the high fluoride content in the water involved in the de-caffeination process, which then would also make coffee similarly decaffeinated high in fluoride content.

In addition, the caffeine in tea has a great augmentative effect on the bio-availability of fluoride. In 1990 researchers at the University of Texas even theorized that "the rise in incidence of dental fluorosis in North America is mainly due to the replacement of water intake by caffeine-containing beverages among the young population.

A very important study from 1998 conducted at the Nanchang University in China showed that in older rats fed green tea water extract or green tea leaves, the cerebrum calcium contents were significantly decreased and aluminum contents increased. Zinc contents in the cerebrum were also gradually decreased with the increase of tea leaves dose and tea concentration. The cerebrum is the portion of the brain (frontal lobes) where thought and higher function reside.

Tea Exempt From Contaminant Levels Defined by Government

Fluoride in tea is much higher than the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) set for fluoride in drinking water which is 4 parts per million (ppm). About 50 percent of fluoride (from any source) is deposited in the bone and teeth; the other half is excreted.

The MCL is set so as to only avoid the third and crippling stage of this disease. It is set at 4ppm => 4mg/liter, assuming that people will retain half of this amount (2mg), and therefore be at a "safe" level. The EPA scientists, whose job and legal duty it is to set the MCL, declared that this level was set fraudulently by outside forces, and that 90% of the data showing the mutagenic properties of fluoride were omitted. Chemical toxicologist and former EPA consultant Nancy Webert stated "once that EPA started receiving funding from sources that were not disclosed to the public, fluoride studies and safety limits took a back seat to other interests." Webert believes the United States Government was fully aware of these foreign interests and did nothing to protect Americans from current levels of fluoride poisoning in drinking water.

How Does Fluoride Affect The Body?

Tea leaves accumulate more fluoride (from pollution of soil and air) than any other edible plant. Coincidently, fluoride content in tea has risen conconcurrently and dramatically with global tea consumption over the last 20 years.

Drinking high levels of fluoride can cause bone-forming cells to lay down extra skeletal tissue, which increases bone density. At the same time, it also increases bone brittleness that can result in a disease known as skeletal fluorosis. So while bones are more dense, they are also more brittle. Skeletal fluorosis can produce:

•Bone, muscle and joint pain
•Calcification of ligaments
•Bone spurs
•Fused vertebrae
•Difficulty moving joints

Says Dr. Whyte, "When fluoride gets into your bones, it stays there for years, and there is no established treatment for skeletal fluorosis, No one knows if you can fully recover from it." In other words, fluoride accumulates in your body.

According to one estimate, the first phase of skeletal fluorosis could easily develop in as few as five years if a person were to consume the amount of fluoride found in three or four cups of green tea every day.

While in 1976 a Belgian analysis showed content of between 50 and 125 ppm fluoride in 15 varieties of tea, a Polish study in 1995 found fluoride content of up to 340 ppm in 16 varieties of black tea. A major Canadian study published in 1995 reports average fluoride content in tea to be 4.57 mg/l in the 1980's.

Babycenter.com, a pro-fluoridation infant medical group lists a cup of black tea to contain 7.8 mgs of fluoride, which is roughly the same amount as if one were to drink 7.8 litres of water in an area fluoridated at 1ppm.

Virtually every company selling green tea advertises it's high fluoride content as "beneficial" in preventing cavities, promulgating the misleading and false data supplied for the last 50 years by the ADA/CDA and other dental health trade organizations, as well as various public health agencies. There are NO double-blind studies anywhere proving the efficacy of fluoride as a caries preventative. There ARE double-blind studies proving adverse health effects, at the level of 1ppm (1mg/l) in water. There are no studies documenting safety at any intake level.

Drinking a cup of tea with fluoride content as mentioned above (7.8mg) would mean a fluoride intake much higher than amounts which were actually given as medication to treat hyperthyroidism (over-functioning thyroid) for numerous decades - in several countries - specifically to reduce thyroid activity.

To make matters much worse for human health, fluorides in teas are found together with aluminum. The combination of aluminum and fluorides in tea is of urgent concern, due to the increased damage done by fluorides when in the presence of aluminum, especially neurological and renal damage. It also increases the extent to which aluminum can be absorbed by the body, which has been linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Aluminum by itself is not readily absorbed by the body, however in the presence of fluoride ions, the fluoride ions combine with the aluminum to form aluminum fluoride, which is absorbed by the body. Aluminum eventually combines with oxygen to form aluminum oxide or alumina. Alumina is the compound of aluminum that is found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease.

What Can You Do?

Stick to white tea which has the least amount of fluoride by ratio. Favour purchasing organic tea over conventional. It doesn't mean all organic teas will be absent of fluoride, but the methods for cultivation are typically superior to conventional growers and some may even use purified water for the soil to grow their teas and herbs.

Marco Torres is a research specialist, writer and consumer advocate for healthy lifestyles. He holds degrees in Public Health and Environmental Science and is a professional speaker on topics such as disease prevention, environmental toxins and health policy.

