Cat tails Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 We have quite a food crisis going on right now, regarding eggs. Egg and chicken farmers have been using a company to treat their chickens and stables against blood mites. Turns out the company used a chemical that is forbidden, fipronil. Loads of eggs have to be destroyed, lots of chickens are culled. News today says that fipronil is now also found in biscuits and cakes and such... I understand you don't want that stuff in your food. It's banned for a reason. What I don't understand is the panic. So long smoking cigarettes is still not banned, people don't get to whine about the trace amounts that might be in their egg. We still chuck our meat on a barbecue and don't worry about the chemicals that get in our food that way or the smoke we produce... Sorry rant over... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyRoo Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 This is why I try to make all my food from scratch - sauces, dips, pasta, sausages, burgers etc. - the lot. It's easier now I'm a vegetarian so I don't tend to pick up as many processed things anyway. I remember when the horse meat scandal was going on: I wasn't so much worried about the fact that I may have eaten horse, it was the thought of "Oh, God - I wonder what else I've been eating that I don't know about? Sausages made from missing people?". That's about the point where I really started caring about what was in my food. But content aside, I can sympathise with the concerns about chemicals being used to treat food - I think that probably does bother me a bit. If I had enough land I would grow as much of my own stuff as I could: I'd have an orangery, greenhouse, raised beds, and a large orchard - the whole shebang! This is one of the things that I think all new houses should be built with: solar panels, water recycling units, and enough space for people to grow their own. I think supermarkets have spoiled us all and we've completely lost the 'urge' in some ways to do things for ourselves, and we should put more emphasis on on helping ourselves. But then I grow up living with my grandparents who attempted to do most things themselves: my grandfather used his back garden and allotment to grow as much of his own stuff as he could, and my grandmother taught us to knit and sew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted August 8, 2017 Author Share Posted August 8, 2017 To each their own. I'm more from the there-isn't-enough-planet-to-all-be-pottering-about-in-a-garden camp. And I really appreciate the fact that we do need farmers, farming (large scale or not), improvement in crop yields etc. I just really hate it when for example people you meet in the supermarket complain about the safety of eggs and then turn around and buy a packet of smokes... Loads of chicken farmers are in real financial trouble right now. The treatment company never told them it was using fipronil. It actually claimed it was using a biological solutions of essential oils to keep the bugs at bay. But the farmers are the ones that get the blame and are losing income. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Having, only just before this hit the news, administered fipronil-based flea treatments to 3 dogs and 1 cat, I'm sure I will have got at least a small dose as well . It's all very well saying "part the fur and put it on the skin in different areas", but it's not so easy with very thick-furred dogs and a squirmy puppy that thinks it's all a game I'm with Cat Tails about the panic and the impact on farmers. Whatever has got through to the food chain can only be very tiny amounts and, whilst even that is undesirable, when you consider all the GM foods, pesticides and other chemicals that we ingest without even thinking about it, it's probably not really worth losing sleep over. At least I'll be flea-free for a while though ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted August 9, 2017 Author Share Posted August 9, 2017 At least I'll be flea-free for a while though ... Same here! Did the cats last night and a second later get a headbang from iPoes directly on my mouth... right thanks for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyRoo Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 I just really hate it when for example people you meet in the supermarket complain about the safety of eggs and then turn around and buy a packet of smokes... Those people just annoy me! I'm not exactly a paragon of healthy living, I just try to make sure I know what is in my food and drink. I don't buy organic or anything, although I do wash all fruit and veg I buy before using it. I saw a woman stood outside Boots (chemist) the other day in town, coughing her lungs up, while on the phone to her friend and she said "Nah, these pills wot the Doctor gave me ain't doing nuffing! I just got some more, innit?" I could help but laugh when I saw she was taking a drag on a cigarette every few seconds. The cough pills aren't working? Really? I'm shocked... I can't imagine why not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 Now the news is front page 'over here'! However, it seems that the eggs have been used in pre prepared foods like cakes, sandwiches, mayonnaises etc. If, like many of us on the forum already do, you cook from scratch with either your own eggs (so to speak- you know what I mean!) locally sourced or free range British from the supermarkets there is nothing to fret about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 I actually think his is a good thing because it's brought to the fore how many products contain 'hidden' imported eggs that people from hens that even people who care about animal welfare would never consider. As soapdragon said, if, like many of us, you tend to cook and bake from scratch where possible using our own eggs, there's absolutely nothing to be worried about. But to be honest I think his is being blown out of all proportion anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mars Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 enough space for people to grow their own. You can't feed 7.4 billion by this way of farming, actually the only way you can do that is by inorganic farming that is GMC and chemicals a lot of chemicals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mars Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 Sausages made from missing people?". Only Kebab in some stage and that has never been really confirmed, Sausages no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
