Organic Foods Unhealthy and Bad for Environment

Aug 3, 2009 Brian Anderson @ 1:25 am GMT 

• Biological

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The other night Penn & Teller: Bull! aired a new episode discussing Organic Foods and interviewed several scientists as well as organic food activists in order to determine whether organic foods were actually healthy or not. Some interesting facts came about and all the arguments for organic foods were suddenly debunked.

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Contents [hide]

• Good for the Environment
• Better Taste
• Healthier
• Naturalists

The LA Times also reported on Organic foods as well supporting Penn & Teller's conclusions.

Good For The Environment

Organic food supporters kept discussing how organic food is better for the environment, with less toxins being absorbed by the soil and little to no preservatives or pesticides.

Turns out, pesticides and preservatives are used in organic food. In fact, in order to not use "synthetic" pesticides (which the American cancer society has found no link to a cause of cancer and pesticides) these organic companies have to use more poisonous and even more deadlier pesticides that damage the environment.

The amount of land used to grow organic foods actually means that more trees are cut down and more green land needs to be destroyed.

If all farmers in the world went organic, there would be 3 billion people starving (and many more who cannot afford it). Price of food would skyrocket, that can lead to war--so stop eating organic food and support world peace!

Better Taste

The Penn & Teller: BS episode tried various blind taste tests, and it seems like the non-organic foods actually taste better most of the time and no one can tell the difference either.

The idea of organic tasting better seems only to be psychological in nature.

Healthier

Organic food is frequently claimed to be healthier. Due to more poisonous pesticides being used, it's probably not.

The LA times article as well as Penn & Teller both conclude that there are no extra nutrients in organic food. The article also concludes that there are very little differences in terms of the growing of organic foods (only in pesticide).

Naturalists

Lately, we've heard from many people who are under this growing belief that cancer rates are skyrocketting--that diseases are caused by chemicals in our foods--or that unnatural or chemical-based products are bad for you.

This fear is generated by a lack of knowledge of chemistry, biology, and a lack of attention to scientific journals and constant bad news that is spread by the media (because bad news generates more viewers).

Don't get started on genetically enhanced food, that scares everyone. Even though most genetic engineers will tell you how harmless it is and how well researched everything is (one even compared it to cooking).

Of course, that doesn't mean go and buy all the artificial products and supplements in the world (chances are, you don't need them).

However, it would be good for you to know that, since the 1950s, cancer rates have dropped in all categories (whether that's because of treatments or reduced causes of cancer, we may not know for certain). The reason we hear bigger numbers for cancer deaths are because of population increases.

Now here is a comment left in the comment section by someone, I thought it was well written and good thoughts on the matter.

First of all, the environmental impact of organic farming is less than that of conventional farming, because organic farming practices actually maintain carbon levels in the soil, thus creating more sustainability during weather changes, droughts, etc.

Second, the yield for organic farming may be worse for some particular crops (like potatoes for example), but is actually comparable or better in some cases for other crops like (meaning the same amount of land needed -- no more trees cut down than conventional farming). Given this information, on top of that, the impact on the eco-system surrounding organic farms is lessened and it has been shown that the diversity of wildlife is higher in areas where organic farming is implemented.

Synthetic pesticides that are used on conventional farms have been shown to kill animals, reduce reproductive capabilities, and has been shown to harm some people that eat the food. Also, the Soil Association's guidelines for organic farmers only allow them to use 4 types of pesticides--where conventional farmers use over 300 different types. Of the four types that organic farmers can use, they are composed of materials like softsoap or rotenone (natural origin), or simple chemical products containing copper and sulfur (which break down naturally with sunlight minimizing any environmental effect). As for the copper compounds, the copper is already naturally occurring in the soil, and most conventional farmers actually have to manually add copper to the soil to correct for their copper deficiencies (because their soil is nutrient deficient). I'd love to see the references that Pen and Teller have for their claim that organic farmers use much more deadly pesticides, because the research out there just doesn't support that claim. It is true that organic potato farmers and organic orchard farmers use pesticide spray more than conventional farmers (in many cases)--but in terms of overall farming, organic farmers spray only 2-3% of their crops.

As for the nutritional benefits of organic food versus conventional, number one the animals that eat organic feed are healthier overall as their diet is closer to what they naturally eat anyways, and contain less deadly pesticides. Due to higher overall health of the animals, there is no need for routine use of antibiotics, so the residue that is often found in conventional farmed meats isn't a problem in organic farmed meat. In terms of nutrients in the food that we eat, many studies have shown that organic food is higher in antioxidants, flavinoids, and other vitamins. Organic produced milk is higher in healthy Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin E, and Vitamin A, than non-organic milk. Organic standards also prohibit a huge list of additives that are present in non-organic food reducing food allergies and many adverse health effects.

The United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) actually agrees that organic farming will help meet the needs that global food needs require, better than conventional farming for numerous reasons including sustainability, less resources needed, less irrigation needed due to better water retention in the soil, etc. I think the evidence speaks for itself. The Pen and Teller conclusion was based on false pretenses and cherry-picked research if anything. They should have looked at global evidence and overall research if they weren't so concerned with their own personal agenda.

-Lagius

English Vintner

This is unedited, and I don't have the time to edit, otherwise I would've.

I just had someone threaten the existence of all that I have worked and believed in for the past three years. What do I think? The person who it was I had great expectations, I expected to love him, his work, and what he had to say about the environment. What I was met with was not what I expected. I wasn’t judging him by the first, or by the second lecture, I’m still not judging him, I think he has a lot of good ideas and is doing a good job, and I even agree with him on many other things, but when he THROWS out, yes throws out that organic agriculture has actually ANY good at all, and that conventional modern agriculture and science are the way to do it, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Afterwards I regretted asking his opinion because, after knowing it, I’d rather I hadn’t known. How can someone say that? In other words until modern genetic engineering and artificial growth hormones, and fertilizer we were killing our selves by growing organic food. 

