Tag Archives: Sting

Beef Is What’s For Dinner

You all know how I like to switch it up from time to time. So why should today be any different? I try to keep us on our toes around here. Notice I include myself in that statement since I never know what will motivate me to write my next post. ☺

Lately we’ve talked about the perils of GMO foods, the demise of Sting’s Broadway adventure and the rowdy antics of a certain clan named McFarland. And there’s no need to expound more on that topic.

So what’s my beef today?

Well…Beef actually.

A while back I wrote a post called, “Have It Your Way—It’s a Whopper.” It was a disturbing report on the use of Horsemeat as a substitute for Cow’s. It turned out to be a very interesting subject about our meat supply, not only here in the U.S., but in Europe, and Great Britain.

Although this isn’t our focus today, many of you had asked me to write a post about how Cattle are raised, what they are fed and the correlation with our food chain and how it affects our health.

According to the National Cattlemen’s Association, Beef is roughly a 55 Billion dollar industry. Last year, the total U.S. beef consumption alone was 25.5 billion pounds. So as you can see, our meat has become an industry.

Before factory farming, cattle were raised on family farms across the country and the process was rather simple. Calves were born in the spring, spent their first months suckling milk from their mother and grazed on sweet grass until they were weaned and turned out onto pastures.

Some cattle were given a moderate amount of grain to enhance that marbling fatty flavor until they grew to maturity and reached the market at two to three years of age. This meat was free of antibiotics, added hormones, feed additives, flavor enhancers, age-delaying gases and salt-water solutions. Mad cow disease and the deadliest strain of E. Coli didn’t exist. People were able to dine on rare steaks with little fear.

Today’s Beef grows to market weight in just one to two years, with cows that may never spend much time in an open grassy pasture. But this process reduces the nutritional value of the meat, stresses the animal out and increases the risk of bacterial infection, never mind the fact that it pollutes the environment and exposes us to a host of unwanted chemicals that include hormones and antibiotics.

Sounds wonderful right?

So what’s the answer?

Eat Grass Fed Beef.

Yet, let me take this even further.

Eat Organic Grass Fed Beef!

Why do I say Organic Grass Fed Beef?

Because cattle may now be forced to indulge in genetically modified grass.

It seems Scotts ‘Miracle-Gro, who created genetically modified RoundUp-Ready Kentucky Bluegrass, has announced that it will conduct field trials at the homes of Scotts’ employees. And they can do this without any government oversight because there are no laws that prohibit or limit the planting of GMO grass.

What this means is cattle will now graze upon GMO Kentucky Bluegrass and people will ingest the RoundUp chemicals sprayed on the cow’s favorite meal. What this means is more exposure to Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s broad-spectrum herbicide, a chemical that not only has a scientific connection to breast cancer, but also to chronic kidney disease.

And that my friends is why I wrote this post. I felt it important to pass on this information. True, it’s virtually impossible to keep up with everything that goes on with our food chain these days. We can drive ourselves absolutely nuts. But if you want to bite into a juicy burger or steak, make it Organic Grass Fed Beef.

Because Beef is what’s for dinner. Or maybe not. That’s a choice you’ll have to make.

If you have time you may want to pop over to the PBS series “Take Part” for more information on this subject.

And if you want further information about healthy eating, please join me over at Lynn Kelley’s blog as she shares another “Heath and Wellness Wednesday post!”
 

So what do you think? How does this make you feel about how our food is handled? Because most of us live busy lives and the affordability of ground beef, did you find this information helpful? Do you enjoy a good, juicy steak? What healthy favorite foods make it to your family table?
 

Cheers everyone! I hope that life is treating you well. And as always, thank you so much for all your support and wonderful comments!
Karen

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Sending Out An S.O.S.

Choice, chance, change
(Courtesy of Zig Ziglar)

They say that failure is good. That it builds character and allows us to grow. It helps refine us.

You know, what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.

Hmm.

I wonder if that’s how Sting feels at the moment.

Failure is never easy. Especially, if you’re in the public eye.

A couple of months ago, I watched an interview with Sting on NPR/Ted radio, “How to Get Over Writer’s Block.” During the discourse, Sting talked about his horrible bout with writer’s block that stretched for nearly a decade.

Now wait a minute. This is Sting. We’re talking about a legendary singer-songwriter. A member of the iconic band The Police. A ten Grammy, two Brits, Golden Globe award winner who has sold close to 100 million albums and was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Yes, that Sting! Writer’s block? Are you kidding me?

I guess if it can happen to Sting, it can happen to anyone.

But here’s what he had to say—

“Creativity is the ability to take a risk. To actually put yourself on the line and risk ridicule, being pilloried, criticized, whatever. But…you must take that risk.”

So what did he do?

He sent out an S.O.S. He took a risk. He dug deep into his past and found inspiration. He channeled stories of shipyard workers that he knew from his childhood. And voila! A Broadway musical was born.

An Englishman in New York?

No silly. The Last Ship.

It became his 14th solo album and a new play bearing the same name with music and lyrics by Sting. And it debuted at the Neil Simon Theatre at the end of October.

Then it sprang a leak.

The Last Ship was set against the downfall of the local English shipbuilding industry. It tells the story about a group of unemployed shipyard workers who want to take back their pride and build one last ship—not for their employer, not for the government, but for their own self-esteem, for humanity.

Of course, there’s more to it. There’s a love story that’s also weaved into the account. But the story really resonated with Sting. He felt that this story ran parallel to the narrative of many hard working people today who had lost their manufacturing jobs. Which in turn made him more determined than ever to bring his story to life.

Alas, the musical didn’t quite come across as well as Sting had envisioned. So much so, that by mid-December, Sting jumped into the fray and took on a supporting role in hopes of bolstering sales. But with all the lukewarm reviews, even though some thought that the story was seaworthy, it still didn’t help.

The Last Ship sunk.

On the eve of joining the cast onstage, the singer acknowledged his show faced a tough future: “This was never going to be easy. I didn’t anticipate a shoo-in at all. I expected a battle because I want to succeed against the odds.”

Send out an S.O.S. Sting!

Unfortunately, it was too late. There, amongst what was Broadway’s highest grossing year, Sting had failed. His story didn’t inspire audiences to tell their friends that The Last Ship was a must-see. It was a lack of word-of-mouth that had caused the show’s demise.

The lack of word-of-mouth that caused a 15 million dollar ship to go down.

Ouch!

Yet, this is his message in a bottle:

Just a castaway
An island lost at sea
Another lonely day
With no one here but me
More loneliness
Than any man could bear
Rescue me before I fall into despair

The Last Ship’s final performance will be on January 24th. If you wanted to see Sting’s musical, you better head over before it sails off into the sunset.

Yet, somehow I don’t think this will be the last thing that we hear from Sting. He’s too willing to make a choice, to take a chance, so his life will change!

And so should we.
 

Here’s Bruno Mars covering So Lonely/Message in a Bottle at the Kennedy Center in honor of Sting.


 

So what do you think? Have you ever seen a live performance by Sting? Did you know about Sting’s Broadway musical The Last Ship? Have you ever taken a risk and failed? If so, how did it make you feel? What did you do to pick yourself up? And what is your favorite song by Sting?
 

Cheers everyone! I hope that life is treating you well. And as always, thank you so much for all your support and wonderful comments!
Karen

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