Another article on statin drugs that completely ignores the benefits of a vegan diet

MSNBC.com | Heart Health: As cheap statins arrive, why fret about lifestyle?

I think any article on cholesterol and/or cholesterol-lowering drugs should be required to call doctors like Dean Ornish (who writes for MSNBC/Newsweek now anyway, incidentally) for a quote before publishing. Yes, lower-cost statin drugs portend a society ever more reliant on drugs to solve their problems, rather than truly healthful lifestyle changes. But rather than talking about the benefits of a vegan diet, which has been clinically shown to have the same results as these drugs, the article focuses instead on the merits of exercise and weight loss. While proper exercise may offer a small improvement in overall cholesterol, it doesn't begin to address the HDL/LDL ratio in a way that diet can.

I can personally attest to this. Before I ever got back into the gym (which probably isn't doing any wonders for my serotonin and cortisol levels anyway), I went vegan. My cholesterol dropped to 112 the first time I checked my blood profile after switching to a plant-based diet, and seemed to stabilize a little higher at 138 a couple of years later, with an ideal HDL/LDL ratio at that level.

Categories: cholesterol | health | vegan | statins

Healthy body, healthy planet

TorontoSun.com | Lifestyle

I'm having to blink my eyes a bit at all the pro-veg pieces I've seen lately. But it is real. Here's another one:

...about 4% of Canada's population are vegetarians of some kind, with an increasing number becoming vegans -- who don't eat meat, fish, poultry, eggs or dairy products that come from animals.

[snip]

But that doesn't mean they're not still regarded with some suspicion -- or worse, derision -- by those who see vegetarians as holdovers from the hippie era, and vegans as tree-hugging extremists.

"I like to say that vegetarians are the Beatles, and vegans are the Rolling Stones," [Syd] Baumel says. "Back in the day, the Beatles were regarded as the wholesome guys and the Rolling Stones were the dangerous types. When you tell someone you're a vegetarian, you usually get a positive reaction, but with veganism it's almost like saying you're a monk ... it's still such an extreme for most people."

Hear that? I'm a Rolling Stone. Strange that we can be dangerous and monk-like... I have this vague recollection of some band with a name reminiscent of dangerous monks... Anyway, I still love The Beatles.

Categories: vegan | vegetarian | health

Dispelling righteous veganism

I wrote a letter to the Minnesota Daily in response to an opinion you can link to from that page, and it looks like the editors went with another opinion piece by a University of Minnesota student -- Compassionate Action for Animals' Benjamin Acaso -- that rebuts it quite handily and keeps the vegan dialogue going on campus:

The argument that boycotting products from factory farms should be left up to the discretion of the given individual is misleading.

Is beating a dog for fun a personal choice?

What about buying products as a result of forced child labor?

Clearly such issues affect more than just the individual consumer, obliging us to at least consider the interests of the other parties involved.

He makes an excellent point that is probably the most important consideration for animal rights that is given short shrift elsewhere. And I was much amused by his next tack:

If Stalpes’ column made it to one of his teachers’ desks, he almost certainly would be reprimanded for his clear plagiarism. Indeed, his entire first paragraph was lifted almost word-for-word from a song “Beef and Broccoli” by political rapper Immortal Technique.

Ironically, I was able to ask Immortal Technique about his thoughts on factory farming at a concert he performed at Macalester College in St. Paul.

His response: Factory farming is a detestable form of exploitation.

Bravo! Well done. I would not be surprised if Mr. Acaso is one of the University of Minnesota's brightest students. He is clearly one of the most compassionate.

Categories: factory farming | veganism | animal cruelty | plagiarism

Council rethink over veggie couple's foster bid

Horsham Today

Good news in the UK. A vegetarian couple that had been categorically denied the opportunity to offer much-needed foster care will now have their application reconsidered, after a rejection on the basis of their strict vegetarian diet prompted a flood of media attention. According to a West Sussex County Council spokesperson:

"The fostering service has . . . added to its guidelines by stating that if a person has a particular diet based on cultural or religious views then they would not be expected to prepare or cook food that may cause conflict with this."

Now if we can only get this sort of guidance with prison diets and the like... Alas, I stray off-topic.

These seem like very bright, thoughtful, and caring people, if their response to criticism of their dietary choic is any indication:

Mrs Saunders said: "Some people have accused us of trying to push our values on to children but one comment I would say about that is the very nature of parenting is that you influence your children.

"If you are very religious then you may influence them to be Catholic or Jewish.

"We are not trying to force anybody into being vegetarian.

"We just want to offer someone a home - there is a lot more to us than the fact we do not eat meat."

How refreshing to see that in print (or online, as the case may be). Would that vegetarians got more of this kind of publicity. Good for them. I hope their application is approved.

