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ot re: food safety

updated fri 10 aug 01

 

Earl Brunner on wed 8 aug 01


Come on, Martin use your delete key.
I don't remember reading that many messages getting graphic about animal
slaughter and consumption. You have a right to be a vegetarian, I've
got a right to be an omnivore, I think that's why I have teeth like I
do. Omnivore teeth.
And I know that my chopping block emits very little CO2.

Right, a vegetarian clayart cookbook, lets see, how many copies did Lisa
say she had orders for? Let's jump in and try another one right away.
(No disrespect to your venture Lisa).

Martin Howard wrote:

> There are so many postings about meat on Clayart.
> As a vegetarian they turn my stomach over,
> and I usually read the postings just before breakfast.
> A clayart cookbook, for vegetarians might be a good idea.
> Is there anyone out there prepared to do it?
>
> Talk about the chopping block seems to be coming out of the dark ages;
> not a time when we should all be considering the amount of CO2 we are each
> responsible for depositing in the upper layers of our atmosphere.
> Any meat eater is responsible for much more CO2 emission during his/her
> lifetime than a vegetarian or a vegan.
>
> Just my twopence, to keep the vegetarian pots bubbling:-)
>
> Martin Howard
> Webb's Cottage Pottery
> Woolpits Road, Great Saling
> BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
> England
>
> martin@webbscottage.co.uk
> http://www.webbscottage.co.uk
>
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--
Earl Brunner
http://coyote.accessnv.com/bruec/
bruec@anv.net

Martin Howard on wed 8 aug 01


There are so many postings about meat on Clayart.
As a vegetarian they turn my stomach over,
and I usually read the postings just before breakfast.
A clayart cookbook, for vegetarians might be a good idea.
Is there anyone out there prepared to do it?

Talk about the chopping block seems to be coming out of the dark ages;
not a time when we should all be considering the amount of CO2 we are each
responsible for depositing in the upper layers of our atmosphere.
Any meat eater is responsible for much more CO2 emission during his/her
lifetime than a vegetarian or a vegan.

Just my twopence, to keep the vegetarian pots bubbling:-)

Martin Howard
Webb's Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road, Great Saling
BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
England

martin@webbscottage.co.uk
http://www.webbscottage.co.uk

Janet Kaiser on wed 8 aug 01


I am sorry to disagree about the butcher's wooden block
being a harbour to bacteria and the cause of illness.
When used and cleaned CORRECTLY there is about as much
bacteria on a block as on a plate (uncrazed :-)
Probably a lot less than that old cutting board you use
and just wipe over with a cloth. Apropos kitchen
cloths: If you have one in your kitchen, there are more
nasty bacteria in that, than all the crazed plates in
the country!

My grandfather was a "Gentleman's Butcher" before he
was gassed in the first world war and contracted TB.
(He used to tell the tale of when he was working on the
trans Atlantic ships before he married, he was sitting
down to a meal when the Captain came around with
Pierpont Morgan. My GF stood up politely when they
entered, but PM waved him back to his meal saying; "You
go on young man. I only wish I could still eat so
heartily of such rich fare").

Grandfather used to rant about bad practice so much
during the 20s and 30s, the whole family learned a lot
about how at the end of the day the butcher's block
should be first scraped, then salted and scrubbed,
before it was scrapped off again and sluiced. A second
salting and sluicing with copious amounts of water
removed all traces of blood, bone and meat. When the
surface became too rough, it was shaved off. Of course
the quality of wood was also 100 times better than
anything available today, when "seasoned" means a day
in a kiln and not many years natural curing.

The tiled floors were sprinkled with saw dust which
absorbed the blood and gore. That was swept out at the
end of the day and after the block was cleaned, the
floor was also sluiced and left to dry. No way could
bacteria go forth and multiply! The only real enemy in
an orderly butcher's shop was the blow fly...

The natural anti-bacteria and fungicidal properties of
wood have been "discovered" by scientists since his
time, mostly because of research carried out following
user resistance (restaurants, shops, traditional food
producers) to corporate lobbying & pressure on
governments and legislators (including the European
Union) to introduce food safety rules which blatantly
promoted plastics. I have told in the past of the
beautiful tiles, slate and marble ripped out of shops,
restaurants and other food preparation areas, to be
replaced by plastic floors, walls and counter tops.

It is also untrue to say spices were/are used to
disguise the taste of bad meat. This fable was the
result of the presumption Europeans made when they
became ill from eating highly spiced dishes in other
countries, such as India. Any sudden change of diet
will make people "sick", even innocuous changes like
eating an English Breakfast every morning on holiday,
if you are only used to a slice of toast and a cup of
coffee in the morning.

Spices were sometimes used to flavour meat together
with preserving methods such as smoking, drying,
salting or pickling here in the temperate North. In hot
countries where/if meat is/was eaten, the choice of
animal and its preparation often became part of the
religious ritual, and animals were slaughtered and
eaten immediately to prevent any deterioration. Spices
such as turmeric and chillies used in curries are to
enhance the taste and tenderise very fresh meat, which
would otherwise be very tough, as well as stop flies
attacking the raw meat. This is also the main reason
for using onions!

Many spices also have mild antiseptic properties, which
are utilised in tribal medicine, especially for the
treatment of worms and other parasites. The sickness
Europeans blamed on "bad meat" was from worms,
parasites in contaminated water (yes, including
amoeba), fresh fruit and raw vegetables washed in said
water or even rancid rice.

The one exception to all this is the disgusting habit
of hanging all game until it is "high". This is
thankfully more or less a thing of the past, unless one
has the misfortune to visit a "traditional" household
any time during the hunting season after the Glorious
12th (August 12th) when the blazing guns start in
Scotland and elsewhere here in the UK. Haggis is a
Michelin five star compared to a high grouse, pheasant
or partridge! Ach! The very thought... I better go
and....

Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL POTTERS' PATH
Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales Tel: (01766) 523570
E-mail: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk