Huntin’, Fishin’, Gatherin’.

I speak from a vantage point of many years of vegetarianism.

I returned to carnivorism, with emphasis on mainly fish, nearly always organic meat, several years back.

I have blood type “O” positive, which apparently means that we don’t do well on a vegetarian diet. I agree from personal experience. My body simply wasn’t getting enough protein.

For a city woman living in an outport in Newfoundland this means actually seeing
your protein before you actually eat it. This takes some getting used to. Like last week, this rabbit was snared on my Back Seven And A Half. I took this shot, with much queasiness, before the rabbit was ‘dressed’. (Shouldn’t that term be ‘undressed’?)

The extraordinary part of this is that one of my first distinct memories is at the age of about four, going with my grandfather to check on his rabbit snares in the early morning dew and watching him tie their legs to a long stick to throw over his shoulder before we headed back down the meadow with our supper.

My life has come around in a complete circle.

Is Out-Of-Control Capitalism Killing Us All?

Over at AlterNet I was dismayed to read that products I had used, trusted and valued had been bought out by megacorporations in the last few years and yep, you guessed it, their organic ingredients had been modified or radically changed. Here was I, happily blundering along, thinking I was buying food for my table and products for my hair and face that were part of green conscious living. I was stooged.

And all the while, the behemoth corporation that had quietly bought these formerly small, organic little operations remained anonymous.

Reason? You need to ask? You think they were getting more socially responsible?

Sorry to disappoint – no, the only reason was so that huge profits could be reaped from the consumer who thought she was buying local, pure, organic ingredients.

The following is a partial listing of products and the giant corporations owning them.

Some are quite astonishing - imagine the biggest toxic chemical polluter, Clorox, owning Burt’s Bees?


Product------------------>Megacorporatocracy

Burt’s Bees----------------------->Clorox

Converse-------------------------->Nike

The Body Shop--------------------->L’Oreal & Nestle

Tom’s of Maine-------------------->Colgate Palmolive

Odwalla Fresh Juices-------------->Coca-Cola

Most bottled water---------------->Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Nestle
And this is a whole category unto itself. Most ‘brands’ are tap water and actually less healthy than what you can get out of your own tap. And think landfill.

Kashi cereals--------------------->Kellogg’s

Quaker Oats----------------------->Pepsi

Green & Black’s organic
Chocolate------------------------->Schweppe’s

Was ever a word more perverted than the word ‘organic’?

And oh yes, adding his wise words to this profiteering fest: Lee Scott, former CEO of Wal-Mart, said, "We are particularly excited about organic food, the fastest-growing category in all of food."

And somehow it all reminds me of the Electric Car and its killing: