Politics Thread!

[Ollie]

Could also be because the average age people have children at has been increasing steadily, but I dont think thats been going on long enough for any evolutionary effects.

It may be having an effect anyway:

Delaying fatherhood may offer survival advantages, say US scientists who have found children with older fathers and grandfathers appear to be "genetically programmed" to live longer.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-18392873

[Darkflame]

Curious.

[gravy]

Can't simply be ~ fructose is a poison causes Type2.

80% of Type 2s are obese. Look at this picture of Woodstock Fruit Festival - almost all these people are on 80/10/10 (carb/fat/protein) fruit-heavy diets or similar. See how many obese people you can spot.



(Zoom to closer pic here : http://durianrider.files.wordpress.com/ ... small.jpeg)

People who do not already have damaged metabolisms can consume tons of fresh fruit and remain lean.

That can all be true and fructose still be a problem. It's a matter of concentration and amount.

There's a world of difference between eating apples or swilling down loads of apple juice. Or even worse, non diet fizzy pop in the states which is loaded with the stuff.

But yeah, non processed food is a win and something most people with any views on nutrition agree on.

[Darkflame]

Or even worse, non diet fizzy pop

Or even worse diet fizzy pop.
http://english.inserm.fr/press-area/die ... i-diabetes

[gravy]

Yeah, it's all shit really and doesn't do any good to anyone.

Wonder if it'd ever get legislated against?

Even trying to limit drink portion size in NYC caused a fuck tonne of shit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_C ... size_limit

[gravy]

Oooof!

[(o)(o)]

Strongly believe in people using fresh ingredients, preferably organic, and preparing their own meals.

Not sure preparing your own meals helps anything. I mean, obviously, you can trust you know whats in it, but assuming whats in it is fine, it shouldn't make a difference who makes it.

Reheating, blending, even chopping with a knife.. all these are "processing".. and can change the cellular / chemical structure. Sometimes that is desirable. Often it is not. The kind of techniques employed in consumer-food supply chains are highly dubious IMO. I strongly suspect at the heart of some of the leading health concerns of the day.

I can think of a bunch more reasons tbh...

If we want fresh produce too, that means not storing it, which means a lot more transport to everyones house's.

I don't get this. I buy local tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers etc.. and store them in my cupboard or fridge. How is this a problem? Admittedly I'd prefer to grow my own.

[Darkflame]

Sorry, when you said "fresh" I assumed that precluded a refrigerator.
I was speculating on the negative environmental impact of everyone having fresh stuff every day. Even locally grown stuff, assuming they didn't grow themselves, would add up to a heck of a lot of new short car journeys. (yes, it would be nice if everyone walked, but realistically that wouldn't happen).
Could mitigate some of this with food delivery services though. Maybe vegetables delivered like milk rounds are ?
One collective vehicle going around is better then hundreds of personal ones.

[KlaxonCow]

You could make those deliveries in something like this:



And then you could, as Nissan did, park up your fleet of delivery vehicles in a large garage that has solar panels covering it.

Zero emissions. Effectively "free" fuel. Sorted.

(Well, you mentioned milk deliveries and, of course, the traditional milk float was an electric vehicle - even back then, in the dark and crappy days when electric vehicles were basically shite compared to today's offerings - because they do fit making local deliveries very well. There's a lot of starting and stopping involved, so the fact that, with an electric vehicle, you don't need to keep the engine running and, when you're stopped, you're using no power whatsoever and it just instantly starts - there is no ignition - makes them perfect for that. So if you were going to make local deliveries, in the same way that milk gets delivered, you could follow that example and, with solar panels, you could even potentially reduce your fuel costs to basically nil, whilst causing no significant harm to the environment at all, so who cares if you're making lots of short trips anyway?)

[pogo]

Sorry, when you said "fresh" I assumed that precluded a refrigerator.
I was speculating on the negative environmental impact of everyone having fresh stuff every day. Even locally grown stuff, assuming they didn't grow themselves, would add up to a heck of a lot of new short car journeys. (yes, it would be nice if everyone walked, but realistically that wouldn't happen).

The main contribution to global warming of food distribution is the last mile(s) to your home. Supermarkets are very good at getting stuff to their stores in bulk in very big lorries, to save money but also minimising the environmental impact. I'm not sure home delivery helps much: it's better than using your own car but not much. So the best thing, from an environmental point of view, is shops close enough to walk for most shoppers, which is mostly a planning issue. Allowing out-of-town shopping centres to be built, with large car parks for access, was a disaster environmentally.

