Kitchen Gossip

Sweetbreads are to me (with foie-gras) the most delicious of all the offal meats!

But where are they from exactly?

Here's the Larousse Gastronomique article about it:

Sweetbread: The culinary term for the thymus gland (in the throat) and the pancreas (near the stomach) in calves,lambs and pigs, although the latter is not much used. Thymus sweetbreads are elongated in shape, pancreas sweetbread are larger and rounded. Lamb and calves sweetbreads are considered to be superior; they can be used in fillings and ragouts for moulds and vol-au-vent. Sweetbreads need to be blanched, refreshed and cooled before use; they can be fried, roasted, grilled, broiled, poached, cooked au gratin or on skewers.
     

Butter-fried sweetbreads, flamed with cognac.

Bartlett pears, Bleu d'Auvergne, mixed greens and beets.

The dressing is made of the cooking juices and a reduction of fig flavored balsamic vinegar.

I came across the thesis on the web, I think you might want to read.

It is about a one man's war on macdonald's

[PDF]

FRENCH FOOD VS. FAST FOOD: JOSÉ BOVÉ TAKES ON MCDONALD'S A thesis ...

by RAS Freeze - 2002 - Related articles - All 6 versions

And this one I research intentionally, because awareness of all need to be risen to this subject.

Monsanto Terminator Technology -- Worldwide Famine & Starvation

With Monsanto's terminator technology, they will sell seeds to farmers to plant ... If the technology is transmitted through recessive genes, we could see ...
www.ethicalinvesting.com/monsanto/terminator.shtml - Cached - Similar -

This articles tell you all about "trans-fat"

Trans Fats   www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3045792 -

Ban Trans Fats: The Campaign to Ban Partially Hydrogenated Oils www.bantransfats.com/ -

Fast Food Items Highest In Trans Fat - The 88 least healthy foods.

Monosodium Glutamate
(MSG)

Many people recognise monosodium glutamate (MSG) as the additive used, for example, in some Chinese and Japanese food, but few know what it is, let alone what its effects on the body are.  Now a new report focuses on how monosodium glutamate may be just one of the causes of the Slow Poisoning of America.

In fact, MSG (which is often disguised by names like "hydrolyzed vegetable protein" or "HVP", "yeast extract" or "autolyzed proteins") is, like aspartame, a member of the group of chemicals known as "excitotoxins" (the clue is in the name!). These toxic compounds are known to interfere with brain chemistry and have been implicated in many neurological diseases, such as brain cancers, MS, fibromyalgia, depression and hyperactivity (ADHD). In fact, they overexcite brain cells to the point of cell damage and even cell death.

MSG has also been linked to obesity and, indeed, many products that contain MSG now also contain horrific chemicals like "high fructose corn syrup" (whose purpose is to make you chemically addicted to the food in the same way as sugar).

Monosodium glutamate is the sodium salt of the amino acid glutamate, and is a commonly used flavor enhancer, regarded by the FDA as "generally safe", meaning that food manufacturers can use as much of it as they like.  It has been around for many years, and is found not only in take away meals from Chinese restaurants, but many other food sources, in which it is listed as either "monosodium glutamate", "MSG" or "hydrolyzed vegetable protein".

In a recent book on the subject, Dr Russell Blaylock reported that MSG also causes severe disturbances in the endocrine system, affecting levels of hormones such as LH (Leutenising hormone), GH (growth hormone) and prolactin. (Excitotoxins by Russell L Blaylock MD, page 263)

Another recent work stated that "The stress-induced abnormalities in blood-brain barrier permeability suggest differing MSG effects dependent on existing states of relaxation or stresses. The suggestive evidence for MSG-induced neuroendocrine effects is substantial, coupled with the observation of increased obesity in children." ( In Bad Taste by George R Schwartz MD, page 39)

In short, MSG is a leading cause of obesity and may well be implicated in many other conditions. It should be avoided at all costs, just like its chemical relatives.

