Tuesday, February 1, 2011

why build a greenhouse?

Back in NYC, I briefly dated a girl who worked for Kraft Foods.  She was an excellent chef with a sophisticated palette.  Her job was to taste Kraft concoctions to see if cheaper ingredients would render the same flavor satisfaction.  That job description just didn't set right with me.  We only went out twice but I must give her credit for introducing me to beer can chicken.  
Food from corporate America:  Nearly every ounce of Kraft cheese products (from Velveeta to Kraft Singles) spends part of its life in a 680-pound container inside this 400,000-square-foot subterranean fridge. It’s not about aging, it’s about cheap storage: Moving refrigeration underground saves massive amounts of energy, since the temperature 100 feet down is a constant 58 degrees Fahrenheit. An above ground pump sends 13,000 gallons of chilled brine through the system every day, keeping the warehouse at a cool 36 degrees.  Something tells me Kraft Foods is not as concerned about providing a healthy product and being environmentally conscious as they are about profit.  27,46,39.0,W

9 comments:

JLP said...

All of our lives are touched from every direction with the profit side of capitolism. It only takes a look at something like the Kraft warehouse to make me realize how small and insugnifficant one person such as myself can be. Yet when we all put our heads together and come to one accord we can be a powerful force.

Look what is happening in Egypt now. What may be happening in America now. There is hope.

May we never forget that we are really all one on this great planet Earth.

WOW!! Did I just write this??

Phil said...

good word JLP.

Ben in Texas said...

"cheese products" That is the correct term for sure, cause it don't fall in to the definition of real cheese

Bob from Athens said...

Maybe I am looking at this all wrong, however just what is wrong with any company trying to produce basically the same product in a less expensive way. If they go to far their customers will let them know by buying something else. When it comes to what I like to eat and do not like my opinion is the only one that matters. It seems now days that a lot of people feel that any company actually making a profit and staying in business is doing something bad. Profit is NOT BAD no matter what the far left, right or anywhere else thinks.

Unknown said...

John--

In case you ever find the info useful, the steady ground temperature is *not* "constant at 58 degrees"--necessarily. It actually varies considerably with the latitude and whether there is any geothermal or radiation source in the locale. Stead ground temps in the Continental U.S. range from the upper 30s or low 40s in the most Northerly climes, and in your area is actually within the comfort zone. An underground home in the Big Bend, properly designed and built, could be quite comfortable without additional heating or cooling--the ground temps out that way should be in the mid 70s.

Darin said...

Heck, the way I look at it, Kraft is saving electricity by not needing as much to keep that product at the correct storage temperature. Less greenhouse gas!

Allen Hare said...

Home grown or locally produced is always better, organic even better. I'm convinced that mass produced, packaged foods and their associated preservatives, etc. contribute to poor health, cancer, obeisity, negative chi, and early death. Increasing population density requires increasing economies of scale, ie mass production. Negative chi all around. Go figure...

Gavin Thomas said...

I appreciate using the space to cool something down, but you have to be aware that corporations are always pushing from more profit. What do people think lead to those Chinese guys adding melamine to foods as bulk protein. I am sure it was a financial pressure, and not a deliberate attempt to hurt babies or animals.

Oh and I have to wonder if there's any relationship between that cheese product and an actual cow.

Tango's Going Ons said...

By the time they get through prossessing it's a food like substance not real food.