I don’t think I want to get into a personal conversation with him, that will make me dislike him more. 

I am still in shock, I didn’t realize that people out there actually, really believed that GMO was GOOD for you!? I can understand a company like Monsanto, or someone working for them, and only for the money, but to actually think they are much BETTER? 

I have done hours and hours and hours of research over the web. I’ve read books and books about health, food, and agriculture. I have personally seen the results of Organic gardening.

Health issues I take with GMO. 

First, when you start mixing up genes you start raising some eyebrows, but when the genes you are putting in are from a pesticide? You’ve really got me worried. And then the fact that when you do that you are altering the protein form (like in GM Wheat) which alters it in a way making it harmful for your body when you eat it. But if you think GMO is good, where does it stop? Do you believe in poisoning the soil to the extent of killing of all forms of bacteria and beneficial insects? How can you actually believe that plants grow better on artificial forms of NPK and NOT have trace minerals and elements, and then they are HEALTHIER? I just don’t understand, how something growing in poor soil can be healthier.

Agriculture, well. Let’s just say I don’t believe he’s seen the right methods of Organic Agriculture. I’ve done hours of research on Organic gardening, farms, and methods of Organic Farming, and I’ve seen results that were better than conventional.

Sustainable agriculture according doesn’t seem to line up with GM grown crops. Chemical fertilizers add salt to the soil which will build up and cause a problem. They also kill or force insect and bacterial life out of the soil. Organic gardening done the right method doesn’t need fertilizer, water (except at planting), pesticides or herbicides in a good system. All these can be done with simple organic practices. 

The more I hear from the GMO side of the debate the more I want to spend my career showing that Organic Farming can result in higher, healthier, and reduce the amount of water, fertilizer, and poison use in farming. There are many places where groups have gone in and changed the farmers from conventional to organic and the result was a yield 5x higher! They actually started making money and having a surplus for themselves.

The reason why America has the agriculture that it has is because of money. A good organic farming system would be cheaper than the billions spent on farming each year, thus the fertilizer companies, pesticide/herbicides companies would all but go out of business and not be making nearly as much money. The agriculture system we have comes down to money. What makes more money, GMO crops or Organic? Organic might on the outset look like more intensive labor, but with the right system could easily be much cheaper. Conventional farming uses chemicals to make the plant grow, and chemicals to keep insects of the plant as it grows, thus requiring vast amounts of money to grow it.

With perfect soil having all the nutrients (that includes trace nutrients) a plant will be completely healthy. A healthy plant will not attract insects to it, thus a healthy soil results in a plant without the need for insecticides to grow. Conventional Farming doesn’t fix the problem, it just covers it up for a while. 

English Vintner

Sunrise

There really are few things more energizing and beautiful than a good sunrise. The colours explode all over the horizon, tinting clouds and sky alike.

I can't seem to get enough sunrises, the really good ones that just light up the sky from head to foot. That make me laugh out loud with joy because God is so beautiful and amazing!

There is a stillness, a quietness to the morning. YOu can be alone with God without the busyness of life getting in the way. To have the combination of quiet, peace with God, and seeing his creation, few things compare.

Why did God put such beauty here on earth? And the sunrise? It's amazing how beautiful the simple rising and the setting of the sun.

I can't think of a better place or time to begin your day. Out in creation, alone with God, reading His Word, praying, and seeing his promise of a new day.

The sunrise is God's promise of a new day. His sunset is a close to the day, and a promise of the coming dawn.

English Vintner

Nature; God’s Sanctuary 

With a Bible in one hand and a mug of tea in the other he headed up into the woods. The soft rays of sunlight filtered through the green foliage around him. There was peace, a silence, something that drew him towards nature. To get away. To be alone, just him and God. To read His word, talk, pray, and just have some time to be with Jesus. The farther away from people, the closer I feel to God. The wildness of nature, the untameness, the unknown. Nature, God’s Sanctuary. Where his handiwork is still present, untouched by man. Where we marvel at his greatness in the big and small. A simple sunrise lights the sky a crimson red. This simple act of emergence, the beginning of a new day. The cares of yesterday forgotten. A fresh start to life. Everything made new again, wounds are healed and sins forgiven. To breath the cool morning air, to fill your lungs with life, feel the Holy Spirit present. As the sun sets, an end to the beginning, a promise of the dawn. Night lasts for a moment and the light of dawn will set you free. A new start a new beginning, bringing promise and reward.

English Vintner

The beginnings of a poem I came up with while talking with God out in the woods one early morning. Lord, out from all the other people, Why me? It took from death to create life, And set me free.

English Vintner

Sunrise

Why I love getting up early and seeing the sunrise. Mark 1:35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

