Mastodawn

Rainer Fehrenbacher

@rainer@pixelfed.social

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Canadian IT admin, married to an amazing person, dad to a hilarious and adorable little kiddo. Publisher at @langleyunion@cosocial.ca Live in Stolo territory, colonially Langley, BC 🇨🇦

Rainer Fehrenbacher 2d ago

I love my #Mennonite church. Free Palestine.

Rainer Fehrenbacher 5d ago

I rode in the Valley GranFondo last weekend and it was a great time! Incredibly hot at around 30 degrees, but I made fantastic time and finished with plenty of spare time!
#FraserValley #cycling #fondo #granfondo #fitness #raddad #ValleyGranFondo #biketooter

Rainer Fehrenbacher May 31

Day one of growing #duckweed for depositing into my #garden as both ground cover and nitrogen rich fertilizer!

Once this grows to fill the whole tray, I'll take half the duckweed and spread in onto the ground in my plot.

Anyone who has any insight as to why this may be a bad idea, feedback is welcome!

#organicgardening

Rainer Fehrenbacher May 25

Jen Sorensen May 24

This week's comic: Highly selective health nuts

#health #science #climate #environment

Rainer Fehrenbacher May 20

This place is holy.

Brae Island, and specifically Tavistock Point, is where I come for contemplating momentous transition points.

#BritishColumbia

Rainer Fehrenbacher Feb 25

Hell yeah, I'm a #duolingo #dad

Je suis un père Duolingo 🇨🇵

Rainer Fehrenbacher Feb 23

The fascists can't stop the early spring snowdrops from bringing us joy
#bloomscrolling #BeautifulBC #antifascist #BritishColumbia

Rainer Fehrenbacher Feb 20

Conspiracy of Cartographers Feb 19

This #Vancouver map is one of the first few dozen of the #Petrofuture series. They're based on maps from https://www.davidrumsey.com.

More:
https://conspiracyofcartographers.com/

Related--We love you #Canada! Please let us move there.

#greenWashing #upperLeft #climateChange
#maps #clifi #climateArt #cartography #salishSea #PNW

David Rumsey Historical Map Collection | The Collection

Rainer Fehrenbacher Feb 14

Happy International Winter Bike to Work Day! (And also the other holiday too I suppose ❤️)

Life feels easier and happier on a bicycle.

I hope everyone feels seen, appreciated, and cared for today!

#biketooter #bikecommuting #biketowork #winterbiking #canada

Rainer Fehrenbacher Feb 14

FitTrend | Track Your Progress Feb 14

Today is International Winter Bike to Work Day! No matter where you live, today is the day to ride your bike to work. Don't work or work from home, then celebrate by riding a bike!

https://youtube.com/shorts/UJCW-qX4JAw

https://www.fittrend.com/tips-for-exercising-every-day/

#WinterBikeToWorkDay #cycling #Today #NationalDays #Holidays

Before you continue to YouTube

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Jen Sorensen May 24

This week's comic: Highly selective health nuts

#health #science #climate #environment

AI6YR Ben May 24

@jensorensen LOL I once knew a fitness nut (went to the gym every day, only ate vegan, etc. etc.) who smoked 2 packs a day of cigarettes.

@ai6yr @jensorensen I occasionally see people riding bikes while smoking.

Don’t want to get *too* healthy.

Roger Moore May 25

@bob_zim @ai6yr @jensorensen
They can't afford a car and a two pack a day habit.

@bob_zim @ai6yr @jensorensen like that diet coke that goes with a double bacon cheeseburger. Gotta watch that waist line

AI6YR Ben May 25

@EduEdu @bob_zim @jensorensen lol

me_valentijn May 25

@ai6yr @jensorensen
Addiction is addicting 😔

Apparently the fitness scene can have a similar impact, with the endorphins released during exertion.

@ai6yr @jensorensen I used to clean a gym, and there was certain people who came to run a treadmill for half an hour, chewed a whole package of nicotine gum while at treadmill and then rushed outside to smoke. Don't want to think what condition their lungs were in...

AI6YR Ben May 25

@lepaggoth @jensorensen yeah, the guy I knew was one of those folks. Crazy obsessed with health and fitness and "clean eating" but smoked like crazy LOL. (we did say: "hey, if you're so concerned about your health, QUIT SMOKING")

llewelly May 25

@ai6yr @jensorensen

were they clove cigarettes? If so, I knew someone like that when I lived in Worst Jordan, Utah.

