G'day G'day Adam,

  Yesterday I went to the Farmers' Market.  It was absolutely
crowded.  Despite being outside amongst giant trees in large
delightful grounds where an old homestead once stood it almost
standing room only.  It was the day after the Mission concert
featuring Jimmy Barnes and Tom Jones and this brought many out of
towners.  Now this Farmers' Market started as an act of rebellion. The
supermarkets did everything possible to exploit the local vegetable
growers forcing down the prices paid to them and trucking in massive
amounts of vegetables from other provinces.  When the market started
the supermarkets promptly threatened the local newspapers with removal
of their advertising if they ran any adverts what so ever for the
market.  The papers acquiesced and no adverts were run in the papers
for the market.  Still the market survived.   I was one of their early
customers.  Their survival somehow became symbolic for my own
survival.  Some years it was a near run thing.  In the last couple of
years though things have changed.  The market is doing more than
surviving. It is absolutely thriving.  A year or so ago its success
was so remarkable a Canadian university sent out a research team to
find out why it had survived.  Along with the market's success has
been the phenomenal success of organically grown vegetables.  There
are now three stalls that are either organic or as good as organic.
(One grower is organic by default.  He finds sprays too expensive
given the wide range of produce he carries.)  To give an idea of its
success think in terms of one tonne of kale sold each week to local
customers.  This is just one item amongst many others.  Those out of
towners who come from the big cities are amazed to find the range or
exotic tomatoes eg orange Roma low acid,  green banana,  pale yellow,
an American deep orange heirloom whose name escapes me at the moment
though the divine taste sure as heck doesn't.   My point is that where
there is a will and enough people combine to bring that will to
successful fruition, a way will be found to thwart these hidden
controllers who would stop good things happening.

In the instance you mention it is easy to see that the result might
well be unintentional,  a result of subsidies.   Sadly as you've
pointed out all too often those subsidies support foods that
accentuate the bulge.  

New Zealand used to have many farming subsidies.  Years ago European
countries in a cunning move to thwart cheaper imports from countries
like Australia and NZ raised monstrous tariffs on any produce that had
been produced as a result of subsidies.  Never mind that their own
farmers received subsidies.  At first this seemed like a death blow to
NZ farmers.  They moaned and they groaned.  The government bit the
bullet and removed subsidies not only on farming but also on all
manner of other items.  Shoe and clothing manufacturers went to the
wall.  In this respect I believe they were unwise as we now become
dependent on countries like China and their policies.  The
transformation was described as the biggest social revolution to have
occurred in a country without guns in the streets.

Whatever.  The results have been remarkable.  Farmers have adapted and
discovered how to produce much more economically.  Exports have grown.
However, food in NZ used to be a fraction of what it was say in
England.  Now it isn't.   We can still export economically there and
to the US.   It is tougher for us food wise.  A friend of mine who is
retiring plans to put a considerable amount of land into vegetable
growing because food cost have risen steeply.  Milk is no longer
subsidized.  It now sells at prices determined by international
markets.   Good food that keeps me healthy certainly takes a
considerable portion of our budget.  While I have fruit trees and can
trade some damsons etc I don't have the room for basic vegetables.

Best wishes,

It remains smarter to simply eat less, down to the right amount:

http://HeartMDPhD.com/BeSmart

Be hungry... be healthy... be hungrier... be euglycemic:

http://TheWellnessFoundation.com/BeHealthy

Prayerfully in the infinite power and might of the Holy Spirit,

Andrew <><
--
Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Lawful steward of http://EmoryCardiology.com
Swordbearer for the KING of kings and LORD of lords.
http://HeartMDPhD.com/Sword

sphynx....@gmail.com wrote: