The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Call me a germaphobe... I'm not a germaphobe... well, not a really crazy one. But I do have some reservations about what I eat. Over the years, I'm become more aware of what I buy at the grocery store. If it ain't grown in Canada, then I won't buy it. Fruits and vegetables from some South American country with little or no regulations against using harmful herbicides and pesticides-- you name it, I won't buy `em. But recently, I discovered there is one more addition in my "ain't gonna touch it" food list. It's called `meat glue.' The laboratory name is transglutaminase, but the short name is meat glue-- and I'm a bit concerned. Dubbed as the meat industry's `dirty little secret', apparently some meat processors use scrap pieces of meat trimmed from bigger cuts, apply the transglutaminase, then roll it together and refrigerate it for a few hours. When it is taken out, the small pieces have fused together and appear to be one piece of meat. They are then sold on the market as a much more expensive cut than they really are. It's legal in Australia and in Europe, but Great Britain banned it a year or so ago. I can't find any information on whether or not if it's legal in Canada. But one thing is sure, if it's legal in Australia and Europe, chances are it has made its way to Canada in some form. Transglutaminase is made of various byproducts of the industry, primarily from the coagulants of cattle and swine blood. It acts as an adhesive to attach the pieces together and is virtually undetectable to the human eye, especially after it's been cooked. Great Britain banned it because there was a concern of meat being sold in restaurants-- especially ones catering to ethnic dishes. For example, Jewish people don't eat pork, yet there could be trace amounts of pork in the meat from the ingredients of the transglutaminase. The jury is out on whether the stuff is harmful or not. Some researchers say it is, others disagree. Up to $1,150 Early Booking Bonus with Rocky Mountaineer 7 Independent & Free Press, Thursday, October 27, 2011 EARLY BIRD GETS IT Ted Brown For me, being harmful is only half the issue. It infuriates me that some meat processors (somewhere in this world) are selling what appears to be an expensive cut of meat-- at an expensive price-- only to be actually made up of chunks of meat that were trimmed off the original carcass and re-attached together. That's gross misrepresentation. This brings me back to my original statements regarding being fussy where my food comes from. I'm really becoming inclined to grow my own meat at home, or at least buy direct from a producer I know is honest, and who grows and butchers livestock with integrity. A few years ago there was a CBC Marketplace story on chicken sold in North American discount stores. Although it was packaged with `Product of the USA' on the labels, it was in fact from China. Hens that had died in the night were being picked up every morning from egg producers in China, dropped off in a courtyard of some house, eventually picked and cleaned, then sent to the USA, where they were breaded, cooked and packaged. Apparently because the chicken was processed and packaged in the USA, it then became a `Product of the USA.' The photos are still online, on YouTube and other web sites. Search `Beware of Imported Chicken from China.' Seeing those images was enough for me. So call me a germaphobe, or simply a picky eater, but I have made up my mind. From now on, I make a point of knowing where my food comes from. Discover the Canadian Rockies on the award winning Rocky Mountaineer rail journey. There's no better time to book your 2012 Rocky Mountaineer vacation than right now. Book a qualifying 2012 Rocky Mountaineer vacation package of 7 nights or more by November 30, 2011, and receive up to $1,150* per couple in added value with our Early Booking Bonus. Georgetown Offer valid on new 2012 bookings made between September 15 and November 30, 2011. Deposits are required at the time of booking and full payment of the balance must be made by January 20,2012. This offer is applicable to any Rocky Mountaineer vacation package with a land tour portion of 7 nights or more. Travel between April and October, 2012, subject to availability. Based on double occupancy. Not available in conjunction with any other offer and not applicable to 2-day rail only bookings or to Group Tour bookings. Offers are capacity controlled and may be modified, withdrawn or amended without prior notice. Additional conditions apply. 905-873-2000 328 Guelph St. Georgetown, ON TICO Reg #50018501 Open Saturdays 9am - 4pm w w w. v i s i o n 2 0 0 0 t r a v e l . c o m "FAILTE" (WELCOME) TO ALL GEORGETOWN HIGHLAND GAMES ANNUAL MEETING Come and help elect the 2012 Directors of the Halton Peel Highland Games Association Police Station Board Room, Guelph St., Georgetown 7:30 p.m. November 9, 2011 LIONS CLUB OF GEORGETOWN 80th Annual Santa Claus Parade NIGHT PARADE STARTS AT 5:00 PM Santa's Coming to Acton November 19th Date: Saturday, November 19th, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. Theme: "SILENT LIGHT HOLY LIGHT" Name of Group: _____________________________________________________ Contact Person: _____________________Email Address: __________________ ENTRY FORM The Acton Santa Claus Parade, sponsored by the Acton Fire Fighters Association, starts at 1:00 pm, Saturday, November 19th, 2011 from MacKenzie Smith Bennett Middle School This year's theme is "CHRISTMAS AT THE CIRCUS" with prizes for specific categories. Children are encouraged to being letters to Santa Claus as the postal workers will collect along the parade route. Halton Regional Police "Toys For Tots" will collect unwrapped toys for local area kids. Street Address: ___________________________ City: _____________________ Postal Code: __________________ Telephone: ___________________________ Float Design (Brief Description): ______________________________________ ____________________________________________ Music: yes____ no____ Number of Marchers/Walkers: ________________________________________ Overall Length including Marchers/Walkers: ___________________________ Special Requests: ____________________________________________________ ENTRY FORM MUST BE RETURNED BY NOVEMBER 12th, 2011 (POLICE REQUIREMENT) Mail to: LIONS SANTA CLAUS PARADE Box 73, Georgetown, ON. L7G 4T1 AL WATT 905-877-9896 LOUIE VIOLO 905-877-6660 WHILE THERE IS NO ENTRY FEE, A CONTRIBUTION WOULD BE APPRECIATED TO OFFSET THE RISING COSTS. PARADE ROUTE Guelph St. from Sinclair to Mill St. and Charles St. to the Fairgrounds Anyone who has not received an entry form can contact Bill Spielvogel at 519-853-2924. "No Political or Protest Groups, Please!"