November 2008
News For Life
This newsletter, in its 6th year, is designed to keep you aware of the many effects our food choices have on personal health, a sustainable planet and respecting other species. I hope you enjoy it and share it with others!
General News Index:
THANKSLIVING IS COMING!
VIDEO: BASTED IN BLOOD (NO
GRAPHIC FOOTAGE)
ORGANIC FACTOIDS
FAMOUS VEGAN MARATHONER SCOTT
JUREK ON HEALTH
DON CARRIER (OPTIONAL VIDEO)
CELEBRITY THOUGHTS ON THE
VEGETARIAN LIFESTYLE
ELLEN DEGENERES
HAS FINALLY GONE VEGAN!
MICHELANGELO’S DAVID GOES
HOME
Health News Index:
A RAINBOW OF COLORS PROVIDES
A HEALTHY DIET
CANCER-BLOCKING FOODS
SMART EATS
VIDEO: SETTING THE RECORD
STRAIGHT ON SOY CONTROVERSIES
ANOTHER STUDY SHOWS NO LINK
BETWEEN DAIRY AND WEIGHT LOSS
VEGAN DIET IMPROVES DIET
QUALITY, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK, AND
SYMPTOMS
OF TYPE 2 DIABETES
FOODBORNE INFECTION ORIGINATES IN MEAT AND POULTRY
CANCER RISK IN GRILLED
CHICKEN MEALS AT LEADING RESTAURANTS
MAD COURT VS. MAD COW
Environmental News
Index:
INGRID NEWKIRK AND
VIDEO: EATING FOR PLANETARY
SURVIVAL
Animal News Index:
GRAPHIC VIDEO: UNDERCOVER
FACTORY EGG FARM
Take Action Index:
PETITION 'FOOD VS FEED' TO
THE UN
FORWARD THIS NEWSLETTER TO
FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!
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General News:
“If you don’t stay informed, then who will tell the others the truth?” JC J
THANKSLIVING IS COMING!
Thanksgiving is fast approaching and many progressive and socially conscious types have already ordered their “organic,” “pasture raised” turkeys, allowing them to eat the traditional meal without the guilt of supporting factory farming and chemical laden agriculture. However, most good intentioned people won’t look any further to discover the truth behind their meal.
Organic standards do not include regulations about the treatment of the animals.
A friend and I visited a local, organic farm with a good reputation for environmental and humane standards. The farm’s reputation seemingly held true. Their 1,000 birds are raised in large outdoor hoop-houses with green pasture surrounding. Their feed is organically grown on the farm and hangs from feeders accessible to any of the birds who are able to walk to them. They even slaughter the birds right on the farm, avoiding transport to a large slaughterhouse facility.
Yet even under “better than average” conditions, the turkeys suffer. Most people ordering organic birds assume they are not genetically bred for weight gain. Organic and non-organic turkeys are bred to be slaughter-ready at 18 weeks. They are so obese that their legs cannot handle the weight of their bodies. In fact, many birds are completely lame by two months.
Some of the turkeys we saw were stuck in the straw, unable to get up, and struggling to make it to food and water while healthier birds pecked at them. Others, already dead, were being removed...
Everyone who chooses to eat animal products labeled “humane”, “cage-free”, “organic” or “free-range” should visit the facility providing their meat, dairy or eggs. Anyone wanting to live compassionately would not support these industries. They would hopefully realize that these labels give people permission to turn their backs on the violent reality of eating these foods. The creation of all animal products involves exploitation for profit including confinement, social deprivation, mutilation, reproductive manipulation and pre-mature death.
Make this Thanksgiving a Thanksliving by modifying tradition to include non-violence toward all beings and caring for the earth and your own health.
http://www.plantpeacedaily.org/files/Thanksliving_is_Coming_.htm
VIDEO: BASTED IN BLOOD (NO GRAPHIC FOOTAGE)
A must see song performed by Sarah McLachlan and Cinder Calhoun (aka Ana Gasteyer)! 3 minutes long. Lyrics of Basted in Blood:
We gather together
For yams, beans, and cranberry sauce.
But have you given much thought lately
To the turkey holocaust?
200 million noble birds
Slaughtered every fall.
Ain't no difference between Hitler, Stalin,
And the folks at Butterball, Butterball.
So set your tables,
From
But when you carve that turkey
You're a finger lickin' Charlie Manson.
Enjoy your pumpkin pie,
Your buttery
Grandma's chestnut stuffing,
And a turkey basted in blood.
Basted in blood
Basted in blood
Basted in blood
Enjoy your turkey, enjoy...
Basted in blood
Basted in blood
Basted in blood
Basted in blood
Basted in blood
Basted in blood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsn_MEVfXTY
ORGANIC FACTOIDS
* If organic farming methods were practiced on all the planet's food-growing land, it would be like taking more than 1.5 billion cars off the road.
* You can increase your antioxidant intake by 30 percent by choosing organic.
* The average
child in
* The
* Farms in developing countries that use organic techniques produce an average of 79% more than farms that don't.
http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/
FAMOUS VEGAN MARATHONER SCOTT JUREK ON HEALTH
“It’s not like you wake up the next morning and feel ten times better. The changes are more gradual and you can see them better once you continue down the path for a while and then look back. In regards to competing and training I noticed my recovery times had shortened, that I was less injury prone, and had a higher level of energy...
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/09/29/the-green-quote-famous-vegan-marathoner-scott-jurek-on-health/
DON CARRIER (OPTIONAL VIDEO)
... I am a 58-year-old, life-long vegetarian who was diagnosed with clogged heart arteries 3 years ago... I had had a silent heart attack sometime after May of 2002... After running tests, including an angiogram, the cardiologist found that all three of my coronary arteries were diseased... The cardiologist strongly recommended heart bypass surgery as soon as possible, or at least having several stents placed to open my narrowed arteries. The thought of having a band saw buzzing through my chest wall didn't set well with me...
I was over 225 pounds and in terrible shape—unable to run even 1/8 of a mile and walking uphill made me breathless. My blood pressure was over 170/110 mmHg, cholesterol was 228 mg/dl, triglycerides were 532 mg/dl; I had bad allergies, sleep apnea, and slight arthritis in my hands...
As I followed the McDougall diet, the weight started to come off. I lost 2 to 4 pounds each month and by the end of the first year I had lost approximately 30 pounds. The second year I lost another 20 pounds. I was jogging up to 7 miles a day and loving my new energy level. All my friends who knew me before are still amazed that I have not only lost the weight, but also have kept it off...
I can't say I have suffered one bit for all the health I have gained—I never feel that I am missing out on any of the foods that I used to love—I have new favorites. I live by the recipes in Mary's Quick and Easy cookbook. I am also pleased that some of my close friends have converted to the McDougall Diet after seeing my results. The time and effort I put into changing my diet and exercising was the best investment I have ever made in my entire life.
http://drmcdougall.com/stars/don_carrier.htm
CELEBRITY THOUGHTS ON THE VEGETARIAN LIFESTYLE
“I did it for political, moral reasons, thinking that I was making this great sacrifice, but it was absolutely necessary; I was not going to contribute to the violence in the world anymore.
- Alicia Silverstone
“I take vitamins daily, but just the bare essentials not what you’d call supplements. I try to stick to a vegan diet heavy on fruit, vegetables, tofu, and other soy products.”
- Clint Eastwood
“Compassion is the foundation of everything positive, everything good. If you carry the power of compassion to the marketplace and the dinner table, you can make your life really count.”
- Rue McClanahan
“Chickens, cows, and pigs in factory farms spend their whole lives in filthy, cramped conditions—only to die a prolonged and painful death. Their bodies are then turned into food products proven to contribute to heart disease and cancer. To eat that is to eat poison.”
