Look ma, no teeth!
.
.
Even before our first tooth, our development is shaped by multiple factors, many of which we can control – nurturing, appropriate mental stimulation, nutrition, safe environment, etc. One developmental factor has been around for so many years we hardly question it – the addition of fluoride to our public water supply. It’s an issue that has some people in Santa Fe steamed. And there is a body of research that is gaining credibility to support these Santa Feans’ protest of (sometimes) erratic amounts of fluoride dumped into our water supply. When did this all begin? And why would anyone care? Very briefly fluoride is a byproduct in the manufacture of nuclear arms, aluminum, cement, steel and phosphates. Up until 1931, the American Dental Association and the US Public Health Service recognized that fluoride caused dental problems and that every effort should be made to remove it from drinking water. (Fluoride the Aging Factor, p 140). Over the past 60 years a mountain of research has proved that fluoride is indeed harmful to health. In fact no independent study has ever found any health benefits from ingesting fluoride. Large-scale water fluoridation was started before any clinical trials were conducted (what?!). The first “test cases” were on whole cities in 1945 – Newburgh NY and Grand Rapids Michigan. There was one “incident” that should-have-could-have-but-didn’t put the kibosh on the whole fluoride movement. DuPont was the chemical company contracted to produce millions of gallons of fluoride for the Manhattan Project. A DuPont plant in New Jersey dumped so much fluoride into the air and water that horrible things happened in towns downwind:
* poultry died
* horses got sick and couldn’t work
* cows became so crippled they could only crawl on
their bellies to graze
* the peach crop was destroyed
* fluoride content of local vegetables was off the charts
* abnormally high level of fluoride in the blood of the
local people
* the workers at DuPont began to get sick.
Why this did not put a halt to any further use of fluoride in public water supply, I don’t know. The accident was of course covered up by DuPont. Besides which, back then, a voice of protest did not have the power of the Internet.
ALCOA, mega-producer of aluminum, headed up by Andrew Mellon, was a powerful player in creating a PR campaign to “educate” the public to accept and ultimately demand fluoride. You know the old adage, repeat a gigantic lie enough times and people will accept it as truth. It worked. And it helped that it was fueled by untold billion$ behind the arms manufacturers outfitting the world with nuclear weapons.
Procter and Gamble was another big player who scored big when they got the American Dental Association to endorse fluoride in toothpaste.
Once again I’ve embarqued on a story way too big to fully explore here. You can follow up if it is of interest to you. But I think what rekindled my interest in fluoride recently was this sentence from the Harvard School of Public Health: “Fluoride in amounts commonly found in water supplies in these United States is significantly decreasing our children’s IQ by approximately seven points.” Holy moly, just think how much smarter we all could be!
So what about the dental health issue? Do we still believe fluoride reduces cavities? Hmm. Here’s one alternative – research reports are proving that xylitol in gum and toothpaste does a great job of inhibiting decay. There is much much more to this fascinating story. I recommend this excellent site: http://www.air-purifiers-superstore.com/fluoride_scam_how_it_all_began.html
Also Griffith and Bryson’s well researched “Fluoride, Teeth, and the A-Bomb,” and always Dr. Mercola on mercola.com.
We have written frequently about the GMO food issue. A GMO labeling law is currently before the NM Senate. It was crushed and defeated in CA last November. One wonders why. Who could possibly object to simply requiring that GMO foods be properly labeled? Well as it turns out the “who” are big lobbies and big business interests (the obvious one, Monsanto) who stand to lose by #1. The public’s awareness of what genetically modified foods do to our health and #2. our desire to exercise choice.
Senator Peter Wirth is sponsoring the bill, SB18 and it is currently in the Senate Public Affairs Committee. They are scheduled to bring discussion on the bill on Tuesday, January 29th. Here is the list of members in the committee and their contact info. Gerald Ortiz y Pino Bill B. O’Neill Jacob Candelaria Ron Griggs Daniel A. Ivey-Soto Timothy M. Keller Gay G. Kernan Craig Brandt.
Just a brief aside – Monsanto is responsible for creating Agent Orange, bovine growth hormone (rGBH), and so-called “terminator seed” which are sterile seeds that cannot be saved for future use. If the scientific evidence is correct, and GMO is responsible for multiple diseases including cancer, birth defects and infertility, then surely the effort and cost of labeling GMO foods is worth it. We would potentially save billions of dollars in health care costs just by paying a few cents more at the grocery store. The following countries or farming regions within them, have instituted bans on GMO seeds or crops or foods — Italy, Austria, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal, Greece, Spain, UK, Switzerland, Australia, NZ, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, Brazil, Paraguay.