AI6YR Ben May 25

@llewelly @jensorensen LOL no idea, was a guy in Los Angeles. Sounds like there are more than a few of these folks.

AI6YR Ben May 25

@llewelly @jensorensen Unrelated, the son of one of my next door neighbors had a similar thing going on, was obsessed with nutrition and weightlifting, but was also totally on steroids. Lived with his mom, basically an adult child whose only work was occasionally working for a junk hauling company. I got along well with him, but he died a few years ago of massive cardiac arrest, I am pretty sure because of those same steroids.

Michael Busch May 24

@jensorensen @ai6yr

When gluten-free-as-a-fad-diet was big; I encountered people who would say things like "I am gluten-free except for pizza".

Then I would have to explain to them that that is not how it works for those of us with celiac.

@michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr I wish food fads like those would go away. It costs all the rest of us so much more in particular because "organic" took over so much. Growing "organic" costs more, uses more resources (including water, fertilizer, and land,) and of course the "certifications" cost too if they want an "official" "certification."

I still see "gluten free" on all kinds of things that are just stupid. I guess it's good to know there is no wheat germ in your tea? Hopefully it doesn't cost extra but who knows in some cases...

So far every single attempt to prove non-celiac disease gluten sensitivity actually exists has failed. Double blind studies have all shown it doesn't. I can't imagine how frustrating those people are for people with actual celiac disease.

Michael Busch May 25

@nazokiyoubinbou @jensorensen @ai6yr

I used to think that "gluten free" labels on tea did not make sense. Then I visited South Korea and China and had to learn how to identify barley in tea by smell.

But I really could do without the fad diet phenomenon of things being marketed as "gluten free" and then having "if you have celiac or wheat allergy, don't eat this" in the fine print.

@michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr Tea was just a random example I made up. I see it on all kinds of things that never touched wheat in any setting in any country. I think barely teas are labeled as such? Should they even develop gluten though?

Michael Busch May 25

@nazokiyoubinbou @jensorensen @ai6yr

The gluten subunit that is offending in celiac is conserved across all wheat, rye, and barley.

@michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr Ah, I see. I never imagined barley tea would be an issue. I guess one learns something new every day.

You can probably guess I have no gluten sensitivity issues.

AI6YR Ben May 25

@nazokiyoubinbou @michael_w_busch @jensorensen I would not wish (true) gluten/celiac disease on anyone. I know someone who has been in and out of the hospital for a decade with severe celiac disease. Not happy times.

Michael Busch May 25

@ai6yr @nazokiyoubinbou @jensorensen

I count myself fortunate that I have not had complications - since my gastroenterologists knew to test for it when I first had symptoms.

Queer Like The Slur May 25

@nazokiyoubinbou @michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr gluten free labelling on unexpected stuff is honestly really handy. Traces of gluten can be in weird places (lipstick, toothpaste, bacon) and for coeliacs it can be hard to trace down the source of obscure exposures. For example moisturiser worn by your spouse, exposure happens when you kiss them on the cheeks.

@coolandnormal @michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr It only makes sense in things where gluten ever could be a thing in it though. They put the label on everything. I guess I was too specific. I mean, we've reached a point you might buy a keyboard labeled gluten free. That's how meaningless the current usage actually is. In fact, I wouldn't even trust it on things where it is relevant because it's used so loosely at this point.

Queer Like The Slur May 25

@nazokiyoubinbou @michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr I can't think of an example of anything a person could ingest that is obviously gluten free without a label saying so. Gluten is in everything from medicines to personal care products to fizzy drinks to cured meats.

What specific products are bothering you?

Camille Bacon-Smith May 25

@coolandnormal @nazokiyoubinbou @michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr

A lot of brands sealed teabags with wheat paste. They are generally trying to phase it out, but it held really well and was just normal food to people who are not sensitive.

It's not just celiac, though, there are other diseases that require a gluten free diet. For myself, I love the fad dieters, because they make it cost-effective to create and sell gluten free products.

Queer Like The Slur May 25

@Camille @nazokiyoubinbou @michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr I found it was great for buying overseas products too.

Here (australia) colours and flavours have to be named specifically, so it's fairly easy to remember the grain derived ones. But American products often just say "natural colours and flavours" in the ingredients list. It's impossible to know if they're ones made from gluten containing grains, so they're often avoided because taking the chance is too dangerous.