- Casey Affleck
“If any kid ever realized what was involved in factory farming they would never touch meat again.I was so moved by the intelligence, sense of fun and personalities of the animals I worked with on Babe that by the end of the film I was a vegetarian.”
- James Cromwell
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/10/10/the-green-quotes-celebrity-thoughts-on-the-vegetarian-lifestyle/
ELLEN DEGENERES HAS FINALLY GONE VEGAN!
... before Ellen’s vegan wedding, Ecorazzi predicted that Ellen was mere moments away from taking the veg pledge, and now it looks like she’s finally gone and done it. So what inspired this balls to the wall move? None other than a super awesome book called Skinny Bitch by another one of Ecorazzi’s bff’s, Rory Freedman. If you ask me, Skinny Bitch has totally revolutionized the vegan movement and we all owe Rory a great big standing ovation! Go buy this book right now!...
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/10/02/its-official-ellen-degeneres-has-finally-gone-vegan
MICHELANGELO’S DAVID GOES HOME
After a two year visit to the
http://fooddemocracy.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/happy-friday-michelangelos-david-goes-home/
Health News:
"Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food." Hippocrates, the father of medicine.
A RAINBOW OF COLORS PROVIDES A HEALTHY DIET
... "The most nutritious colors are the rainbow colors," said Lilan Cheung, director of health promotion and communication with the Harvard School of Public Health. "Nature has endowed each fruit and vegetable variety with certain vitamins, minerals, fibers and more."
No single food contains all the necessary nutrients, but different plant color groups when eaten in combination fulfill the average person's daily requirements.
"Orange and green, definitely, we should have something from these groups every day," Cheung said. "Purple or blue, dark green and orange. Reds don't need to be part of the daily diet mix but they should be eaten frequently.
"People should be eating nine or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day," Cheung said. "The more, the better."...
Here are some rainbow groupings, along with their disease-fighting capabilities:
• Red: Tomatoes, beets, radishes, red bell peppers. Lycopene, found in tomatoes, is known to reduce prostate cancer risk.
• Green: Spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, green peppers, kale, collard greens, peapods, asparagus. "Phytochemicals lutein and zeaxanthin are found in spinach, collards, kale and broccoli," Cheung said. "These antioxidants may protect the eyes and fight against free radicals - harmful substances in our body caused by smoke and pollution."
• Yellow and orange: Carrots, pumpkins, yellow peppers. Especially rich in beta-carotene, which strengthens the immune system.
• Blue and purple: Eggplant. Loaded with antioxidants called anthocyanins that may prevent heart disease by blocking the formation of blood clots.
• White: Garlic, white onions. "These pungent vegetables add flavor to foods so you can cut back on the salt," Cheung said. "The onion family contains allicin, which has anti-tumor properties. Garlic is being studied for its potentially beneficial role in preventing heart attacks and strokes, although the research is still preliminary."
http://onlineathens.com/stories/093008/liv_338198249.shtml
CANCER-BLOCKING FOODS
Beans, Berries, Cruciferous vegetables, Dark leafy greens, Flaxseed, Garlic, Green tea, Pomegranates, Red and puple grapes, Soybeans, Tomatoes, Whole grains. Find out what they may prevent, the nutrients they contain and specific advice.
http://deliciouslivingmag.com/health/conditions/cancer/0801-cancer-blocking-foods/index.html
SMART EATS
Are your kids' grades slipping? Maybe they're not eating
enough fruits and veggies. A recent study found that 5,200 fifth-grade students
who ate more fruits and vegetables (and less saturated fat) performed better
when asked to read materials and answer written questions. “Parents should feel
motivated to improve the eating habits of their children, not only because it
will boost long-term health, but also because it will aid learning,” notes Paul
J. Veugelers, PhD, a professor at the
http://deliciouslivingmag.com/health/kids/0901-smart-eats/index.html
VIDEO: SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON SOY CONTROVERSIES
Neal Barnard, M.D., discusses common soy controversies; What's in your shopping cart? Jill Eckart, C.H.H.C., recommends healthy soy options to add to your next shopping list; Susan Levin, M.S., R.D., provides soy nutrition at a glance; In the kitchen, Jill Ovnik, a cooking instructor for The Cancer Project, will prepare Berry Mousse. 21 minutes.
