Warning, conspiracy theory! page

[workinprogress]

I have been pondering why the Government is so dead set on high carbohydrate diets. After reading books such as In Defense of Food, and Fast Food Nation. I have been starting to think its about control as opposed to health. With all the Subsidies already paid to farmers directly and indirectly. Its cheaper to feed us carbs and seed oils. Keeping us working and paying our taxes.

If you can produce even a small portion of your food, thats money you don't have to earn to support a lifestyle of ever increasing consumption. The man who can produce his own food is a radical who cannot be controlled.

That is all. Thank you.

[Bob-Tao]

I agree there is a conspiracy but I think it's to have us eat what is profitable for them (the big corporations that control agri business and all the seeds, fertilizers, genetically modified foods, processed foods, etc.) to grow and sell. These corporations hire lobbyists who contribute to political campaigns to assure the farm subsidies that are paid for by the taxpayers. It actually costs more to grow corn than you can sell it for. So the corn subsidy stays in place and that's the way corn can be sold for a profit. So corn goes into livestock food for pigs, chickens, etc. and those commodities can be sold for a profit. Then high fructose corn syrup gets put into every processsed food (I even saw it in a jar of sour pickles), making it even a bigger market (and more profit) for the people who grow corn thanks to the corn subsidy. The conspiracy is about profit. If they could make a profit having everyone eat dog crap, they would do it.

[workinprogress]

Point well taken. Follow the money. I've just been very frustrated lately culminating in my little rant. Thank you for reading and your perspective! I do appreciate it.

[sbhikes]

I for one agree that there's a certain level of conspiracy regarding keeping us dependent on jobs. I have read lots of things written long ago about how important it was to the growth of the US that things be set up so that people worked, otherwise they would not be easier to control. These were written records of men providing advice to members of government and industry that I read somewhere. I wish I remember where I read this. But from the very start they knew that there was a risk in the big giant empty US that people would go feral and be able to live completely free and they took deliberate steps to make that difficult to do.

I think the whole health insurance thing is a way to keep us trapped in our jobs. If we did not have to worry about health care, we could all be freer to quit our jobs and become entrepreneurs ourselves. I have personally known lots of talented, eager people who just couldn't start their own businesses because of the whole health insurance thing. My own partner has enough money to retire but won't because of the health insurance. He's basically working when he doesn't need to, trapped and taking up a job somebody else could be doing. I think, no actually I know for a fact, that there are some business people who actually like having that kind of power over their employees. Where my partner works is a company like that. I used to work right across from the president's office and she never closed her door. I heard everything. It was disgusting what I had to listen to sometimes.

[Wildrose]

Personally, I think what's going on is the politicians and the industries are just porking it. By that I mean what Bob-tao said... the politicians are paid off to make sure the taxpayers pay to keep the corn industry profitable. The ones who ultimately get the shaft are the taxpayers, and then they get doubly shafted by HFCS and obesity. Gotta love civilization.

[Rusty]

I believe you are right, and as far as corn syrup goes, there is high fructose corn syrup IN corn syrup (reading lables is so enlightening!)!

[jfreaksho]

Along with that is John Taylor Gatto's "Underground History of American Education" which talks at length about the demise of the old one-room schoolhouses. He discusses something about how farmers are too independent, and forcing farm children to go to school was a way of controlling them within society.

*Note: I am paraphrasing what I remember from reading it a few years ago, and may be completely full of crap on that. It was very interesting, though, and I think it's available to read online for free.

Edit: Linky:Read The Book - John Taylor Gatto

[Urban Forager]

The American economy is entirely dependent on the populace being obese; everything from agribusiness,
mass produced junk food, the health care industry, advertising and big pharma to name just a few all rely on the population making themselves sick to fuel the economy. If the population a as a whole were to get healthy the US economy would probably collapse. Not to mention the fact that when people have enough to eat they are passive. We have a population that is anesthetized by calories. Okay there is my little rant.

[Chaohinon]

Well if you look at menus for presidential and congressional banquets, they're usually loaded with goodies like steak, lobster, fresh fruit and veggies, etc. The ruling class hoards the best for itself. That's not really a conspiracy, it's just how it's always been.

[justyouraveragecavemen]

I read the other day that there's not really a corn shortage this year due to drought. There would be plenty corn to go around if oil companies didn't have to put 10% ethanol in their gas. So technically, regulations are causing an artificial corn shortage.
I can see this because all the fields near my house that grew cotton every year now grow corn. I'm not a farmer, but it's my understanding that corn requires more water, pesticides and fertilizers than cotton.
So regulations are causing the use of more chemicals that need to be regulated, or you could say the same thing like this:
So bureaucrats are causing the use of more chemicals that need to be regulated by their bureaucratic friends.