@nazokiyoubinbou @michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr The fad diet aspect also hurts in other less-expected ways. Beers aren’t allowed to advertise health benefits in a lot of jurisdictions. Since the advent of the gluten-free fad diet, the phrase is now considered a health benefit rather than a statement about allergens, so beers can’t be labeled gluten-free. As a result, people intolerant of gluten have a hard time finding beer they can safely drink.

Isn’t the norm with other allergens that products containing the allergens are the ones being labeled?

There definitely should be some labeling to distinguish between products with and without allergens. Having no way to distinguish is objectively a problem.

@kasperd @ai6yr @michael_w_busch @jensorensen @nazokiyoubinbou Generally, yes, products are labeled with the common allergens which they contain rather than what is known to be absent. Rules around allergens and allergy labeling are deeply weird, though (e.g, look into the sesame situation). And rules around alcohol are also deeply weird. Anywhere the two intersect will doubtless have problems. For example, allergen information is typically part of the nutrition facts label, and very few alcoholic beverages have that (or an ingredients list).

I did just find a few wines which list themselves as gluten-free, so maybe the situation has changed since I last looked.

Roger Moore May 25

@nazokiyoubinbou @michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr
As I understand it, gluten free is supposed to be an allergy statement, a claim that they couldn't even have any gluten from cross contamination. When I visited a food processing plant, they had a completely separate facility for their gluten-free products that was never allowed to process anything with wheat. That makes a ton of sense, because even a tiny bit of cross contamination could be a real danger to someone with an allergy.

George Dinwiddie May 25

@michael_w_busch @ai6yr @nazokiyoubinbou @jensorensen
What sort of “organic” costs more for fertilizer?

There’s “organic” in the chemical sense of containing hydrocarbons, but that’s not what is generally meant when growing organic food.

When I was an organic vegetable farmer, it wasn’t more expensive, but it was more work. It also didn’t sell for higher prices than conventional vegetables back then.

@gdinwiddie @michael_w_busch @ai6yr @jensorensen Organic has lower yields, thus uses more land to obtain equal outputs.

More land = more fertilizer before more land.

And we both know when I said "organic" with it in quotes I didn't mean the literal scientific definition, but the one the market is using. Hence the quotes.

Sorry to step on toes, but it's not exactly an exercise in efficiency and this results in a higher overall cost to the end consumer.

George Dinwiddie May 25

@nazokiyoubinbou
What are you using for fertilizer?

I used composted plants and horse manure (free for the hauling from a horse farm).

I question your assertion that organic has lower yields. With companion planting, I could get two crops in the same plot of ground.

Marc Etienne May 25

@nazokiyoubinbou with organic, here in Germany (and the rest of the EU) we buy it not so much for personal health benefits as to lower environmental impact. The animals are treated better, no fossil fertilizers, pesticides, and so on. It's matured beyond its new age beginnings.

I guess in the USA it's still considered a fad?

@nazokiyoubinbou @michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr as I learned when I got diagnosed, gluten shows up in a lot of really surprising places unfortunately 😅

Michael Busch May 25

@jeana @nazokiyoubinbou @jensorensen @ai6yr

I used to like Red Vines and Twizzlers.

Can't eat those any more.

Magnus Ahltorp May 26

@nazokiyoubinbou @michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr Organic farming only uses more resources if you don’t factor in externalities.

Queer Like The Slur May 25

@michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr when I was a child my family kept a gluten free kitchen and always took gluten free stuff to local events.

We would constantly have people saying "I'll have the gluten free one, I'm trying to lose weight/it's healthy" and pick up one gluten free cake to go with their otherwise normal meal.

The cake would always be mostly butter and sugar.

In the late 90s there was a pervasive belief in australia that you could get healthy by putting a blob of butter and sugar with your meal. As long as the butter/sugar blob contains no gluten (your meal can have gluten though).

AI6YR Ben May 25

@coolandnormal @michael_w_busch @jensorensen Uhhhhhh

Pomegranate_Stew May 25

@coolandnormal @michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr

This was the one nice thing about the fad. We have friends whose kids have celiac disease and it made it a lot easier for us to bring things they could eat to school group get togethers. It always made the kids really happy to have treats/food that they could eat.