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diabetes/support_group_archive.html
ANOTHER STUDY SHOWS NO LINK BETWEEN DAIRY AND WEIGHT LOSS
A new study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that dairy products have no effect on metabolism or weight control. The Swiss study, funded by Nestle, tested the hypothesis that boosting calcium intake promotes weight loss, at least in people who are not already getting adequate calcium. In a crossover design, participants took a 400 mg dairy calcium supplement or a placebo twice a day for five weeks, with a 10-week washout period between the two treatments. Neither treatment had any significant effect on resting energy expenditure or body weight.
The dairy/weight-loss hypothesis has been promoted in dairy industry advertising, but has not held up in clinical trials.
Bortolotti M, Rudelle
S, Schneiter P, et al. Dairy calcium supplementation
in overweight or obese persons: its effect on makers of fat metabolism. Am J Clin Nutr.
2008;88:877-85. Lanou A,
VEGAN DIET IMPROVES DIET QUALITY, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK, AND SYMPTOMS OF TYPE 2 DIABETES
A low-fat vegan diet is associated with better diet quality,
weight management, and blood glucose control compared to the American Diabetes
Association (ADA) dietary recommendations for diabetes, according to a study by
PCRM researchers published in the October 2008
Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Ninety-nine adults with type 2
diabetes were randomly assigned to follow either a low-fat vegan diet or the
Turner-McGrievy GM, Barnard ND, Cohen J, Jenkins DJA, Gloede L, Green AA. Changes in nutrient intake and dietary quality among participants with type 2 diabetes following a low-fat vegan diet or a conventional diabetes diet for 22 weeks. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008;108:1636-1645. http://www.pcrm.org/
FOODBORNE INFECTION ORIGINATES IN MEAT AND POULTRY
Ninety-seven percent of human disease from the pathogenic
bacterium C. jejuni originates in animals farmed for
meat and poultry, according to a study by researchers at
Wilson DJ, Gabriel E, Leatherbarrow AJ, et al. Tracing the source of campylobacteriosis. PLoS Genet. September 26, 2008;4(9):e1000203. http://www.pcrm.org/
CANCER RISK IN GRILLED CHICKEN MEALS AT LEADING RESTAURANTS
A new PCRM study in Nutrition and Cancer : An International Journal found that grilled chicken items at leading chain restaurants are birds of a feather when it comes to increasing cancer risk. An analysis of 100 grilled chicken items from McDonald’s, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Chili’s, Applebee’s, Outback Steakhouse, and T.G.I. Friday’s found that all contained PhIP, the most abundant of a group of carcinogens called heterocyclic amines (HCAs)—and the HCA likely to contribute most to overall cancer risk...
MAD COURT VS. MAD COW
A federal court has ruled in favor of the USDA in a
long-standing dispute between the agency and a Kansas-based natural beef
company that wants to test all of its meat for Mad Cow Disease. The USDA
currently tests only a tiny percentage of
In an effort to re-establish trade, Creekstone Farms, a natural beef producer, (which does not feed slaughterhouse waste to its animals) responded to the loss of its foreign markets in Japan and Korea by asking the USDA if the company, itself, could pay to have all of its meat tested for BSE (Mad Cow Disease), thereby assuring leery foreign buyers of the meat's safety. In an outrageous move, the USDA threatened the company and its CEO with fines and imprisonment if they were to begin testing the safety of their beef. Creekstone took the USDA to court, claiming food manufacturers should have the right to invest in testing to make sure their food is safe. But a DC Court of Appeals recently ruled against Creekstone, saying the USDA has "broad powers' in interpreting how to enforce food safety laws.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_14873.cfm
Environmental News:
"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." Albert Einstein
INGRID NEWKIRK AND AL GORE: IN THE SAME LEAKY BOAT
Two of my heroes, Nobel Prize winner Al Gore and PETA president Ingrid Newkirk are doing incredible work that is making the world a better place. Like all of us, they have some inconsistencies, but unlike the rest of us, they are in high profile positions and the example they set is immensely powerful.