Autolyzed, hydrolyzed, glutamate, glutamic acid, hydrolyzed, autolyzed
HIDDEN SOURCES 
OF PROCESSED FREE GLUTAMIC ACID (MSG) 
NAMES OF INGREDIENTS THAT CONTAIN ENOUGH MSG 
TO SERVE AS COMMON MSG-REACTION TRIGGERS

The MSG-reaction is a reaction to free glutamic acid that occurs in food as a consequence of manufacture. MSG-sensitive people do not react to protein (which contains bound glutamic acid) or any of the minute amounts of free glutamic acid that might be found in unadulterated, unfermented,  unprocessed, food.

 

These ALWAYS contain MSG

Glutamate (E 620)	Glutamic acid (E 620)	Monosodium glutamate (E 621)
Monopotassium glutamate (E 622)	Calcium glutamate (E 623)	Monoammonium glutamate (E 624)
Magnesium glutamate (E 625)	Natrium glutamate (natrium is Latin/German for sodium)	Gelatin
Calcium caseinate	Sodium caseinate	Textured protein
anything "hydrolyzed"	any "hydrolyzed ... protein"	Yeast nutrient
Yeast extract	Yeast food	Autolyzed yeast
Vetsin	Ajinomoto

,

 

These OFTEN contain MSG or create MSG during processing

Carrageenan	Maltodextrin	Malt extract
Natural pork flavoring	Citric acid	Malt flavoring
Bouillon and Broth	Natural chicken flavoring	Soy protein isolate
Natural beef flavoring	Ultra-pasteurized	Soy sauce
Stock	Barley malt	Soy sauce extract
Whey protein concentrate	Pectin	Soy protein
Whey protein	Protease	Soy protein concentrate
Whey protein isolate	Protease enzymes	Anything protein fortified
Flavors(s) & Flavoring(s)	Anything enzyme modified	Anything fermented
Natural flavor(s)  & flavoring(s)	Enzymes anything	Seasonings  (the word "seasonings")

These ingredients work synergistically with MSG to enhance flavor
(If they are present for flavoring purposes, so is MSG)

Disodium 5’-guanylate (E 627)

Disodium 5’-inosinate (E 631)

Disodium 5'-ribonucleotides (E 635)

 
 In ADDITION... The not so new game is to label hydrolyzed proteins as pea protein, whey protein, corn protein, etc. If a pea, for example, were whole, it would be identified as a pea. Calling an ingredient pea protein indicates that the pea has been hydrolyzed, at least in part, and that processed free glutamic acid (MSG) is present. Relatively new to the list are wheat protein and soy protein.

Disodium guanylate and disodium inosinate are expensive food additives that work synergistically with inexpensive MSG. Their use suggests that the product has MSG in it. They would probably not be used as food additives if there were no MSG present.

MSG reactions have been reported from soaps, shampoos, hair conditioners, and cosmetics, where MSG is hidden in ingredients that include the words "hydrolyzed," "amino acids," and "protein."

Low fat and no fat milk products often include milk solids that contain MSG and/or contain Carrageenan, guar gum, and/or locust bean gum.  Low fat and no fat versions of ice cream and cheese may not be as obvious as yogurt, milk, cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, etc., but they are not an exception.  

Protein powders contain glutamic acid, which, invariably, would be processed free glutamic acid (MSG).  Amino acids are not always listed on labels of protein powders.

Drinks, candy, and chewing gum are potential sources of hidden MSG and/or aspartame and neotame. Aspartic acid, found in neotame and aspartame (NutraSweet), ordinarily causes MSG type reactions in MSG sensitive people. Aspartame is found in some medications, including children's medications. Neotame is relatively new and we have not yet seen it used widely in the United States. Check with your pharmacist.

Binders and fillers for medications, nutrients, and supplements, both prescription and non-prescription, enteral feeding materials, and some fluids administered intravenously in hospitals, may contain MSG.

According to the manufacturer, Varivax–Merck chicken pox vaccine (Varicella Virus Live), contains L-monosodium glutamate and hydrolyzed gelatin, both of which contain processed free glutamic acid (MSG) which causes brain lesions in young laboratory animals, and causes endocrine disturbances like OBESITY and REPRODUCTIVE disorders later in life.  It would appear that most, if not all, live virus vaccines contain some ingredient that contains MSG.