English Vintner

The End of Ireland

Tuesday, April 10
I woke up at 7am. We were leaving at 8:30am to the mainland. We left for Westport dock and loaded up into the car. We went to town, picked up supplies, and at 11:30am went to come back. We then found out we’d left the phone at home and didn’t know his number. So we asked around and found a woman who had a phone book with the number. We called them and told them we were ready to be picked up. We came back to the house and hung out, played games, and after supper which was Salmon soaked in beer over rice, we took the boat to an island an chased sheep all over it. We found two dead sheep on in some old ruins. I went around barefoot and ended up stepping on a stone and bruising the arch of my foot (it was so bad when I went to bed I could’t really walk on my left foot). Then we went to the boat, got in, and when Uncle Bill pushed the boat out to get in he slipped and is camera came out into the water. He picked it back up and we went home. He took it all apart and dried it out. The three girls and I watched the Prestige (Josiah watched the first 20 minutes), staying up till 1am.
Wednesday, April 11
I got up at 7:30am, got some yogurt and then ate breakfast with two cups of joe. At 8:30am we left for the mainland. We got to Clough Patrick around 9:15am and started climbing at 9:35am. I made it up the mountain in 1hr33min going pretty slow at times to wait for Lydia and Londa. They had the most trouble because they were not in very good shape for climbing. I found that interesting since I don’t do a whole lot of climbing, maybe it’s the wheelbarrowing of tons of manure, and keeping up with running on a regular basis. We got to the top and took some pictures, then we ate lunch that we’d brought with us. While we were eating people started coming to the top, we were some of the first ones to climb and get to the top. I noticed a lot of girls where spandex or leggings when climbing (after going to Dublin I found out that’s just the style in Europe, sometimes they where tights with mini skirts or shorts, but more often then not it’s just tights) up the mountain. There are some pretty good lookin’ Irish chicks over here. : )
After we finished eating we made our descent. Uncle Bill made it down in 29 minutes, I did it in 57 minutes without hurrying very much. After I made it down I dropped off my cloak and started back up. I soon got to Lynnea and Josiah who made it down a little after me, then Londa. I went up almost a mile when I met Lydia. She was wearing one boot and was barefoot on the other foot. Her boot had come apart half way down the mountain, thus slowing her down further. Uncle Bill had come back up as well and we came down together. Once down we had ice cream and took some pictures. We found a memorial of the famine, a bronze cast boat with skeletons on it. We pretended to tickle them and feed them ice cream, all sorts of disrespectful things. :) We drove back to town, picked up some groceries and then went into the coffee shop next door that had wi-fi. I had some coffee and then took a nap in the corner, imagine Strider at Bree, minus the pipe. LOL We picked up a dictionary at a used book store. We came home by around 7pm and put a roast in the oven. We made soup and ate it as an appetizer. After we ate the soup Lydia, Lynnea, Uncle Bill and I took a walk. We went down to the side of the Island with big waves coming in from the ocean, on the west side of the Island. When we made our way back I put earbuds in and listened to my iPod as I ran/walked back. It was glorious. We came back and ate the roast with cider and beer. After supper Lynnea, Londa, Josiah and I played Uno and then the dictionary game. I went to bed at 11:30pm.
Thursday, April 12
I woke up at 6:15am and went back to sleep for another hour. I got up and ate breakfast, we had scones and Muesli. After breakfast we cleaned the house and packed. It feels weird that today is the last day here. It definitely feels like home, it’s very comforting to come home after being out for the day. We played Uno and ate lunch. I made oatmeal into an oatcake and we ate it. After lunch I took the kayak out for a little bit and Uncle Bill took the boat out. He drove around in circles around me creating big waves that splashed on me. I came back and Lydia and Uncle Bill went out, he dropped her off at an Island to find sheep to hold and he came back and took a walk. The rest of us watched A Good Year. We finished the film and played Telephone Pictionary. We had a blast playing it. Uncle Bill came back around 4pm, Lydia came back closer to 5:30pm. After supper we took the boat out and did some sweet jazz in it! Josiah’s hat (my tan one he was wearing because I bought a new one) came off and we were not able to find it. So it lies on the shore of Ireland to this day. After we got back I washed the dishes and we played Catch Phrase. After I was done washing we played Telephone Pictionary again. It was amazingly funny, my stomach hurts from laughing so much! Afterwards we played Uno.
Friday, 13 April
I woke up at 7:15am and took a shower. After my shower I took a walk/run up the Island, my last farewell to the Island. I got back and ate breakfast with everyone else. After breakfast we packed, cleaned and did laundry. We would’ve left earlier except we were washing all the sheets and pillow cases for the bed which delayed us. We played Uno and Catch Phrase. I think we have exhuasted both those games! I got some pictures taken of myself for some senior shots, then we got some pictures of us in front of the house to send to Paul. We left the house at 11:30am, it really feels like home, leaving it is very hard. I enjoy the quite lift, wake up to the sunshine and birds chirping, 25 minutes to the nearest town via a boat, no internet and limited phone access lets you enjoy peace and quiet. The small town has a couple of bars, butcher shops, two fish shops, three grocery stores, and lots of nice Irish folk. I’ve really fallen in love with it. We got a picture with Patrick before we left, and we gave him a bottle of whiskey in thanks for transporting us across from the Island to mainland every time we went out. We stopped briefly in town to pick up some bread and cheese for the road. After we got everything packed in the car we headed out. We stopped at a castle and got out. We couldn’t walk to it but we did walk around it and get a picture of it. We stopped at another castle which people have been living in for 14 generations. They had gardens and a stream which supplied the town with electricity from 1890-1950. It also is home to the largest telescope built in 1840 and was the biggest one until 1970. It was quite impressive to look at. We couldn’t tour the inside but it looked very cool. We left the castle and headed to Dublin. We got to our hostel and unloaded. Josiah and Uncle Bill went to the airport to drop off the car and took a bus to get back. After I had carried our baggage up (we were on the 3rd floor, up 6 flights of stairs) I went out. The hostel looked like it hadn’t changed since 1970 when they put in the lights, carpet, and painted. I couldn’t stand to be in it, any problem was fixed with scraps, it was nothing compared to the other hostel. I look back and reason as to part of the reason why I don’t like this hostel as much. It’s at the end of the trip, we’re all depressed some, and a being in a big city doesn’t add to anything. I went out to take a walk, I expected to walk around the block go check out some places, see where things were, maybe be out for 30 min and come back. I walked into two different stores, I went into Tesco and had to hurry because they were closing, I finally found some water, sparkling, that