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The craziest trip in the world...
26th January 2007
I've seen the future, and it's weird.
Tomatoes will comb their stalks flat before hopping up onto a stool in a photo booth and smiling stiffly at the camera…
Potatoes will giggle at their friends because they closed their eyes when their photo was taken…
Because judging by the amount they travel, all fruit and vegetables are going to need passports.
Take some examples I read about recently…
A man walks past a field of Swedes every day on the way to the station. (I assume he's talking about the vegetable - I hope that a mob of angry England supporters haven't crossed the border and buried Sven Goran Ericksson and his team in Scotland).
These Swedes are grown locally, by a local farmer, who I assume is only too happy to sell them to local people.
So what does this man see when he pops into his local Co-op…?
Box upon box of Swedes imported from Tasmania.
That's right - a small island on the other side of the world.
And even when the supermarkets make a pathetic attempt to do the sensible thing, they still manage to come up with an idea so cock-eyed it makes John Prescott seem bright…
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Take the case of these Scottish turnips...
They were grown locally.
HOORAH!
There were no pesticides or chemicals used in the growing process.
HOORAH!
But before the fruit was allowed out on the shelves, the supermarket thought it would be a good idea to wrap them up in plastic.
HOOR… oh, wait a minute…
And to do that, they had the clever idea of sending them all the way to Kent to be packaged, then sending them all the way back again before people could buy them.
So what's that… roughly a 966 mile round trip, and at least two days freshness beaten out of the fruit, before you're allowed to eat them?
Who came up with that idea…? Someone on £100K a year no doubt.
Now, in the face of such bully boy power, we can feel pretty powerless against the massive supermarket chains.
But there really is A LOT you can do, starting with these little ideas... - Buy fresh produce from local suppliers - really, there's no excuse not to. Even if you don't have the luxury of living near the farms themselves, look out for farmers markets in your area. Or buy from your local greengrocer (if you still have one), making sure he only picks locally grown produce for you.
- Let's say you have no choice but to hand over your money to the supermarkets - you can still make a stand. If the food is over packaged, don't buy it. Only buy loose fruit, and check the label to see where it comes from.
If it's not within the UK, again don't buy it. Simple as that. That's the ONLY way supermarkets are going to stop acting like idiots.
- Rip off the packaging. If there's nothing but shrink-wrapped food available to you, then take the packaging off and leave it at the checkout. Supermarkets can't do anything about it (so one rebel MP Ben Bradshaw reckons)... so let them deal with all the packaging they create.
How did supermarkets get to be so huge when they're patently so dumb? It's one of the great mysteries of the world.
Still, at least there are some sensible, responsible people left out there...
Something to ease joint pain or something that causes osteoporosis..?
I received this great letter from Good Lifer Davy B, who asked me to share this information with you.
If this doesn't get you off the fizzy drinks, nothing will!
Take a look at these facts, starting with
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WATER
- 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
- In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.
- Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.
- One glass of water shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.
- Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
- Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
- A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic maths, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.
- Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.
So how about cola...?
- In many states (in the USA) the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.
- You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.
- To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Cola into the toilet bowl and let the 'real thing' sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous China.
- To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Cola.
- To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.
- To loosen a rusted bolt: Applying a cloth soaked in Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.
- To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Cola into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Cola will help loosen grease stains.
- It will also clean road haze from your windshield.
- The active ingredient in Cola is phosphoric acid. Its pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase in osteoporosis.
- To carry Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use the Hazardous material place cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.
- The distributors of Cola have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years!
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Now the question is...
Would you like a Cola or a glass of water?
Well, put it like that Davy, and I reckon water will become THE official tipple of all Good Lifers.
All right, maybe with a drop of whiskey with that from time to time. Christmas, birthdays, Tuesdays… you know, special occasions.
And it's not just the taste that makes me like whiskey…
The Scottish way to fight heart disease, and maybe cancer
Whisky contains plant compounds which studies suggest could help protect your body from molecules that damage healthy cells.
These compounds aren't part of the original make up of the whisky itself. Instead, they come from the oak barrels used to store the whisky as it matures.
And this isn't some old folk tale.
A study in the British Medical Journal found that the occasional jot of whiskey could help protect your heart against disease, and help prevent the likelihood of strokes.
And more good news…
Apparently the ellagic acid which is found in single malt whiskies could help fight cancer, by blocking the effect of carcinogens which attack healthy cells.
Of course, the level of ellagic acid in malt whiskey isn't the greatest. So to boost this cancer fighting substance, have a handful of berries a day.
Berries have a very high ellagic acid content, especially some little devils called black raspberries. So give them a go.
Berries and whisky…
Hmmmm, I feel a cocktail coming on.
Have a great weekend, and I'll be back again on Sunday.
Till then,
Yours as ever,
Ray Collins
The Good Life Letter
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