Sources:

fluoridealert.org
greentealibrary.com
drweil.com
poisonfluoride.com
sixwise.com
cmbi.bjmu.edu.cn

Posted by Guy Crittenden at 3:12 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Last Sunday was Earth Day and in honor of that I will remind readers of this wonderful quote from legendary media analyst Marshal McLuhan:

“On spaceship Earth there are no passengers. We are all crew.”

Apropos of that, I offer this small example of another change in my lifestyle in support of sustainability.

Every other week for six months during the winter I drive from my flat in Toronto’s west end to a condo I rent in Collingwood, Ontario. My two sons live in Collingwood with their mom and I host them up there when it’s my weekend so they can stay in their winter ski programs at Blue Mountain (where one teaches).

In the warm months my kids often take the bus to Toronto to visit me, and I sometimes visit Collingwood midweek and have the kids over to my friend Linda’s place; she lets me use it while she’s in the city every Tuesday through Thursday.

It’s a lot of driving back and forth, two hours each way, but long ago I made the trip managable by stopping for lunch or coffee at the midway point, which is usually Orangeville. I got in the habit of going to a fast food outlet close to the highway: a Tim Horton’s on one side and a Wendy’s on the other. I would often have a hamburger and fries at Wendy’s, and get my coffee from Timmy’s. Sometimes I’d eat a bagel with cream cheese at Tim Horton’s, with a donut and a tea.

As I started shifting to a healthy diet a few months ago, I eventually realized this was a pattern I had to break. Wendy’s food is no worse than most fast food, but like the other outlets, many of the selections are high in salt and fat, and empty carbs. The staff at the Orangeville outlet are perfectly nice, but one is always aware of the factory-like kitchen in which they work, and it’s always go-go-go at Tim Horton’s because counter staff are also dealing with drive-thru customers. Nowadays there’s very little on the menu at Tim Horton’s that fits with my dietary preferences, and I received a petition recently from a group that claims the coffee ship chain continues to buy pork products from industrial-scale producers whose pigs are raised in cruel “gestation crates” whose metal bars prevent almost any physical movement. (Apparently some other fast food restaurants like McDonald’s have ceased buying from such producers.)

Here’s a URL for the campaign:

http://sumofus.org/campaigns/tim-hortons/?akid=396.713134._EvaEe&rd=1&sub=fwd&t=4

Last week I drove “off the beaten path” in search of an alternative; as luck would have it, just five minutes west on Orangeville’s main street I found a terrific small coffee shop-style family–run restaurant that serves specialty fruit smoothies and all kinds of organic treats, fresh soup, salads, and gourmet coffee. Settling into the warm and cozy atmosphere, I realized I had found my new rest stop on the drive between Collingwood and Toronto. Over a beet salad and a delicious coffee I checked email on my laptop, and lingered longer than usual because it was so nice. And the bill was about the same as I had paid for several years each time I stopped at the fast food places. In fact it might have been a little cheaper.

But the thing that spoke to me more than the health aspect was the quality of the human interaction. I had a nice chat with the proprietor, who is a nutritionist (who, it turned out, had written out some useful information on a white board in the restaurant about the different enzymes in the body and how the work – something ya ain’t gonna see at Wendy’s!). I noticed different regular patrons coming in and out and having lively chats with the proprietor and other staff. The whole experience was much more “humanized” at this establishment, and I vowed to step up my game further, and stop patronizing corporate restaurant chains and fast food places. I might wander into one from time to time for lack of other options, but I’m making a concerted effort to spend my money on small, local family-run businesses that serve healthy food and provide a warm and enjoyable environment. If we all did the same, we’d have a very different society in many respects.

As a final note, I’m reminded that on several trips to Vermont over the years – sometimes for skiing, other times just passing through – I noticed that this philosophy has been embraced by the residents of that state for a long time. There are not so many fast food outlets there, but there are many family-run restaurants, with lots of home-cooked healthy choices on the menu, and things like artisan local beers, etc. So if you’d like to see what a whole society looks like when it embraces this concept, take a trip to Vermont!

Posted by Guy Crittenden at 9:24 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The recent controversy over how environmental opposition groups and NGO’s (Non Government Organizations) spend the money they've received as donations has resulted in a well know casualty.

It was reported this week that David Suzuki has resigned from the Board of Directors of the David Suzuki Foundation. Dr. Suzuki, now seventy-six years old, has been the most controversial spokesperson that Canada has ever seen on all kinds of environmental issues. He is the author of over forty books, is a television host and a well known, paid speaker.

The Canada Revenue Agency has announced they will have a close look at these environmental groups to see that funds are not being directed to political campaigns opposing projects in Canada. I understand that groups like Greenpeace, the Suzuki Foundation and others can allocate approximately 20% of funding to political activities.

These groups are crying loudly, saying they are being singled out unfairly and that they do not engage in political activities. Yeah, and I am from Missouri!!! In my experience, the single most important objective of organizations like Greenpeace and others is to ‘politicize the process’ ... period.

These organizations and, on many occasions over the years, Dr. Suzuki himself, have used inflammatory tactics, not based on facts, to pressure politicians and the general public. Projects and causes include the seal hunt, nuclear power and now the two major pipeline projects in Western Canada and the USA.