was in my budget (I had 95cents) so I bought it. I then started my way back. At this point it is 8:15pm and getting quite dark as well as stores are closed or closing up. I made my way back to where I thought was our hostel but couldn’t find it, I knew the general area because of the spire of the cathedral, but I couldn’t remember how to get to it. I had my hostel paper that told the name of the hostel. I asked a girl if she knew how to get to it and she said she didn’t know. I asked a mexican if he knew where it was, he didn’t. I finally found a store that was still open and asked him about it, he only knew of one nearby and pointed me to it. I had a map with me, but wasn’t sure where I was on the map, and where the hostel was on the map. I went around the block, found the hostel but it wasn’t mine. I came back asked the man to show me where I was on the map. He showed me and told me that if I went to any hostel they would know where it was and could tell me. So I started my way to the hostel, was getting close when I heard Uncle Bill from the other side of the street yell “Hey, I know you!” I was very much relieved to hear his familar voice. I was even glad to be heading back to the ugly hostel. We got back in around 9:30pm, I’d spent the whole time walking around Dublin. I wasn’t sorry I’d made the decision to go out, but I should’ve stuck closer to the hostel or figured out where I was on the map. We had chocolate and cider for supper! :) We ended up eating some cheese as well later on that evening. We skyped briefly to my Dad so Josiah could get some money transferred to buy a train and ferry ticket. We played Telephone Pictionary and then started Up and Down the River but stopped at 12:15am because Londa wanted to go to bed.
Saturday, April 14
I woke up at 6am when Josiah got up and packed. At 7am we said our goodbyes to him and he left. He was taking a bus to the ferry that would take him over to Wales, and from the ferry would take a couple of trains to get back to University. He had a book bag with him that he had books in, and as he was going down the outside steps it fell off and ripped. So we threw down a backpack for him to use. It feels like the Breaking of the Fellowship. None of us are all that happy to be here, in a sense we’d all rather be home right now. Big cities are all the same, adn just like I wouldn’t like to be in downtown Charlotte right now, I’m not a huge fan of Dublin. We like the quiet life we were living, a small town made up of half a dozen blocks, where you coudl drive around the town in five minutes. At least we will be seeing Josiah in a little more than two months. I don’t feel ready to get back into my busy schedule, my last part of senior year. Life amazes me at times. . .how much it seems I have to do. . .but it is just a moment in time. I would be very depressed if Uncle Bill was not here and I’d have to be responsible for everything. We ate breakfast that was provided for by the hostel (one euro per person). It was toast, hard boiled egg, cereal, and juice, coffee and tea. After breakfast we walked all around Dublin, I don’t know how many miles, but probably between 8-10 miles. We visited a couple city gardens, the biggest Cathedral in Ireland and Dublin Castle. I got a mug for my boss at the Cathedral gift shop. We visited a Zoo that was more like a museum. All the animals were stuffed. We finished that and ate lunch: cheese, bread, and chocolate. We walked all over the place. At 6pm we went to a restaurant and ate dinner, a three course meal. I got an appetizer of Calamar (squid), a main course of grilled chicken, and Tiramisu for dessert. Uncle Bill had Guinness and I had Cider. Today would have been way more fun with Josiah. After we ate we stopped by SuperValu and picked up a few groceries. I got a 6 pack of cider to bring back to the States. From there we came back to the hostel. It’s nice to have a place to relax, but it’s still a depressing room to be in. I went to bed around 11pm.
Sunday, April 15
I woke up at 7am, went back to sleep until 9am. I got 10hours of sleep but I was still quite tired. I probably could’ve slept for another 2-3 hours. Uncle Bill went downstairs to get coffee, the rest of us took showers and ate pastries and apples for breakfast. After breakfast we walked to the church in town. The service was interesting, mostly what we did was sing songs, talk about the Titanic, and read bible passages that are about shipwrecks. Afterwards we met some people while having tea. (having Tea after church is like having Coffee after church in the US) After we had lunch back at the hostel we went to the Zoo. It was fun, got to see the animals, see some cool birds I hadn’t seen before. I took a picture for a group of teenagers, they were somewhat abnoxious, but they were more tolerable than teenagers in the US only because of their accents! LOL We picked up some fish and chips on our way home. We skyped with the Barrs for a while, and before then we listened to a sermon, since we didn’t really get one at church. I went to bed at 11:30pm after repacking all my clothes.
Monday, April 16
I woke up at 6:50 from Uncle Bill. Packed the remaining clothes and ate a scone for breakfast. We left the hostel at 7:30am to go to the bus station. We got on the bus and arrived at the airport at 8:10am. We checked our luggage and went through Dublin security. Uncle Bill had around 70 Euros to spend so we stopped by the Chocolate Lounge Cafe and ate breakfast with coffee. I had a Bailey’s Mocha, it was quite good. Uncle Bill bought two bottles of whiskey that you can’t buy in the US to use up his money. After eating we headed to our gate. We had to go through US customs and security, and as a result almost missed our flight. We got on the plane a little before 10:00am and it was leaving at 10:15am. We weren’t the latest ones either, I don’t think a lot of people knew we were going to do customs in the Dublin airport. The first film was Sherlock Holmes a game of shadows, that was fun to see again. They showed three others but they weren’t very good. The food was better this time, flying from Dublin to US then from US to Dublin. They had real butter, the cheese tasted better. We arrived in Atlanta around 2:15pm, Lynnea’s mom didn’t have a phone so we couldn’t call her to ask where she was. We said good bye and she left. We weren’t able to transfer out luggage so we Lynnea couldn’t get her checked luggage (we bought a ticket for Lynnea from Dublin to Charlotte, stopping in Atlanta because it was cheaper than Dublin to Atlanta, however, she got off in Atlanta and didn’t board for Charlotte) so we’ll send it back with our grandparents who are coming at the end of April. We got to our gate and waited around until 4:00pm when we boarded the plane. The flight was so short it didn’t offer any drinks or snacks. At this point I was quite tired (my body was saying it was 11:30pm) and I slept off and on the 55min flight from Atlanta to Charlotte. We arrived at 5:35pm and picked up our luggage. My dad brought Uncle Bill’s car and we got in and came home. Everything was so green and it was very warm here. It definitely made it less depressing coming home to everything being green. We got home around 7pm. We unpacked, greeted our family, and made pizza for supper. We sampled some of the cider I brought back and gave gifts that we’d brought back and souveneers we’d gotten.
And thus ends the Fellowship, or rather the Trip to Ireland. Uncle Bill and Lydia left the following day to go to Virginia Beach (Uncle Bill lives within 5 minutes of the Barrs). It has been an amazing trip and I miss it very dearly, time to get back to life though. Following are some Irish trivia I’ve thought up.