But you don't actually need daily deliveries to enjoy fresh food. In our fridge now there are vegetables bought over the last week, some a week ago, some bought cheaply as it was at the end of its shelf life. But it's still fine to eat. Fresh whole vegetables, including bags of uncut salad leaves, keep very well for days and sometimes weeks. As long as you keep an eye on them for when they do start wilting/turning brown you can stock your fridge with fresh fruit and vegetables at the start of the week and live off the contents easily.

This is very different from pre-prepared food such as ready meals. When they are at the end of their shelf life they need to be eaten as not only has the preparation process damaged their natural protection against decay but the many ingredients have far more ways of going wrong.

[merman]

So, Gove becomes chief whip, Hunt stays as Health Secretary and Osborne as Chancellor.

But the biggest WTF is Iain Duncan Smith staying in his job. Universal Credit has been utterly bungled, the spare room subsidy is costing money rather than saving it and now he wants mentally ill people to prove they deserve benefits - by going through extra assessments from dodgy private firms like Capita and Atos.

Cameron thinks by chucking a few token females into the Cabinet it will change how people think about his Government. No chance.

[(o)(o)]

So, Gove becomes chief whip, Hunt stays as Health Secretary and Osborne as Chancellor.

At least he's out of the Education role. My teacher friends will be pleased.

I'd rather have someone who is corrupt in charge than someone who lusts for power.

At least then they are only buying a few trinkets for themselves, rather than destroying lives.

Don't be fooled by his Pob-like appearance. Gove is a dangerous man.

But the biggest WTF is Iain Duncan Smith staying in his job. Universal Credit has been utterly bungled, the spare room subsidy is costing money rather than saving it and now he wants mentally ill people to prove they deserve benefits - by going through extra assessments from dodgy private firms like Capita and Atos.

Cameron thinks by chucking a few token females into the Cabinet it will change how people think about his Government. No chance.

Modus operandi IMO.

IDS has done an excellent job their for the conservatives - wrecking the social support system (can we revert to the non pejorative title please!) and making sure the lower classes, poor and unemployed get a right fucking kicking whilst being properly ignored and having their rights taken away. Bravo !

Speaking of corruption - it's public knowledge IDS CV was a pack of lies. Now if I did that for say, Astra Zeneca, when I worked for them, or Barclays Bank PLC, I'd have been instantly dismissed. How is it that parliamentarians get away with stuff like that.

Incidentally, there is no longer a Minister of State for Disabled People. That role has been eliminated. It's gas chambers next..

[(o)(o)]

Sorry, when you said "fresh" I assumed that precluded a refrigerator.

I would say there are environmental issues wrt refrigeration, but there is a balance to be made there as many foodstuffs stay fresh longer at lower temperatures.

Exceptions include (off the top off my head) potatoes, tomatoes, bread, basil, avocados, particularly foods that are fermenting which you want to "breed". So tempeh and kimchi and things like that. And people do need more lactic acid in their lives! I personally keep as much out of the fridge as possible that I know will get consumed before it goes off. Fruit particularly ripens better giving better sweetness and texture, at ambient temperature.

I don't think there's much controversy in the 2c to, say, 25C range. Even 'raw foodists' use fridges AFAIK.

I was speculating on the negative environmental impact of everyone having fresh stuff every day. Even locally grown stuff, assuming they didn't grow themselves, would add up to a heck of a lot of new short car journeys. (yes, it would be nice if everyone walked, but realistically that wouldn't happen).
Could mitigate some of this with food delivery services though. Maybe vegetables delivered like milk rounds are ?
One collective vehicle going around is better then hundreds of personal ones.

Not sure where you are, but we have such services here in Cheshire UK already. They do a round and deliver a box weekly of organic veg. Also quite flexible as to contents. Take a look here : http://www.cheshireorganics.co.uk/page10.htm
Most of that stuff will keep in a cool cupboard for a week, saves a trip out, supports the local farmer, and it's by season. All good! So check out your local area ppl, you might be surprised at what's available.
There are also a couple of farms which put out a sign when they've got fresh organic potatoes and tomatoes.. so you can just call in when passing.. and a local natural spring for your water..

[Darkflame]

Thats really pretty awesome.

[merman]

Good that Liam Fox turned down a role at the Foreign Office, and Andrew Lansley (architect of the NHS destruction policies) is also out.