But those plain white mushrooms? They make me so sick I spend the next day puking my guts out. I know it’s some sort of bacteria or microscopic worms (or maggots) on in mushrooms making me sick and it’s connected to being grown in manure because they are the only type of mushrooms that make me sick.

Vegetables can be grown with some manure added to the soil if they’re above-ground fruit that never touch the soil because the roots of the plant take in nutrients and prevent transmission of bacteria and nasty microorganisms. White mushrooms are grown directly in manure and they’re the only grocery item that is grown that way. There is nothing else on the market that’s been grown in.. manure.

For root plants, tubers, and mushrooms etc it’s safer to use compost instead of manure. Manure is great for trees and corn and wheat and tomatoes and other stuff that grows away from the soil.

So, yeah. Maybe I’m not talking about big fruit fly maggots or mealworms and such but there are tiny barely-viewable-with-the-human eye maggots and bacteria that are definitely a health hazard and can cause serious illness. Maybe the person who sent you the article also has a bad reaction to white mushrooms and was just spreading the word.

I should also mention.. I have no aversion to eating bugs. I don’t go out of my way to eat them but the occasional mealworm in my flour or pasta really doesn’t bother me and I consider it extra nutrition (though obv. would make sure to use 100% mealworm free ingredients if I were cooking for someone else ). So I’m not just being a pansy when I say the bacteria and micromaggots on those mushrooms are dangerous. I’m never feeding anything directly grown in manure to my kids. Ever.

But.. I loooove all other mushrooms. In fact, I’m thinking of growing some reiki and shiitake mushrooms next month. Never tried it before, I’m kinda psyched.

Peace.

It reminded me of a story about in Texas they came up with a spider perfect for eating weavels and other bugs in grain silos. They could prove the net result was LESS INSECT PARTS. (Less combined insect AND spider parts actually.) The FDA refused to allow it, according to the story. Eww, they said, you can’t put spiders in the silos.

1) All the sources agree that halal & kosher killing are hard & take practice. I’ve known this for years. It suddenly occured to me to wonder: what do apprentice halal & kosher butchers practice *on*? I can’t think of an answer that doesn’t involve a period of incompetent, painful killing.

2) You say in the post that vegetarianism is not sustainable in all areas. Elsewhere you’ve argued – strongly – for eating only locally grown food. By implcation (and maybe explicitly, I don’t remember word for word) you’re saying that locally-grown is always sustainable. I don’t see these views as compatable; please explain.

Thanks,
Harry