Reactions to MSG are dose related, i.e., some people react to even very small amounts. MSG-induced reactions may occur immediately after ingestion or after as much as 48 hours.   The time lapse is typically the same for any one individual.

Note: There are additional ingredients that appear to cause MSG reactions in ACUTELY sensitive people. A list is available by request.

Remember: By FDA definition, all MSG is "naturally occurring." "Natural" doesn't mean "safe."  "Natural" only means that the ingredient started out in nature.

Lies and deception:
How the FDA does not protect your best interests.

Did you know that many retired FDA officials go to work as special advisors to the pharmaceutical and food industries?

It's true. Federal agencies like the FDA—which were created to protect consumers—often behave like branch offices of companies like Monsanto, which they are supposed to regulate. And when the names and dossiers of the individuals who work with allies in Congress and the White House to oppose food safety measures are revealed, the picture becomes even more sinister.

The fact is, it has been widely reported that FDA (Federal Drug Administration), EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), and USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) officials are frequently rewarded with lucrative jobs at the companies they were regulating.

Conflict of interest

This insidious conflict of interest exhibited by the U.S. food and pharmaceutical industries has been going on for almost half a century. Mark Gold, founder of the Aspartame Toxicity Information Center in Concord, New Hampshire (mgold@holisticmed.com) provides an overview of the situation in his "Analysis of the influence of the Aspartame Industry on the Scientific Committee on Food."1

"In the United States, corruption of governmental and scientific committees by the food industry was disclosed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In an article in the journal Science (1972), it was revealed that the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Food Protection Committee was being funded by the food, chemical and packaging industries. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration was relying on the NAS Committee for 'independent' information. The Chairman of the NAS Subcommittee investigating monosodium glutamate (MSG) had recently taken part in research partially funded by the MSG manufacturer. Another member of the Subcommittee became a spokesperson for the MSG industry. (Science 1972) Other members of the Subcommittee had ties to the MSG industry.

Since that time numerous governmental committees have been corrupted by the placement of food industry-funded consultants on these committees."2,3

The revolving door

A recent report by the Edmonds Institute lists names of the possible hundreds of men and women who move in and out of "revolving doors" as Federal regulators and directors, commissioners and scientists at the companies they are supposed to regulate.4

Close relationships between regulators and those they regulate are always a cause of concern because the conflict of interest inevitably results in the quality of regulation and oversight of a technology being compromised … which inevitably results in the promotion of foods and drugs that are frequently unsafe.

The Edmonds Institute has been researching these relationships for some time. Here are some examples:

Margaret Miller … former chemical laboratory supervisor for Monsanto, … now Deputy Director of Human Food Safety and Consultative Services, New Animal Drug Evaluation Office, Center for Veterinary Medicine in the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).5,6

Michael Taylor, former legal advisor to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s Bureau of Medical Devices and Bureau of Foods, later executive assistant to the Commissioner of the FDA,…still later a partner at the law firm of King & Spaulding where he supervised a nine-lawyer group whose clients included Monsanto Agricultural Company, … still later Deputy Commissioner for Policy at the United States Food and Drug Administration, … and later with the law firm of King & Spaulding … now head of the Washington, D.C. office of Monsanto Corporation.5,6

Margaret Miller, Michael Taylor, and Suzanne Sechen (an FDA "primary reviewer for all rbST and other dairy drug production applications") were the subjects of a U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) investigation in 1994 for their role in the FDA's approval of Posilac, Monsanto Corporation's formulation of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbST or rBGH). The GAO Office found "no conflicting financial interests with respect to the drug's approval" and only "one minor deviation from now superseded FDA regulations". (Quotations are from the 1994 GAO report).

The FDA and Monsanto: Strange bedfellows

Monsanto was required to submit a scientific report on rBGH to the FDA so the agency could determine the growth hormone's safety. Margaret Miller put the report together, and in 1989 shortly before she submitted the report, Miller left Monsanto to work for the FDA. Guess what her first job was? Strangely enough, to determine whether or not to approve the report she wrote for Monsanto! The bottom line is that Monsanto approved its own report. Miller was assisted by another former Monsanto researcher, Susan Sechen.