Irish Trivia: in Ireland
1.The guys wear skinny jeans the girls wear tights
2.You can’t buy white eggs, and they’re all free range
3.All products go bad much faster because they use less or no preservatives in the food
4.Buying age of Alcohol is 18, but you can drink it at home at any age
5.The teenagers are tollerable because they have an Irish accent
Everyone drives stick shift because they’re not as lazy as Americans :)
Irish beef is grass fed or fed some grass during their lifetime
Organic gardening and methods are much more in practice and much larger (percentage wise) than America
The roads are often so tight you have to pull over onto the grass and stop to let the other car through
I hope you have enjoyed learning what it was like to be on a trip with 5 crazy Englishes and 1 crazy Barr. God bless and good luck to ya!

English Vintner

Ireland, the last week

April 7, Saturday
I woke up around 7:30am, took a shower, and went downstairs. I put some pastries that we’d picked up yesterday into the oven at low to heat up. We also had bread and scones. After breakfast we stayed inside mostly, read, talked, etc. We had lunch, which was leftover supper. After lunch we took off for a walk. Uncle Bill went off towards the lighthouse, Lydia, Lynnea, Londa and Josiah went off to find sheep. I was writing a song so I stayed home. After I finished writing my song I took my iPod and went out. I got some sprints in and also explored one Island that connects to ours at low tide. Then I went out to meet the others. From a long distance away (1mile) I saw what looked like Josiah and Lydia in the mud, not moving. So, I figured they would need my help and I took off. I passed Lynnea on my way down who, saw them, but figured by the time she got down there they wouldn’t need the help. LOL At one point they got out, and then got stuck again. I finally made it down to the water, but they were up and making they’re way to me. When I met up with them I saw that Josiah had mud up to his waist and he was wearing his favourite clothes. A t-shirt he bought as well as his new jumper. It was low tide and they’d tried to cross over and that didn’t work out so well. We learned later from Patrick that that is the trickiest mud and will really get you stuck, he was very surprised that Josiah got both boots out of the mud! They came down towards the house and rinsed off in the channel that was waist deep at low tide. Around 4:30pm Josiah and Uncle Bill took the boat out to make GPS tracks for Paul to use. We (I and the three girls) watched Inkheart and 17 Again. For supper we had a German dish: pasta, eggs and bacon cooked together. It was quite good. After supper we played Up and Down the River. It was quite fun, mostly because several times I had the highest trump cards! : ) After the game was over I rolled out sticky buns for breakfast. Around 11pm I went to bed.
April 8, Sunday
I woke up around 6am, put the sticky buns in the oven to warm up, and went back to sleep. I got up at 7:00am and turned the oven up to cook them.We had breakfast a little before 8am. We left at 8:30am to go to the mainland. We found internet and got the address of a reformed church in Galway. So we went south 1.5 hours to Galway. We couldn’t find the church, so we asked some bikers who were at a Petrol Station. One guy new where it was and went ahead after giving us directions. We followed and came to the church. We were just a little bit early. We met one lady there who was very nice. After the service we had tea with them (which is coffee after church in the US). Then we took the scenic route back to Westport. We stopped by a really cool castle. Probably the coolest site I’ve seen so far! It was a small castle but it still had the wall much in tack, the moat, and the castle building it’s self was awesome! It had four stories and a spiraling staircase to get to each floor. It had arrow holes everywhere, the banquet hall fireplace, murder holes, it was fantastic! After about 30min we left. We stopped at a craft shop and we picked up some stuff, mugs, t-shirts, etc. We went to the Pub where we had internet, got some chips, sent some emails. I meant to post a blog post with the next several days, but completely forgot. I remembered to look up everything else, but forgot about posting on my blog. We left around 8pm, after walking to the Post Office and sending some post cards. Patrick brought the boat, we dropped him off at his house, and we made it to the house by around 8:30pm. Most people were not all that hungry, so we warmed up leftovers and I made popcorn. We played Ticket to Ride (the European version) and I won. Which wasn’t surprising as I’ve played it a lot more times than anyone else. I cam in at 127 points and the next highest person was about 30 points behind. We went to bed around 12am
Monday, April 9
I woke up at 8am. For breakfast we had Muesli. After breakfast we played Sorry. After a small lunch we took a walk at low tide over to Patrick’s Island . They were putting up a new fence. They invited us for tea. So Josiah and I headed back to the house to get Uncle Bill. At least 1.5mile distance. Josiah went along the coast where the terrain was easier but a long distance, and I went along the grass. My route was more up hill and I had to jump fences and go through thorns, but it was shorter. The sunny day was soon overtaken by a rain cloud and severe wind blowing me away from the directions I’m going. Then it started hailing as well. So, now I’m being driven back with rain and hail and being pelted in the face and hands. I make it to the last fence and I’m just going over when my shoe comes off. So I have to go back over the fence, get my shoe and clamber back over again. I made it back before Josiah, by around 3 minutes. I found Uncle Bill wasn’t in the house, he’d gone to collect muscles. So, Josiah arrives, were both soaking wet, and Uncle Bill isn’t here.We both change our clothes and then see Uncle Bill coming up to the house. We met him and told him that Patrick had invited us over for tea. He washed the muscles he’d gotten, and then took a shower and changed, because he too had gotten soaked. First Paul calls Uncle Bill to catch up, make sure everything is going okay, then Patrick calls to say that he just finished the fence and to come on over. So after he called Paul back and we are all changed we walk back over to the Island to Patrick’s house. Padraig (pronouced Poor- Ik), the Irish form of Patrick, showed us the barn and the cows they raise. Then we had tea with them, met his mother. Around 5:15pm Padraig took us out and showed us his chickens, the dogs, their garden, and their two donkeys. Then Patrick took us home in their big boat. The whole time they were joking about us having to swim back because the tide had come in and covered the path that we’d taken that connected the two Islands. We got back around 6pm. Uncle Bill and I made supper. We had muscles as the first course, and then we sautted vegetables and mushrooms with the ground beef and cooked it. We had it over pasta for supper. We also had salad and Cabernet Sauvignon. After supper we played Wild Uno, a version Lynnea taught us. Uncle Bill played and it was really fun! Afterwards Josiah, Lyida and I talked for a little while. At 11:30pm I went to bed.

