Text 5157, 209 rader
Skriven 2010-12-22 06:48:00 av Dave Drum (48857.cooking)
Kommentar till en text av Glen Jamieson (48841.cooking)
Ärende: INDEPENDENT TESTING
===========================
-=> Glen Jamieson wrote to Dave Drum <=-
-=> Quoting Dave Drum to Glen Jamieson <=-
-> That is the sort of exposure that our "Choice" magazine does well, and
-> I appreciate.
DD> Consumer Reports - as stated on their web site
DD> (web.consumerreports.org) "We are a non-profit organization that is
DD> supported by the subscriptions to our web
DD> site and magazine. To maintain our independence, we do not accept any
DD> outside advertising and any free test samples."
GJ> That is the only way true independence can be maintained. If it is
GJ> for the benefit of consumers, it should only be supported by them.
If they would stick to objective testing and not get into areas where their
subjective opinions are at odds with common sense -- Even when they are
sticking to objective testing the criteria they sometimes use to rate one thing
above another are somewhat subjective. I do not agree with their selections
quite often but, do read the reports to see what sort of faults were found in
their comparisons. Then *I* decide which of those are critical to *me*.
Consumer Reports and others seem to want this to be a "one size fits all"
world. But, Sorry Charlie! it's not (and hopefully never will be) that way.
GJ> The Australian "Choice", to which I have been subscribing since it
GJ> first started up over 50 years ago, has been steadily expanding its
GJ> product investigations, and recently has been investigating and
DD> On the other hand -- The Centre For Consumer Freedom cavils "Big news
GJ> Is that another independent organisation? I haven't heard of it.
DD> From their web presence: "Founded in 1996, the Center for Consumer
DD> Freedom is a
DD> nonprofit organization devoted to promoting personal responsibility
DD> and protecting consumer choices. We believe that the consumer is King.
DD> And Queen.
DD> "A growing cabal of activists has meddled in Americans’ lives in
DD> recent years. They include self-anointed "food police," health
DD> campaigners, trial lawyers, personal-finance do-gooders, animal-rights
DD> misanthropes, and meddling bureaucrats.
DD> "Their common denominator? They all claim to know "what's best for
DD> you." In reality, they’re eroding our basic freedoms—the freedom to buy
DD> what we want, eat what we want, drink what we want, and raise our
DD> children as we see fit. When they push ordinary Americans around, we're
DD> here to push back.
GJ> What a rant! That would put me off straight away.
The truth would put you off? My mind boggles.
DD> "The Center for Consumer Freedom is supported by restaurants, food
DD> companies and thousands of individual consumers. From farm to fork,
DD> from urban to rural, our friends and supporters include businesses,
DD> their employees, and their customers.
GJ> Hahaha! And they claim to be independent!??? Would you trust them to
GJ> have an objective attitude towards, for example, HFCS?
No, they admit right up front from whence cometh their support. No where in
their name or mission statement does the word independent appear. They are
there to nay-say the food kops and their "enthusiasms" and to get people to
"use their loaf" and look at the actually facts of the issue(s) and decide for
themselves - not be led about like a nation of sheeple.
DD> "Many of the companies and individuals who support the Center
DD> financially have indicated that they want anonymity as contributors.
GJ> I am sure they would!
Most because of prejudiced arseholes who would ascribe the wrong motives to
their support of the Center.
DD> this week from Consumer Reports, the toaster-testing periodical that
DD> occasionally masquerades as a reliable source of food-safety advice: If
DD> you serve chicken medium-rare, someone might get sick. Whew. Thank
DD> goodness we subscribe. Consumer Reports has previously issued baseless
DD> warnings about genetically modified foods and acrylamide. Its claim
DD> "Based on her magazine's sample of 525 chickens, Consumer Reports
DD> scientist Urvashi Rangan warned CBS News viewers yesterday about an
DD> "astronomical rate of pathogen contamination." To its credit, the
GJ> If she is being quoted correctly, it sounds as if she is also prone to
GJ> similar hyperbole.
Which is why the "Center for Consumer Freedom" jumped in. And why I prefer to
make up my own mind. I am heartily sick of people who immediately "worst case"
every *potential* hazard into a looming disaster.
DD> U.S. Department of Agriculture fired back almost immediately. "There
DD> is virtually nothing or any conclusion that anyone could draw from
DD> 500 samples," USDA spokesman Steven Cohen told a Reuters reporter.