In my view the government, in questioning whether these groups are staying within the law regarding the expenditure of funds donated by the public, is just levelling the playing field that has been tilted in their favour for too long.

In a speech I gave this month in Regina to the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction and Road Builders Association, I questioned whether the environment opposition is a “movement” or if it has now become an “industry”.

Millions and millions of dollars are being spent to oppose projects in Canada and the USA. Thousands of people are employed directly by foundations and other organizations as they lead protests and organize sophisticated public relations campaigns. It is an industry. It is only fair for everyone that the government ensure the donated funds are being spent within the law.

With all due respect Dr. Suzuk,i with his books, TV shows and paid speeches, has also become an industry over the years.

The fact that Dr. Suzuki feels compelled to resign from the Board of his Foundation in order to “speak freely” as he is quoted as saying, gives me pause to think that the government is on to something.

www.trashedpoliticalgarbage.com
TRASHED! How Political Garbage Made the United States Canada’s Largest Dump

Posted by Gordon McGuinty at 2:31 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Once upon a time in a faraway land there was a kingdom where the farmers sprayed poison on the food and sold it to the people, who in turn fed it to their children. The children would grow up and get sick and die.

The people wondered why they were falling ill.

“Please save us!” they asked the king.

The king could not to tell them the truth, for his wife -- an evil queen -- had cast a spell over him and all the farmers that made them blindly do her bidding, feeding the poisons to the farm animals as well as spraying it on the crops. For though the poison made the people grow fat and sick, and die of diabetes, cancer and heart disease, it also made the animals grow large and fat quickly, so they could be killed and chopped up for their meat sooner. They could even be fed cheap grains and not wander the lands eating grass (their natural food). The poisoned crops grew quickly, with no insect daring to go near them. And bees and other pollinators that did approach the crops became sick just like the people, as did the other inhabitants of their hives and colonies.

The poisoned food allowed the queen to collect more gold and treasure, which she kept in a vault inside the castle. As the people became sicker and sicker, the queen got richer and richer.

Over time, the treasure made the queen mad with power.

The animals got sick from the poisons that made them grow fast. The king’s royal vet begged the queen to let the cattle wander in the pastures, and eat the green grass.

“Please, your majesty, let the animals roam!” he asked the queen, trembling with fear before her throne.

“No, you insolent fool!” yelled the queen, and ordered her men-at-arms to drag him to the dungeon deep below the castle.

Instead, she ordered that the cattle be made to stand knee deep in their own filth and eat the fattening grains that were unnatural to them.

The queen treated all the other farm animals this way, ordering the farmers keep the pigs away from sunlight in metal pens so small they could not move in any direction. The pigs would cry and some would go mad and chew off their neighbor’s tails or gnaw their own limbs, but no one could hear their wailing far away in their dark crowded barns.

For the chickens it was the same, though the farmers complained the chickens would peck themselves and each other from frustration with their horrible lives.

“This would be solved,” the farmers told the queen fearfully, “if the chickens could run outside a little bit each day.”

But the queen was furious, because exercise would stop the birds from getting fat and ready for slaughter fast enough. Instead, she devised a wicked plan.

“If pecking is the problem, then chop off their beaks!” she said coolly.

The farmers agreed and went away trembling, thankful to still be in possession of their heads.

All went well for a time for the evil queen and her mesmerized farmers. Gold and treasure filled the coffers of her vault, until another and then another had to be built. Gold and silver coins poured from every strongbox, and piles of precious metal, diamonds and rubies lay in every corner of every room.

But over time a problem emerged. So many people were becoming sick from the poisons in the food that the hospitals were overflowing, and the cost of caring for the sick and dying threatened to bankrupt the kingdom. As the population aged, more and more treasure was needed to treat them.

The royal doctors asked the king for help, but it was no use.

The queen could have stopped the poisons being put in the food of the people, but instead she had another wicked idea.

She retreated to her rooms and her cauldron, and used dark magic to create potions that would be sold to the people as medicine. She would charge the people for this medicine and grow rich from their treatment, just as she grew rich from feeding them. She sold the people her potions and lotions, even though it rarely cured them. She grew richer and richer even as the people became sicker and poorer.

And so it was in this faraway land, where there was never a happy ending.

Be thankful, readers, that you live in a country where nothing like this could happen. Where chemical companies sell growth hormones, pesticides, herbicides and genetically-altered seeds with only the public’s welfare in mind, and not their profits. Thank the industrial food system for its efficiency in producing food inexpensively, with you in mind, not just the bottom line. Be grateful that the large pharmaceutical companies promote inexpensive, natural and preventative solutions to prevent diabetes, cancer and heart disease, and don’t just invest in expensive medicines in which they can obtain a patent. Be thankful that the medical system in our land recognizes the value of prevention and does not waste the people’s money treating disease only after a person falls ill. And give praise to our government, that is doing a superb job protecting the public interest and health, and is not at all in collusion with the large companies that give it money and flood its offices and committees with lobbyists.

Be grateful that your belief in the system is not belief in some fairytale.

Posted by Guy Crittenden at 4:15 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)