English Vintner

Ireland Continued

2 April, Monday
I woke up at 7:30am. I came down (the only one up) and was making me a cup of joe, when I looked outside and saw a hare just outside the gate. I was going to get Lydia for a camera, but saw Uncle Bill’s and grabbed it. I was able to get a photo of it before it got away. We stayed on the Island for the day. We had eggs and oatmeal (I soaked overnight) for breakfast. After breakfast we cleaned up and had some good talks about different theological issues, it was good. Uncle Bill went exploring and the rest of us all went over to the red boat to ferry us across. After the girls were across Josiah and I took the boat and got to the same place the girls were walking to, except we got there first. We found out the boat had a missing plug and was leaking water. We went sheep herding and found some sheep to herd. Lynnea caught a little lamb and we were able to pet it. Then we continued to the end of the Island, looked at ruins and explored. I went back with a fence post I had found. Josiah saw me and picked me up in the boat. We took the boat back (with much trouble, so hard to steer it!) and I went in and made myself a cup of tea. I then went back out and saw Lynnea and Londa waiting where earlier in the day we’d ferried them across. I took them both back in the boat, Lydia had met up with Uncle Bill and had gone off exploring. We came back, I made scones for lunch and we ate lunch. Around 2pm Uncle Bill and Lydia came back and they ate lunch. We went out exploring in someones house, it had a really nice yard (albeit it was much over grown) and place, although it looked like at any moment someone might pop out and scare you. As we were coming around the house, Lynnea was in front, Josiah who had not gone with us jumped out and said “booh”! It scared Lynnea and we all laughed. Josiah, Lydia and Uncle Bill were all in on the plan to scare us. After exploring that house we came down to the house a woman had just left from. While exploring I found a cabbage sitting in a thorn bush, I picked it up which led to great argument about whether we should eat it. Finally we went back to tthe site and found an old banna as well and conlcued it was her ‘compost or ‘trash’ pile when she had left. So, with minds at ease we headed back to teh house with a cabbage to add to our meal. We made stew for supper we cut up carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, and unsmoked bacon shoulder. The stew was quite tasty. To accompnay it I made some muffins. After supper we all took a hike/walk (the same thing around here!) to see the sunset. We found a cliff to sit at and took a great many pictures! Then we went down to the shore where, because it is the coast it is the ocean waves that beat upon it. We found a pipe made from plastic and it was about 18ft long. With it we used it to do the caber toss! It was quite fun, I tried it five times but could never do it. Uncle Bill tried but couldn’t quite do it either. Thenw e walked home. When home we got out some cheese and crackers and watched The Stone of Destiny. It finished and Josiah and I went to bed. Uncle Bill did something else, and the girls watched Bringing Up Baby.
April 3, Tuesday
I woke up at quarter till 6am, went back to sleep and woke up at quarter till 8am. we ate Muesli for breakfast, but didn’t wake the girls up till 10am. They stayed up till 3am. We decided to go to the mainland so we packed up and walked to the dock. The wind was incredibly strong and we had hail and rain showers off and on. We got to the dock and found the boat grounded, so we went off walking for an hour. We came back and the battery was basically dead. So we called Patrick and he very kindly brought a new battery to replace it and we headed to shore. We drove to the supermarket where we got more groceries. Then we went to the hotel to get wi-fi. From there we took a long drive down along the coast. It was a fantastic drive, wonderful scenery. At the end we got out and walked down to the beach, a strip probably a couple thousand feet long. I ran along the beach in the waves (just like in Chariots of Fire!) and then went rock climbing around to another short stretch of beach. I climbed out of it and went around the same path along the rocks again with Uncle Bill. Then we got someone to take a pictures of us, and then we took a picture of them. We drove back to tthe dock, on the way back we stopped first at a shop when I brought a hat, and then next door where we picked up some groceries. Then we stopped by the same supermarket we did this morning to pick up some of the cold items and some wine. We headed back to the dock, unloaded, and waited for Patrick. He arrived and took us back, we dropped him off at his Island, and then we docked in front of the house. Most of us got wet from jumping into the water. For supper we reheated teh stew, it was even better, and we had some bread with some Cabernet Sauvignon. After supper we sat by a nice fire and talked. We headed to bed around 11pm.
April 4, Wednesday
I woke up around 7am and decided to make muffins for breakfast. Paul had a recipe book so I looked one up. I made Blueberry Coffee Cake muffins and Uncle Bill made an omelot. After breakfast all of us except Londa took a hike up to an Island because of the very low tide. We found a small lamb and met up with Patrick and his son who owns the Issland and the sheep. We talked and they took the lamb back. We went back to the house and got back around 12pm. we ate lunch and then played Last Word. After that I took the kayak out for a bit and the others started Regarding Henry, a DVD. I came back and finished watching it with them. After the film ended I worked on a Blueberry Rhubarb Cobbler for dessert. For supper we had grilled cheese and tomato soup with a Green Ginger wine. It was quite tasty. After supper we headed out to see the sunset. We all ferried across and went up to teh cliffs. We saw the caber pole, though it was about 30ft in and around 6ft deep where it was. We watched the sky and took pictures. We walked back and ate the Blueberry Rhubarb Cobbler. Uncle Bill is trying his hand at roasting peanuts. After the dishes were washed we sat down to an awesome game of Rook. In the middle it unexpectedly turned upside down. Londa came in the 1st, Uncle Bill 2nd, and me third, though there was a difference between Uncle Bill and I of 200 some points! We headed to bed around 11pm. We will be heading to shore, the mainland around 8am. So we’ll be getting up early and leaving here by 7:45am. It should be fun!
April 5, Thursday
I woke up at 6:40 by Uncle Bill. The others were up or got up later, closer to 7:15. For breakfast we had Muesli with yogurt and milk. After breakfast we loaded up and headed to the dock. We got on, picked up Patrick and we were dropped off at the mainland. We went to SuperValu and picked up a few things, coffee, tea, scones and bread. From there we drove North East and stopped by Foxford Woolin Mill. We went on the self guided tour and afterwards we shopped around. Some of the jumpers were on half off so Josiah, Uncle Bill and I got one. Mine was 80 euro, half off of that. It’s the most money I’ve ever spent on any one piece of clothing. I picked up a hat for 22 euro earlier this week as well. So now I have a sweet had and jumper. After that we drove an hour and a half North and took a walk around the highest cliffs in Britain. We couldn’t stay long because we had to be back by 8pm. We stopped by a craft shop and some of us got a few things. We drove back, stopped by SuperValu, ran in, got 2 loaves of bread and 3 salmon. We picked up Salmon. We drove to the dock and had to get out and park somewhere else because some Irish sailors were in the way. We got past, dropped Patrick off and docked. We got home and we mae supper. I made rice pilaf and Uncle Bill did the Salmon. After supper which finished around 9:30pm and cleaned up. Afterwards we watched a film. We went to bed around 12am.
April 6, Friday
I woke up around 8am. For breakfast we had oatmeal (I soaked it overnight) and Muesli. We cleaned up from breakfast and around 9:30am headed to the light house (a good 2 miles). We talked, we walked, picked up stones and shells. It was low tide and the lowest the water ever gets in the lunar tide cycle. The water drops around 4ft and goes back around 400ft. Such a dramatic tide change, it’s insane! We came back for lunch around 1pm. Josiah made pasta and we had spaghetti for lunch. After lunch we just sorta read books until 3pm when we headed for the mainland. We arrived and did some shopping. PIcked up soem bread and cheese. Then we walked down and got some Salmon from one shop and some Hake from another shop. We walked around downtown, got internet and drove around. Lydia sent off here two postcards. Around 6pm almost every shop closes up. Oh, for Good Friday the licensure doesn’t allow the selling of alcohol. So all the pubs were closed and the stores didn’t sell any alcohol. It was strange to see all the pubs closed! I’ve seen almoste as many pubs as I’ve seen B&B’s! Over this whole trip so far I’ve seen probably around 100 pubs! At 7:15pm Patricks’s son picked us up in the boat. We got home and started working on supper. Uncle Bill used the Hake to make a dish with it. Potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and we used the leftover rice. It was good and tasty! We tried the Irish Cream Ale and it was quite good! For supper we had cider. After supper I washed dishes and Lydia rinsed, we talked about how we would set up a kitchen, people who are OCD about things, the best way to clean up the kitchen, etc. Then we all sat down and read for about half an hour. A little before 11pm I went to bed.