It's no secret, in veg circles, that Ingrid Newkirk has been all over Al Gore for his refusal to acknowledge animal agriculture as a major player in global warming. Fervent PETA members hound him at his talks with signs asking him, “Too Chicken To Go Vegetarian?” Newkirk released a letter chastising him and pointing out, among other things, that:
The effect that our meat addiction is having on the climate is truly staggering. In fact, in its recent report, "Livestock’s Long Shadow—Environmental Issues and Options," the United Nations determined that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined.
Researchers at the
The best and easiest way for Mr. Gore to show his critics that he’s truly committed to fighting global warming is to kick his meat habit immediately.
Who can argue with this reasoning? Anyone who cares about the long-term viability of the planet has to look at the enormous impact of their diet. Al Gore claims to care, but may find it difficult to act on what he knows when his family and powerful friends are in the Angus beef business.
However, Ingrid Newkirk is also inconsistent with her environmental message. Ingrid and Al both seem to have left out the part of walking the talk that is inconvenient for them or might cost them or their organizations a bit of profit.
PETA touts the environmental message at every opportunity but sells non-organic shirts. Those who have attempted to point out this inconsistency over the years have been ignored.
THE CURSE OF
CONVENTIONAL COTTON
Pesticides exist to kill and they do that quite well.
Billions of targeted and untargeted animals die every year and billions more
have their DNA damaged as the chemicals moves up the food chain. One resulting
calamity of these poisons is the infamous Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico along
the
Okay, so PETA doesn’t buy that many cotton shirts - just like Al Gore doesn’t eat that many burgers! However, if PETA sells a few hundred shirts every year, they could be indirectly responsible for harming tens of thousands of animals. This is an easily avoidable tragedy and it’s time that Ingrid truly aligns herself and her organization with a message of compassion and environmental stewardship.
By directing her purchasing staff
to buy only organic sustainable clothing it would serve at least three purposes.
The obvious one would be that fewer animals would end up floating upside down
in the
If Ingrid were more consistent, perhaps Al would be more open to hearing her message and they both could be better models of Mahatma Gandhi’s insightful message, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
http://www.plantpeacedaily.org/files/Ingrid_Newkirk_and_Al_Gore_In_the_Same_Leaky_Boat.htm
VIDEO: EATING FOR PLANETARY SURVIVAL
By Bruce Friedrich (PETA)
http://vsh.voip-info.org/Friedrich2.html
Animal News:
"The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men." Alice Walker, author and activist.
GRAPHIC VIDEO: UNDERCOVER FACTORY EGG FARM
... an MFA investigator worked at Norco Ranch, documenting standard egg industry animal abuse, including:
* Birds confined in tiny wire cages so small they couldn't walk, perch, fully stretch their wings, or engage in other basic behaviors
* Ill birds neglected to die on top of dead piles - denied veterinary care or proper attention
* Workers killing birds by grabbing their necks and swinging them around in circles - an attempt to break their necks which often resulted in prolonged deaths for the animals
* Hens suffering from bloody open wounds and untreated infections
* Dead hens left to decompose in cages with birds still laying eggs for humane consumption
* Birds trapped in the wire of their cages or under the feeding trays without access to food or water
http://www.mercyforanimals.org/norco/
Take Action:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead, anthropologist
PETITION 'FOOD VS FEED' TO THE UN
An appeal to the United Nations and its agencies to channel available food resources to needy people and not to farm animals...
FORWARD THIS NEWSLETTER TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!
Help educate the public about these vitally important issues. Please forward this newsletter to make a bigger difference in this world than you already are!
http://www.plantpeacedaily.org
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