Apparently I Lied

The posts here so far haven’t been especially political (and in terms of who did what to whom in the world of Reps and Dems I don’t anticipate it will become so) but I just took a look at my blogroll so far, and it’s got quite the political slant.

Which makes me think this blog might end up being more political than I planned — but only because when we’re talking about our relationship to our society and our planet, it necessarily becomes so to some extent. Politics is about policy, and improving the world is about shaping policy, which means dealing with policymakers, which is, of course, another word for politicians.

But I’ll try to keep it about living thoughtfully and ethically, and have the politics, such as they are, grow out of that.

Drink Your Milk — Maybe

Last week, I noticed that my local grocery store was now advertising its milk as RBGH-free. What, I wondered, is RBGH? I have since found out.

I won’t go on at length about it. I’ll just give you the bare bones and the sources.

RBGH stands for Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone and it is administered to cows (through the kind offices of its manufacturer, Monsanto) to increase milk production, which it does. It also makes the cows far more likely to contract several illnesses, including mastitis.

I watched a little segment about this very issue in a documentary called “The Corporation” (which I highly recommend) yesterday, and one eyewitness said the pus generated by the cows in trying to fight off the mastitis ends up in the milk.

Well, that was enough for me, but it turns out it isn’t all the bad news.