But in an article titled "Not Milk: The USDA, Monsanto, and the U.S. Dairy Industry" Ché Green, founder and director of The ARMEDIA Institute, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization focusing on farm animal issues in the United States, writes that, "The results of the study, in fact, were not made available to the public until 1998, when a group of Canadian scientists obtained the full documentation and completed an independent analysis of the results. Among other instances of neglect, the documents showed that the FDA had never even reviewed Monsanto's original studies (on which the approval for Posilac {rBGH} had been based), so in the end the point was moot whether or not the report had contained all of the original data."7

And as though the FDA didn't already exhibit enough audacity it handed Michael Taylor the responsibility to make the decision as to whether or not rBGH-derived milk should be labeled. (At the time, Michael Taylor, who had previously worked as a lawyer for Monsanto, was executive assistant to the Commissioner of the FDA.)

In 1994, Taylor ended up writing the rBGH labeling guidelines that prohibit the dairy industry from stating that their products either contain or are free from rBGH. Even worse, to keep rBGH-milk from being "stigmatized" in the marketplace, the FDA ruled that the labels of non-rBGH products must state that there is no difference between rBGH and the natural hormone.8

According to journalist Jennifer Ferraro, "while working for Monsanto,Taylor had prepared a memo for the company as to whether or not it would be constitutional for states to erect labeling laws concerning rBGH dairy products. In other words, Taylor helped Monsanto figure out whether or not the corporation could sue states or companies that wanted to tell the public that their products were free of Monsanto's drug."9

The current situation

Monsanto is suing Maine-based Oakhurst Dairy for labeling their milk "Our Farmers' Pledge: No Artificial Growth Hormones." According to Monsanto, Oakhurst Dairy does not have the right to let its customers know whether its milk contains genetically engineered hormones. What hogwash! Oakhurst says they've been labeling their products like this for four years, in response to consumer demand.

Although rBGH has been banned in every industrialized nation in the world except for the United States, Monsanto continues to claim that rBGH-derived milk is no different from the natural stuff, despite documentation that rBGH milk contains substantially higher levels of a potent cancer tumor promoter called IGF-1.

This poses a serious risk to the entire U.S. population, which is now exposed to high levels of IGF-1 in dairy products, since elevated blood levels of IGF-1 are among the leading known risk factors for breast cancer, and are also associated with other major cancers, particularly colon and prostate.10

In 1994, Monsanto sued two dairies and threatened several thousand retailers for labeling or advertising milk and dairy products as "rBGH-free." Despite Monsanto's intimidation tactics, more than 10% of U.S. milk is currently labeled as "rBGH-free," while sales of organic milk and dairy products (which prohibit rBGH) are booming.

And just to add insult to injury, in recent months a Monsanto-funded front group, the Center for Consumer Freedom, has launched a smear campaign against organic dairies, including Organic Valley, claiming they are defrauding consumers.11

How Monsanto's policies have become U.S. policy

Prior to being the Supreme Court Judge who put G.W. in office, Clarence Thomas was Monsanto's lawyer. The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (Anne Veneman) was on the Board of Directors of Monsanto's Calgene Corporation. The Secretary of Defense (Donald Rumsfeld) was on the Board of Directors of Monsanto's Searle pharmaceuticals. The U.S. Secretary of Health, Tommy Thompson, received $50,000 in donations from Monsanto during his winning campaign for Wisconsin's governor. The two congressmen receiving the most donations from Monsanto during the last election were Larry Combest (Chairman of the House Agricultural Committee) and Attorney General John Ashcroft. (Source: Dairy Education Board)

What can you do?

1. Contact your state representatives and let them know your views.
   
   
2. Educate yourself about what is really in our food.
   
   Three recommended books:
   
   Eric Schlosser, "Fast Food Nation" New York: Harper Collins, 2002.
   
   Marion Nestle, Food Politics: "How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health." University of California Press, March 2002.
   
   Marion Nestle, "Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism." University of California Press, March 2003.
   
   
3. Eat only organically grown and produced food. Sadly and unfortunately, we cannot trust the FDA or USDA to ensure the safety of our food.