Fear of Food - Environmental Scams, media mendacity and the law of disparagement by Arnold

[Jim Meade / Iowa City]

Has anyone read this book about the press covedrage of the Alar scare?  I've seen reviews that are strongly on both sides of the question about this book.

[sw363535]

With "Environmental Scams" in the title you can bet on strong opinions.  It is one of our largest religous movements. 

I am looking forward to the read.  

I wish the title was better.  Hate to see a title reduce readership.

[Kay/NC]

I searched for it on amazon, and there were a few titles with the phrase " fear of food" in their titles. I suspect that this one deals more with the legal aspects of scare tactics and such, given the subtitle in total. Yes, the reviews there were " love it or hate it.". I didn"t drop an order, mostly because I am trying to stick to e-books now, so as not to create need for yet more shelving. Let me know if I should make an exception, please.

[clayton58]

Kay, what e-reader do you use?  and what would you recomend?(if  its different)  Wy wife put that on her Christmas list, and I'm not sure where to start  OK I'm clueless!!  TIA  You can message me if you'd rather

[Kay/NC]

It depends upon what she wants, really.  I have had a Kindle Genration 2, which is gray screen, had some experimental web surfing capacity which I never really needed and is fine for reading "books." 

It has a keyboard, and I do not like it...very small and symbols and such are cumbersome to use to me.  It was NOT N-compatible with my home's WiFI, and so downloading books required a trip to Starbucks or somewhere with open Internet service. 

Upgraded a year or so ago to a Kindle FIRE.  I love it...color and touchscreen.  I carry it everywhere, and enjoy it immensely.  Mine works on WiFI, but not 3G.  I can use either my home's WiFI or the DROID Hotspot in my smartphone to download to it. 

Just took delivery on a Kindle HD, which has both WiFi and 4G LTE capacity.  I have not had time to take it out of the box yet...which is unusual for me.  Has a much bigger screen, color, and I can.  I hope to get to it by tomorrow or Thursday.  That one was pricey...I am hopign to use it more for video streaming, now that I have committed to a Prime membership with amazon. 

All of my readers are amazon products.  i am a dedicated amazon fan.  You can get free downlaods of their software for buying for free, for almost any device know to man.  I have Kindle reading apps in my DROID, laptop, and iPad.

I have never bothered to look at teh Nook or any other readers.  Maybe that's a mistake...you can see lots of side-by-side comparisons, if you Google for them.  Amazon has good comparative material on its various versions of Kindle on its site.  If I were in your shoes, I would ask her for more guidance, and maybe sit down with her and look at the comparisons together. 

A Kindle HD will maybe not make it here for Christmas, if that really matters to her.  mine was ordered on September 6th, and only arrived Monday.  Target and Staples may stock some, but I haven't looked. 

Whatever you buy, get a good, attractive case.  I like leather ones that fold out to make a stand.  They slide in my bag and I can set up and read while my hands are busy, like having a quick lunch or cup of tea.  Some people prefer a more protective one like an Otterbox. 

I would start on the amazon page that compares its Kindles.  They have a LOT of FAQ, videos that show how different functions perform, etc.  I think she's given you too broad a request.  Make her give you more guidance or ask for a specific reader. 

FWIW, I never thought I'd ever pick up one and enjoy it...and I am trying very hard to stick on only e-books now, for storage reasons, if nothing more.  This doesn't begin to mention magazines, newspapers, movies and TV shows, thousands of which come with the Prime membership at amazon. 

[clayton58]

Thanks, Kay.  Sounds like I need to do some homework.  At least you've given me a place to start.  Thanks again

[Kay/NC]

You are welcome, Clayton.  Saying you want an e-reader is almost like saying you want a car...there are so many brands, and a huge array of capabilities now.  It really does require some research, unless she gives you her sepcific model and specs...there are several Kindle FIRE hd's alone, with a wide price range and set of tricks each can play. 

Good luck.  Sh eis lucky to hjave such a carign spouse, to try and find just the right thing for her Christmas. 

I finally got my new Kindle hd and its case in the same place at the same time, after misplacing the case in a tote bag for a day.  I may break the seal on the amazon box and have at it tonight.  Merry Christmas to me!

[Jim Meade / Iowa City]

I just read Fear Of Food and can see why it evinced strong reactions on both sides.  The book focuses on the CBS treatment of the Alar scare and details what the author says is connivance with some envirionmental advocacy groups.  The book goes into quite a bit of detail establishing it's thesis that the whole deal was a setup affair and that CBS then got cold feet and tried to further defend it's position.

In my opinion, the author showed a lot of zeal and enthusiasm in the way the book was written.  A lot of emotional words were used in a way that made me wonder if the author wasn't as bad one was as her targets were the other.  

As I read the book, I got to thinking about BSE (mad cow), the various e-coli scares, "pink slime" and other media presentations on agriculture.  Based on my own personal experiences, I find media people very careless with the truth and not at all interested in a balanced story.

As the author of this book says, the media seems to have taken on an advocacy role as opposed to an objective reporting role.  

It's not a long read.  I'd recommend it as one facet of the media and agriculture picture, but would not want to say it's the only perspective.

[Kay/NC]

Jim, thanks you for the review.  I am not sure at what juncture the media stopped merely reporting the news, and started taking an active role in creating it.  This goes beyond the realm of mere editorializing.  One might point to the Watergate affair as a seminal shift into " investigative reporting ".  

I think my children were small and consuming a good amount of apple juice when the Alar scare was generated.  I recall switching them onto other products, as I am sure many mothers decided to, given the perceived threat.  

At some point in the relatively recent past, farmers got lumped into receiving the general disdain directed at many formerly respected professions, like teaching, practicing medicine, law enforcement...etc., etc.  How much of this cynicism was deserved, and how much that these and other working people simply became the means to the end of corporate profits, I cannot say.

All I know is that, somewhere along the wabetween the end of WW II and the Vietnam era, we as a people began to doubt our institutions.  Now, about all it takes is anyone with a keyboard asking " What IF....?"  

Innuendo alone is not proof of anything amiss...but, it carries that much weight.  How does anyone prove a negative?