SEND IN THE CLONES Thursday, Jul 19 2007

Professor Keith Campbell, creator of Dolly the cloned sheep, has said that farmers should take up cloning as a source of cheap food. The US is already taking steps in this direction.
People who want cloned food production are immediately going on the attack by saying the food produced will be identical to what we eat now, so we have absolutely nothing to worry about.
I beg your pardon? Will the food be the same?
Absolutely! No difference at all. However, by immediately putting our attention on this point, they cleverly side step the real issue, which is this.
One of the greatest dangers facing mankind today is the way industry is reducing diversity. Nature and evolution require diversity to thrive, allowing all possible alternatives and directions to explore.
Without this simple rule, we would not be here. But now, it is being proposed to clone our meat products. One standard cow. One standard pig. One standard sheep.
Yes, it would work well, producing cheap food – until it met the one standard killer germ. Then there’d be no food at all.
If you don’t believe me, ask the Irish about the potato.

© Anthony North, July 2007

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DEPRESSING JUNK FOOD Monday, Mar 12 2007

Let’s go all philosophical about junk food. Society is a self-regulating entity. We fall into patterns based upon a prevalent ideology. Western ideology is based upon mass consumerism, and junk food is the culinary wing of this system. Hence, regardless of knowing it is bad for us natural social pressures make it difficult to say no.
According to the ideology we must indulge as much as we can, and I find it interesting that it has now been shown that junk food causes depression. Due to a lack of essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients, tests at Cambridge suggest 3% of adolescents have food related severe depression whilst thousands more suffer mood swings, eating disorders and self harm.
Society is a self-regulating entity, and we all fall into patterns without realizing it. And one pattern is the requirement to feel low so that you can satisfy yourself by buying things to make you feel good. But the system is geared to only the momentary high. So we reach for the burger, get low, and take the high again.
Addiction seems to be all around. But it would be – in a self-regulating society.

© Anthony North, Mar 2007

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THE DEVIL AND THE CHEF Monday, Feb 26 2007

‘Heaven sends us good meat, but the Devil sends cooks.’ So wrote David Garrick in 1777. Today, cooking is as essential as ever, but perhaps he really meant chefs. You know, those people who shout a lot in kitchens and make a fuss over preparing increasingly complicated meals no one wants to eat.

We are living in the age of the chef. They are increasingly considered artists, and television is full of their ‘magic.’ Indeed, the celebrity chef is a media phenomenon all his own. However, what kind of effect is he having on society?

Isn’t it rather strange that, as the celebrity chef pollutes the airwaves, fast food is increasingly becoming the diet of our society? I suppose we have elevated the chef to superstardom out of guilt. We know we should be cooking healthier food but we don’t have the time.

 So the celebrity chef is due to our culinary angst. But I have another explanation. We have to eat fast food to have time to watch them.

© Anthony North, Feb 2007

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