English Vintner

Ireland

28 March, Wednesday
In the morning we left for the airport. We arrived, met Uncle Bill and Lynnea and got our bags ready to check. We happened to see Aunt Judy who was flying back to Miami the same day, that was quite cool. We got through everything fine, although they did have to get out my Dublin cheese and bacteria wipe it. We got on the plane, waited a nearly 45 minutes and the pilot said the weather was too dangerous in JFK airport. So we got off and waited to collect our bags (they carry-on luggage was put with the check because of space) about 5 minutes had passed when the pilot came back on the plane and said everybody on, were going to do this. So, we got on the plane and took off for JFK.We got off the plane in JFK We found a place that sold sandwiches and we shared those with each other. Around 8:15pm we boarded the plane to fly to Dublin. 29 March, Thursday
The entertainment wasn’t working so we couldn’t watch any films. The food was pretty bad, but, I didn’t expect better I guess. I mostly read a book Uncle Bill had brought and slept. I slept for only about 3 hours, but because of the time change those three hours were from about 11pm-6am. I woke up, ate the food they served for breakfast (a little better, they had a banana) and waited to arrive. We got off, got our checked luggage and drove one in a half hours south of Dublin to explore a little as we had time before Josiah arrived. We saw Kevin’s Church (which was fun to sing in!), a round tower and enjoyed driving on the left side of the road in VERY narrow streets! We went to a grave yard and there was a creek there and people through money into it. So I first went down and started collect coins, and then Lydia, and so did Uncle Bill. We had to hide under the bridge when people came, we called it the Gollum game. :) We didn’t get quite enough for any lunch, and Uncle Bill didn’t have cash, so we headed back to Dublin. We stopped at a small cafe for lunch. It was really good, and the waitress had an awesome accent as well as reminding me of an actor (brilliant blue eyes, jet black hair, dark tan complexion) I’ve seen. We left around 4:15pm to go back to Dublin. We picked up Josiah from the ferry and I squeezed in the back with the three girls. We drove across Ireland and stopped at Dunnes Store to pick up some cider and beer (as well as stretch our legs, 4 people in 3 seats?! TIGHTNESS!). From there we drove on to a hostel and arrive around 10pm, quite exhausted as most of us had had around 3-4 hours of sleep! The hostel owner looked JUST LIKE Cadfael, it was very cool! We popped a few cans, wrote in journals and went to bed. All of us were tired, but ready for tomorrow!
30 March, Friday
We woke up around 9am (Lydia and Lynnea slept in closer to 10am), I took a shower, packed my bags, and made some coffee in the hostel open kitchen. They didn’t serve breakfast, but they had a kitchen you could cook in, store your food in. We had no food so we asked the owner where to eat, he suggested a place and after we had had coffee we headed to town ( a couple miles away). We found Jae’s Cafe, it was a bakery/cafe and smelled amazing! Hot brewed coffee mixing with freshly baked goods! We were seated upstairs (they had room for maybe a dozen people, another reason why I love Ireland!) and chose from the menu and ordered. The kitchen was the next room over where they cooked everything to order. Londa and I got scones, Uncle Bill got an omelet, Josiah got a savoury pancake, Lydia and Lynnea got pancakes. We finished around 11:15am and headed towards the Island. We stopped by a grocery store, the equivalent of Aldi, and picked up some stuff. Right before then we were trying to talk to someone crossing the stree and instead it looked more like we were trying to run him over (at 2mph), the dude gave us an angry look and walked across. We later saw him in the store and as he passed us said “bleepin’ Americans”. We felt bad because we weren’t trying to make him angry, oh well. We drove to the dock where we waited for Patrick. He arrived around 3:30pm, we met him, loaded up and boated (is that the right word?) over to the Island. It was a good 20min ride to the Island. We got to the Island, unloaded, found out what was in every nook and cranny and made ourselves at home. We went out on a walk and explored the Island a good bit. We brought some plastic bags with us, so we collected muscles for supper. When we got back around 8pm and made supper. We boiled the muscles in water, and while those were cooking ate bread, cheese and apples with some red wine. The muscles were very tasty, we dipped them in a garlic butter that Uncle Bill made. Afterwards we cleaned up, washed the sihes, and played Rook. We decided to do teams of two, Lydia and Uncle Bill, Josiah and Lynnea, and Londa and I. It was a fun game, despite Lynnea getting the Rook five out of nine times. Uncle Bill and Lydia ended up with the most points and won. After the game we divided up the bed rooms, Uncle Bill got the master, Josiah got a single bed room, as did I upstairs, the three girls got the double bunk beds. I set an alarm for 7am.
31 March, Saturday
