tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3590966175110441391.post2713908559767751203..comments2023-06-26T03:08:40.549-07:00Comments on Tomorrow's Table: Also, What If We're Attacked By Beets? What Then?Pamela Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08905736049638342587noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3590966175110441391.post-30877173739665695522009-08-25T13:00:10.763-07:002009-08-25T13:00:10.763-07:00Surely, Dr. Burtch's comments are in jest.
In...Surely, Dr. Burtch's comments are in jest.<br /><br />In the USA, it is completely illegal to use human excrement as fertilizer, unless it has been properly processed to the point where no viable fecal bacteria remain. (Hence the "sewage sludge" micro-controversy.)<br /><br />This is no easy task, as human excrement, by dry weight, consists of roughly 50 percent bacteria. <br /><br />Personally, the practice of using excrement from *any* source as fertilizer for crops intended to be eaten raw -- primarily vegetables -- should be completely outlawed. <br /><br />All manner of fecal bacteria can persist in the soil. Why not? They want to live, too. But living in the soil, they are taken up in the root systems of the plant and take up residence in the plant tissues. At that point, washing your vegetables is a pointless exercise. These critters are living on the *inside* of, say, your crisp and lovely-looking Romaine lettuce. And they'll get you from there.<br /><br />As for Barbies that "can't be killed", well, it takes a very rich imagination, and a set of intellectual values I do not share, to countenance the notion that Barbies have ever been alive in the first place.<br /><br />The notion of being "attacked by beets" is thoroughly repellent. People have been trying to get me to eat beets for years, and all have utterly failed. Being overwhelmed by these bloated tuberous nightmares in some dark alley would surely distort my psyche to an unimaginable degree. <br /><br />I find solace in the knowledge that these are not motile organisms, and besides, don't have the neurological structure required to deliver on any threats which their non-existent minds could hope to conceive.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3590966175110441391.post-59373630307340733522009-08-25T11:37:03.547-07:002009-08-25T11:37:03.547-07:00Dear Dr. Burtch
I appreciate your taking time to ...Dear Dr. Burtch<br /><br />I appreciate your taking time to skim a paragraph or two of the article in Reed magazine and then providing an in-depth highly analytical response based on your previous entrenched opinion of the issues. You are not alone in your concerns on food safety. I receive numerous letters from people like you who are strongly supportive of science and who also have time to read the internet to learn what scientists are plotting. Such letters are invaluable in helping bench scientists like me understand the workings of the mind of average Americans. As my new found hero Barney Frank would say, 'What planet are you from?"<br /><br />Although I do not personally work on toys, I do understand that glow-in-the-dark zebra fish are for sale and quite popular. I suggest you buy some, put them in your tank (Please add water, they will do better) and stare at them for a long time. This will give face to gill time with GMOs and will further your scientific training. As is true with all Zen practices, you will have much less time to read the internet and write letters but it will provide peace of mind to you and those you would normally correspond with. <br /><br />All the best,<br />Ms DoctorPamela Ronaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08905736049638342587noreply@blogger.com