IT AIN’T MEAT +
The Supreme Court of Switzerland, I believe, recently made a common-sense ruling. If something is NOT meat, then you can’t refer to it as meat. That is false advertising, they said.
As a result plant-based proteins sold in that country cannot be called “Soy Chicken.” It isn’t chicken at all.
That’s smart.
Improbable Burger isn’t burger because it isn’t beef, pork or chicken based. It is plant protein based. Even lab-grown chicken protein that never belonged to a real bird with wings and beak should not be called “chicken” even though it is some sort of animal protein. Call it what it is. It is lab-grown animal protein, not farm-raised chicken.
I don’t think I ever will try lab-created corn on the cob. What is that stuff, really? Some people think McD’s rib sandwich is not really meat, but they are wrong. Tests show it is mostly ground pork rib meat with a bit of soy mixed in so it can be pressed into that shape. I’ll eat that (once or twice in my life). My wife actually likes them.
Now about “Peeps…”
MADE IN THE U.S.A.
We soon will find out which products are “Made in the U.S.A.” as tariffs kick in. It has been a long time since we pressed each other to “Buy American.” The auto union advertised it pre-2000. We forgot as we ordered from Amazing Things on the internet. We got used to things delivered to our doors. Sadly, we started out doing it to save money, but soon it became a way of life. In fact, it turns out that some (perhaps many) online sellers have been cheating us. One business tracked the orders so that the first baby-supply item was a bargain, but soon you were paying extra to order items through them (and you didn’t notice).
I received an email today from a business from which I have purchased an American grown tea. They wrote that their prices were going DOWN. The reason: The product has always been made here, but the packaging has been imported. They found a local supplier and also found that the local business also charged less for those supplies. Even they had been fooled into thinking that imports are cheaper.
I’m pleased that many big international businesses are investing in American production. I’m also pleased that American made products are coming back. We need the jobs and businesses (which pay for government services like roads and bridges) here.
One auto part (piston rods), for an auto put together in Detroit came from Tennessee as powdered metal, went to Pennsylvania to be pressed and shaped, to Canada to be smoothed and polished, to Mexico to be attached to the piston head, then to Detroit to be installed. That one part traveled 2,000 miles before the actual car was built. Can’t we do all of this in Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Ohio; and cut out the long-distance (and earth killing) travel?
BIRDS IN “DECLINE”
I don’t blindly trust anymore. Long ago, if an “expert” said it I believed. Now, I know that experts are people, too. They say things for many reasons and sometimes not because it is the truth. When they imply “danger,” I begin to wonder why?
When we look outside our windows (where reality exists) there are MANY birds. We have an amazing array of feathered friends. We do not own a bird, deer, or squirrel feeder. At any point during the day there will be multiples of everything in our back yard. Mockingbirds, robins, doves, blackbirds, wrens, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, owls (other birds leave), hawks, geese and ducks (there’s a water hazard we can see).
So, when I read stories claiming that birds are declining, I have trouble believing. They aren’t declining HERE.
We just took a bit of a vacation down through Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and Kentucky. Gotta say, there were gobs of birds everywhere we went. They were fighting over territory. The males were chasing off other males. The shore birds were chasing away other shore birds. The woodland birds were doing the same. The calls were cacophonous. The chirping woke me at 4:30 at our simple motel room in North Carolina. There were so many that numerous birds lay along side the road, losers in car/bird accidents.
Mother Jones reports, for example that two-thirds of studied varieties are declining. Except dear Ms Jones never gives facts that matter. For example, “declining” can mean there is ONE fewer birds per 100 square miles OR there are 100,000. Which is it? Second example, so ONE THIRD of the species are NOT declining. Why is that? How can 1/3 thrive while 2/3 don’t? Third example, how long have you been sampling birds? Is this “decline” in a single year or over 50 years? Is it a moving target (different birds declined last year) or persistent (the same species) which declined? Sadly, without those questions answered I have to assume it is either fearmongering or the areas being surveyed had “more outdoor cats than in the past.”
Copyright 2025 Donald Whelpley
[PLEASE NOTE that Don is always open to discussing the thoughts and opinions he shares here and welcomes comments as shared in the comment section. He doesn’t use other social media platforms and won’t see whatever you’d like to share with him if you post it elsewhere.
ALSO, Don is always open to offer his thoughts on various topics. If you have a specific request, you can let him know in a comment; he reads – and replies to – them all. ~ Sherry]
See more GUEST POSTS from Don!
Comments