Lou Levin We are unable to continue offering Lou’s lovely music. In our increasingly regulated society, we have received warnings and insanely outrageous fees for both live music on premises (showcasing local artists) and even Joe’s signature music mixes. These regulatory groups have gone as far as suing Girl Scouts for singing songs at the beach!! The current status of Joe’s “brand” of music is —we are implementing and now fine tuning a new compliant solution that will both reflect our musical tastes and make you feel comfortable. Please bear with us while we experiment with sometimes irritating or dissonant sounds. Eventually we WILL find a satisfactory solution. FYI, we have since 1998 paid annually for the proper license to be able to play our purchased CD’s in the retaurant. They want much more now.
The Red Room is the perfect place for festive events, business networking, power breakfast meetings. Seats 28 – 30 comfortably. Ask Roland about large group and party discounts.
Dianne Dumas, local artist, brings her oil and acrylic paintings of New Mexico landscapes to Joe’s walls. A native New Mexican, Dianne has studied art since she was a child. She attended Mississippi Women’s University and is a graduate of Southwest School of Art.
Dianne’s works have been exhibited in numerous venues in New Mexico and Texas.
The next Carbon Economy Series presentation is scheduled for Feb 21 – 22 at the SF Community College. No More Garbage: Zero Waste. Details at carboneconomyseries or call Iginia at 505-819-3828.
Why is locally grown food so very important to Joe’s? Why do we keep hammering on this “buy local” theme? There are many factors that are out of our hands when it comes to our food supply. Most of what ends up on the American dinner table derives from a shockingly few giant agribusinesses. Their influence reaches from designing the (GMO) seeds to planting, harvesting, processing and shipping. We as consumers cannot with confidence hand over the entirestewardship of our food to these few multinationals. Our passion here at Joe’s is for a local sustainable food supply – food produced by growers who are accountable (next page)
for what they grow. KYG – Know Your Grower. We are able to look our local farmer in the eye and ask him about his growing practices or even visit his operation. This gives us the confidence that we are eating food that is healthy, wholesome, non-genetically engineered, often better than organic, humanely treated and minimally processed. It is grown with a smaller energy-use footprint and transported short distances. We cannot divorce human health, the economy, ecology, personal (perhaps spiritual) satisfaction or honorable work from FOOD. Food is fundamental. What we eat, where it comes from, the stewardship of food animals, the nurturing and building of soils – all these factors affect us at a cellular and visceral level … whether we slow down enough to be aware of it or not. We are fortunate in Santa Fe to have a dedicated farm base producing a wonderful array of goods. Here at Joe’s we do our best to offer this bounty to you, keeping dollars in the community. In the interest of transparency, in 2008 Joe’s spent $30,000 on local foods. In 2009 that increased to $60,000. And for 2012 we expect it to exceed $100,000 representing about 50% of our food budget.
Tuesday is Spaghetti and Chianti Night at Joe’s. $29.95 for two will get you Caesar Salad, Spaghetti Bolognese (made with our grass-finished local beef) and a great ½ liter of Chianti. Wadda deal!
♥ Joe’s hand-made French chocolate truffles. They are close to divine. Who do you know who would love a little red bag of truffles? $1.99 @ or 5 for $8.99
Tired of still paying for BB’s (big banks) bailouts? Tired of lining the pockets of the uber-rich Wall Street bankers? subsidizing their mega bonuses, greens fees etc? Every time we use a credit card part of that 3%-5% fee contributes to the above. Now let’s be real – in today’s world no one can function without a cc, but there are still (legal) alternatives that can save us all money and reduce our subsidies to the BB’s. We have a couple of suggestions: (1.) Are you on Joe’s Check List? If you are a “regular” and wish to pay by check, please ask your waiter to get you on the list. (2.) Joe’s “frequent diner” or gift card – when you purchase $100 gift card with cash or check, get a $10 card free!
Watch for Roland’s special prix fixe
Valentine’s Day Menu.
Seen on actual labels:
· On a bag of Fritos: You could be a winner. No purchase
necessary. Details inside.
· On some Swann frozen dinners: Serving suggestion: Defrost
· On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding: Product will be hot
after heating.
Joe’s
2801 Rodeo Rd (at Zia Rd) Santa Fe, NM 87507
505-471-3800 www.JoesDining.com