I woke up at 7am to my alarm. Actually I woke up around 6:30 and went back to sleep. Unlike some people. I love mornings and will sacrifice sleep for them. I don’t take sleep where ever I can get it because that’s not who I am, or what I do. It’s hard to say if we’ve/I have adjusted to the time change. I think it helped the first day that we were so tired that when night came we slept very soundly. It’s ahrd to say what my body says the time is, because I pay more attention to the light rather than what it feels like. The last tw days we’re only had two meals a day! :) We got up late enough and ate breakfast late enough that it basically counted for lunch. I wanted to go running today because I like doing it and because it is Fun. That is the main reason why I got up when I did. I went out behind the house and retraced where we had gone yesterday, hoping to find a good beach, I went about a mile and couldn’t find what I was looking for so I went back. I took a slightly different route and came out by the front of the house. I went on down to the dock, still in search of a place to run. I found a flat place, 300ft long maybe. I took off my socks and shoes and tried it. Besides the water being freezing cold, the rocks hurt more than I thought, (maybe I’ve gone too long with shoes on) I put them back on and came back. I started running along the beach, and despite the largish rocks the running was quite good. I got in maybe a quarter mile of pretty good running, enough to get my heart rate up and my breathing hard. I came to the house and made myself a cup of joe. Josiah woke up around 8am and went outside exploring/walking with his camera. The others got up around 9am and we ate breakfast. After breakfast I read some from The Golden Thread of Time, the three girls went exploring, and Josiah and Uncle Bill went to the boat to try and figure out the GPS. I went out and skipped stones near the boat. At a little after 10am we all got in the boat and took it out so Uncle Bill could get a little more used to it. We went back to the house, picked up some stuff and went to the main land. We picked up Patrick and went to the main land. We got groceries and got nachos and fish and chips. We were picked up by Patric around 6pm. We got to the house and I ended up jumping into the water to help pull the boat up! We made spaghetti for supper. After suppwe we went outside to see the sunset, we went out behind the house. WE came back to the house, played Rook for a while. Around 10pm we went to bed.
1 April, Sunday
I woke up at 6am thinking the clock said 7am. I went back to sleep (wasn’t hard) till 7:45am. I went outside after a shower. Bright blue sky and a warm sun! It was glorious! Londa was outside (as well as Uncle Bill) and I showed her some spots to take pictures from. I found a boat underneath some brambles, I’m hoping to find out more about it today. For breakfast we had pancakes, I soaked some of the flour with milk to make it easier to digest (healthier). I also made some yogurt that I used for milk in the pancakes. So this morning I made pancakes and they were very good. Last night we found the two kayaks in the shed, I’m hoping to try them out today with Lynnea! I’m also planning to do some swimming as well. The water is very clear, and yesterday when I got in the water I soon adjusted to it. We’re going to church today, a stone church we saw yesterday in town. We got to the church a little before it started, so we sat in the sun outside. The church was very cold, but we met one particular gentlemen who was very nice, he talked to us before and after church. The service was very much like I would think high church tends to be like. The prayers and most everything was written out and read, etc. I was glad we were able to go to church though. After church they had tea and biscuits for refreshment, and we met a few more people, including the pastor/priest? Then we went across the street to the service station to use the toilets. From there we drove around trying to find a place that had wi-fi. We would have been invited over to the gentlemen’s house that we met, except that his son and family were over for Palm Sunday and we wouldn’t’ve fit. We finally found some wi-fi and decided to eat lunch. So we went back to a park and ate lunch and then drove to the hotel to send a few emails. The bread here is quite tasty, as well the cheese. Around 4pm we headed back to the Island. We got back, planned when supper owuld be and went out separate ways. Londa took a nap, Lydia and Josiah went off, Uncle Bill went exploring, and Lynnea and I took the kayaks out. I have to say the two kayaks were quite fun! I came back and Josiah took the kayak out and around the Island. I found the boat again and looked it over. I plan to take it out tomorrow. For supper we had Parsnip and Carrot soup. It came in envelopes and I sautèd carrots to add to the soup. We had soup, bread, and a salad, and to accompany it we had cider. After supper we started a fre in the fireplace and played Clue, Londa won. After Clue we played Catch Phrase. We had a very enjoyable evening. We went to be around 11pm.

English Vintner