GJ> If the report was true, and the samples were chosen to be
GJ> representative of the industry, quite a lot could be concluded from
GJ> 525 samples. How many would they consider suitable?
I am not the USDA so I do not know what criterion they use for sample size and
variety.
DD> But leave food safety to the experts."
GJ> Who are the experts? "Choice" certainly doesn't indulge in such
GJ> hysterical ravings as the above, but does investigate public concerns
GJ> in a balanced, objective way. If you wish, you could see their web
GJ> page at www.choice.com.au.
DD> Apparently the person cited in the op-ed piece Urvashi Rangan is one.
DD> But Rangan had to have the support of Consumer Reports. It's just
DD> another one of the "viewing with alarm" pieces using junk science (so
DD> labelled by our US Department of Agriculture) and sensationalising an
DD> issue that should be dealt with by common sense.
GJ> The way in which Choice operates is to use either their own
GJ> laboratories or those in other independent organisations, such as
GJ> CSIRO or universities. Where a review is critical of a product, the
GJ> producer is given the opportunity to write a defence of it, which is
Consumer Reports offers no such avenue - AFAIK. And they are, often enough
guilty of excess hyperbole and, as I said above "sensationalising an issue that
should be dealt with by common sense."
GJ> then published in the magazine. Where alarmist groups have been
GJ> publishing frighteners, Choice will investigate their claims just as
GJ> objectively as it does those of opposing views.
We have a program on the glass teat called "Myth Busters" which does much the
same. Also, Snopes.com does quite a bit of that sort of thing.
GJ> Recent investigations have been into the hair loss industry,
GJ> separating treatments which work from those which don't, "greenwash"
GJ> (spurious claims of environmental friendliness), and taste and cost of
GJ> baked beans and other basic canned foods. Choice is also involved in
GJ> international health aims, such as reducing dietary salt intake,
GJ> particularly of prepared foods. Finland and UK are leading in this
GJ> project, followed by the European Union. The New York City Health
GJ> Department is coordinating the National Salt Reduction Initiative,
GJ> which has set 2- and 4-year targets for sodium reduction in 62
GJ> categories of packaged food and 25 categories of restaurant food.
DD> Read "Top five dumbest food cop proposals of the decade" an Op-Ed
DD> piece in the Las Vegas Review Journal available at
DD> http://tinyurl.com/FOOD-KOPS
DD> Given some of the idiotic proposals I have seen floated by people who
DD> should know better wanting to protect us from ourselves it must have
DD> been a Herculean task to winnow them down to just five. Bv(=
GJ> Sadly, it seems that you have great difficulty in finding true
GJ> objectivity in the reports you get on food, as in other consumer
GJ> items. As a certain, unjustly maligned public servant once said,
GJ> "What is truth?".
Ol' pontificating Pilate ... might as well ask "What is a salad?"
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
Title: Ensalada de Garbanzos y Chorizo
Categories: Latino, Beans, Pork, Salads, Nuts
Yield: 6 servings
3 tb Extra virgin olive oil
1 md Onion; thin sliced
3 cl Garlic; chopped
7 oz Chorizo; sliced diagonally
1 Turkish bay leaf
1/4 c Pine nuts; toasted
2 1/2 c Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas);
- rinsed
2 tb Chicken broth
1 sm Tomato; diced
Coarse black pepper
This Catalonian garbanzo bean and chorizo salad is
traditionally served hot or warm. It is a great side dish
and may be accompanied with fresh bread. Some variations
include the addition of piquillo peppers. With or without
the addition, Ensalada de Garbanzos, is great for tapas
parties!
Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the
onion, garlic, chorizo, and bay leaf. Cook for about five
minutes, stirring occasionally. Next, add the pine nuts,
garbanzo beans, and chicken broth; cook for an additional
few minutes (enough to warm the garbanzo beans).
Sprinkle the diced tomatoes over the top and add a pinch
of black pepper for presentation. Serve and enjoy!
Serves 6
From: http://www.hotpaella.com
Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives
MMMMM
ENJOY!!!
From Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen
Home of YAHOOOOAHHHH Hot Sauce & Hardin Cider
... Truth is beautiful, without doubt; but so are lies. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
--- MultiMail/Win32 v0.49
--- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32
* Origin: :::The Holodeck BBS::: Telnet://holo.homeip.net (1:261/1381)
|