What is On the BHE's Mind? Cow Farts.

sorry, sports fans. i've been super busy lately. so in light of my hectic schedule, the BHE has agreed to write a post about what he's been into lately.

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so i've been thinking a lot lately about what we eat and how it gets to our table. frankly, the research i've done shows some very significant issues in our food supply. and since 2/3 of all americans are overweight or obese, i think it's a good discussion for us to have.

the topic is wide-ranging, so while we can make good arguments about the safety and sanitation in the meat supply or the damage that pesticides can cause in our bodies, i'll narrow it down to cow farts. i don't know if you know this, but global warming is kind of a big deal. and we spend a lot of time discussing the impact of carbon dioxide and different ways we can reduce our carbon footprint. and that's all well and good. however, if you really want to have an impact in reducing carbon footprint, you don't have to become a smug hippie who drives a prius 10mph below the speed limit. you have to worry about cow farts.

why?

because cow farts are made of methane, and methane is made of carbon. and what's worse, methane traps twenty times more heat than carbon dioxide. the average cow emits as much greenhouse gas as the average car, and worldwide production of beef and dairy are expected to double in the next 30 years. you can see the numbers problem.

so what does this have to do with our food supply? the vast majority of meat sold in the american marketplace is grain fed. even if you reject the resources consumed in producing the grain as food for our food, consider that it gives our cows indigestion. and that makes them burp and fart all over the place. if we fed our food grass rather than grain, or even just a grain diet that mimics natural grass, we can reduce their methane production by nearly 20%. there are health reasons why grass fed beef is much better for you, too. you can read up if you get off on omega-3 to omega-6 ratios.

food for thought.

Chemo is Awful, But Gravel in The Vagine? Whoa Now.

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/14/how-the-ancient-world-dealt-with-cancer/?hpt=C2

really interesting article on how ancient societies faced/treated cancer.

i assume that one day we'll look back at chemo and radiation with the same horror that we look at blood letting, leaches, and, in this article, injecting gravel into hoo-ha's for uterine cancer. eck!

interesting anyway. :)

Veterinary Medicine Might Have Been the Way to Go

my dog won't stop getting injured. she is a retired greyhound and came to us off the track 4 yrs ago in good shape. but she has a tendency to get wounded just by passing by another dog or by running around our yard, or by stepping foot into the dog park. it's ridiculous. i know for a fact we've spent more on her out of pocket this last couple of years than we have on either me or the BHE.

and this week she had to get a claw amputated! the ligament and claw on one of her front feet. she's limping around all pitiful-like. this was clearly a bigger surgery than i would attempt, but i gotta tell you, for the minor lacerations, i am so tempted to sew her up myself. it's just that i don't want her thinking of me as the bad guy and i don't have a ready supply of lidocaine and stuff. i don't think we could train her to bite down on a strap of leather to get through the pain.

so for now, we're putting our vet's kids through college. you're welcome, susie and george.