Queer Like The Slur May 25

@pomegranate_stew @michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr yeah this was actually really handy. Before the fad, nothing was labelled gluten free unless it was a special version of a product that's normally wheat based. With other products you'd just have to read all the ingredients and know all the codes for all the E-numbers with gluten in them (mostly thickeners and texture agents, but also some flavours and colours).

But then when the fad hit, companies realised they could make [something]-free a selling point instead of treating it like the weird obscure special needs option.

Pomegranate_Stew May 25

@coolandnormal @michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr
Oh definitely. We had to buy a specific brand of vanilla, because some were not safe for them.

I got good at reading labels when one of our kids had a milk allergy* as an infant, but gluten was even sneakier.

*fortunately grew out of it, but is still lactose intolerant.

Climate Jenny 2.1 May 25

@michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr This reminds me of the candies (Twizzlers?) that proudly announce on the label that they are fat-free.

Michael Busch May 25

@ClimateJenny @jensorensen @ai6yr

"grain free" on desserts has been an interesting one lately.

Climate Jenny 2.1 May 25

@michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr And cat food.

Celeste Ryder 🐾 🐀🏳️‍🌈May 25

@ClimateJenny @michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr but that one actually is useful. Cats are obligate carnivores yet lots of cat food contain mostly grains. That’s bad for cats. Grain-free in that case actually is a useful and desirable label.

me_valentijn May 25

@michael_w_busch @jensorensen @ai6yr
Non-allergic and non-celiac inflammatory reactions aren't a new or imaginary thing. And with my recent onset of extreme lactose intolerance, I can appreciate the very weird locations in which unexpected foods can be found. Eg, milk-free bread is the exception, not the norm.

And as with lactose intolerance, I could imagine that someone who can't handle much gluten on a regular basis might opt to stomach the discomfort from time to time to indulge in a treat 🤷‍♀️

Philosia May 25

@jensorensen The reason behind seems to be the rule of law and guilt instead of rule of love. An appeal to all creative people of the world made in 1988 is worth reading now.
https://open.substack.com/pub/joshuto/p/the-greatest-challange-the-golden?r=1gxdhi&utm_medium=ios

The Greatest Challange : The Golden Future -Osho

A book addressed to the intelligent people of this threatened planet.It is important to read the vision of a mystic for our golden future. It is a call to creators of the world to come together.

Philosia

@jensorensen this is the very thing that has baffled me about these groups. They're obsessed with stuff in the air, or microplastics, but also often support groups who have very clearly loosened regulations allowing more microplastics in food.

I know the answer is that education is underfunded, and they just haven't learned critical thinking, but I don't like that answer. All their talk about research, it's very unsatisfying how little it actually matters to them.

@jensorensen I think that this is just a regular problem though, especially with the US.

Leather Cub Andrew Aû May 25

@jensorensen oh this definitely reminds me of a bunch of YouTube advertisements... like almost every frame on the comic is ironically enough a reference to a hypocritical ad aimed at suckers.

I get particularly annoyed about ones that reference "Dr Steven Gundry" because it's all anti-science marketing BS.... and don't get me started on the products Chuck Norris is selling....

That being said there are probably tiny fragments of truth in a lot of these that end up getting distorted...

Jessica the VI Artist🎚️🎹🌈May 25

@jensorensen @Holls It’s also confusing and dizzying! Glad to know I’m not the only one who feels really bamboozled by all these contradictions

Knut 🏳️‍🌈 🇳🇴🧸May 25

@jensorensen I have PTSD and really bad anxiety that can get debilitating at times. And some guy told me I was filling the pockets of big pharma and maybe my anxiety meds were causing...anxiety. Nope. That's Alpha Boar Plus you're thinking of.

To the point, one of the best cartoons I ever saw.

@jensorensen their behaviour is rational in a way; these types of people treat health as a competition. If the average gets worse, that makes them look better.

@jensorensen
>I lift but hate seat belts
Where's the contradiction?
Seat belts are enforced by law, unlike lifting.
That's what they are against, not seatbelts per se.
@erici

@light @jensorensen @erici

So they are just contrarians. If the government said "obligations for everyone to exercise daily" they would just stop doing it.

@axnxcamr
Or maybe they would continue doing what the fuck they want regardless of what the government obliges.
Are we talking about libertarians here or some other group?
@jensorensen @erici

@light @jensorensen @erici

The strip states "Many on the right..." so libertarians might be included but not them exclusively I guess.

@jensorensen perfectly balanced, as all things should be