On Sun, 23 Aug 1998, james withrow wrote:
> And as a vegetarian, I can hardly be expected to feel sorrow for
> adults who can't afford more meat to eat. (Maybe if they were yearning
> for more Velveeta...) Adults don't need much in the way of expensive
> meat or dairy products.
Hmmm, I don't think that your vegetarian diet corresponds with someone in the Third World. The diet is usually lacking in nutrients and filled with pesticides (not that our conventional fruits and vegetables are much different)...multinational corporations have done a successful job at destroying native plants, beans, etc. in many parts of the world as well as destroying ecosystems, leaving very little in the diet for nutrients.
> It's also silly to expect the world's population to keep growing at
> the rate it has this century (not that Mark is claiming this.) Much of
> the growth is the product of better health care worldwide and while
> there's still more to be done, there are significantly fewer places
> where less infant mortality would boost population. Some nations
> already have negative birthrates and urbanization seems to be the
> biggest factor.
The world's population in the third world will continue to rise until birth mortality lowers and general poor conditions brought to you by the First World are improved...this seems like any intelligent person would know this?
>
>
> Well, I live three blocks from where a ghetto begins and if people
> are going hungry, they're hiding it rather well. Low birthweights among
> African-Americans and other U.S. citizens aren't due to any problem with
> access to food. Most of the comments here have centered on poor dietary
> choices and some barriers to making good dietary choices. Some low
> birthweights are due to access to health care and some are due to
> alcohol and drug abuse during pregnancy. There are plenty of places to
> get a free meal.
>
Wow, pretty reactionary and ignorant. One wonders why these poor dietary
choices are made? Perhaps, they can't afford your bourgeois lifestyle of
expensive organics and premium products? There are plenty of places to
get a free meal? A healthy one? Perhaps, from Food Not Bombs... but
the real question is, where are you coming from?
> I didn't know that Cuba's dictator was allowing his people
> internet access. You meet so few Cubans in the chat rooms.
Um, yeah, you can speak to Cubans on the internet...there may not be many
because the US embargo retards their economic progress. But, really, I
bet your knowledge of Cuba is REALLY vast [sarcasm, just in case you
didn't get that] to know that human rights violations are relatively
absent when you look at US supported governments in LAtin America and the
US itself. And, the level of freedom and socialism, although not perfect
in a world dominated by capitalism is far more advanced than anything I
have ever seen. It would be wise to think for yourself and research the
truth....US propaganda is only a way to become brainwashed.
I'm sure other people will respond to you more extensively but it is a real shame the ignorance and arrogance exhibited by such reactionaries. Good luck to you in your life.