Categories: fostering | foster care | vegetarianism | vegetarian kids

Cooking Fun!

Sometimes, I get bored with our regular dinner routine. We do soups and salads with fruit, or a main dish + side dish sort of thing. Last night I decided to throw together my own version of the appetizer dinner, laying out everything in a buffet-style-serve-yourself manner. It was a hit, I am not sure if it was the break from the regular hum drum or if it was the food. Perhaps, it was a little bit of both.

First, I fried up some pita chips. Pita chips bought in the store can be expensive. There’s no need for the expense! You can make your own. I just bought a few packages of pita and brought them home, cut into triangles and fried them until golden brown in my deep fryer in 365 degree oil. Then remove and drain on a cotton towel or paper towels. The frying can also be done in a heavy pot (make sure not to fill your pot too high with oil). Also, if you are anti-fry, that’s ok. You can toss them with olive oil and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until they reach the desired doneness. Check on them, though! We don’t want to burn them. You can season these with salt, lemon pepper, or any herby type seasoning mix. With the pita chips we decided to go for hummus and my artichoke-spinach dip.

To this we added some Mango Summer Rolls (Vegan With a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz) and the accompanying sauce. My kids helped me get the ingredients ready and assemble these. This is a great way for kids to help out in the kitchen. We also had some Greek olives and a simple cucumber salad. To wash all this down, we decided to make some lemonade.

So, if you are getting “bored” with your regular routine, shake it up a little. You don’t have to do appetizers. You can go on a picnic, or have a Bond party with martini’s, food and Bond movies. Whatever it is, just have fun.

Hang in there

I have some interesting items to post, but not much time to write them up over the next 2-3 days, so keep checking in, and hopefully you'll see some good updates the next couple of evenings, and perhaps Sunday morning.

Firefighters Gone Vegan? Even Austin Is Impressed

New York Times

How often do you get to see news stories as positive in their portrayal of veganism as this one? It doesn't even cancel it all out at the end with some wanna-be-clever editorial comment from the writer, who in this case wraps it so:

Even the firehouse carnivores benefit from the vegan cookery, routinely scavenging leftovers. As Edward Roel, a driver on the B shift, admitted, "They taste good."

The firefighters of Team C have been written about before, but this story is pretty fresh and (unfortunately, I suppose) always timely. PETA gave them an award for "Animal-Friendly Firehouse of the Year." That's one of the reasons I like to write about them, too. But, of course, the main reason the five men of Team C went vegan was for their health. As I told someone in an outreach-style conversation today, nothing beats a vegan diet for lowering cholesterol and overall health. Usually not even drugs:

"Seventy percent of our calls are medical," [Rip Esselstyn] said. "Every day we see the ravages of people eating to their heart's content." If not for Specialist Rae's cholesterol, he said, "there would have been someone else, someone prediabetic or obese who would have prompted us."

You can also visit Team C's home page at www.engine2.org for bios, recipes, and more.

Categories: vegan | firefighters | health | cholesterol

Plan adds fruit, vegetables to WIC

baltimoresun.com

When rich corporate interests start trying to tell the USDA how to feed low-income women and children, you have to know they're going to have the meat and dairy industries' interests at heart, not the poor. What's galling is that they try to hide their greed behind concern for the health of families utilizing the nutrition program:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is weighing a proposal to add fruits, vegetables and whole grains to the food packages that are offered in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC for short.

As logical as that might sound, the decision is hardly a given.

The WIC food packages include such items as infant formula, juice, milk, cheese, eggs and peanut butter. But previous attempts to revise the packages have hit a wall, in part because of opposition from powerful food lobbies that wanted to maintain the status quo.

Shirley Watkins, undersecretary of agriculture for food, nutrition and consumer services in the Clinton administration, said her attempts to add fruits and vegetables to the program were quickly quashed.

"There were a lot of companies that didn't want anything done to the food packages, but we had WIC recipients that really wanted change," Watkins said. "We had lobbyists coming in. We knew as we pushed forward, they were pushing in any direction to keep us from moving."

What is different this time is that the USDA sought additional ammunition - a study completed last spring by the quasi-governmental Institute of Medicine - that should make the changes more palatable. The institute recommended that WIC add more fruits and vegetables, and decrease the amount of milk and eggs.

What's interesting to me is that the USDA - which usually operates in the best interests of the meat and dairy industries - here has finally sought a means to combat the pressures of industry lobbyists with science. What a concept. Would that this was more common.

Currently, the WIC food packages offer fresh carrots for pregnant women. The Institute of Medicine proposed giving WIC recipients monthly vouchers - $8 for children, $10 for women - to buy fresh fruits or vegetables.

But because the institute's mandate was to make changes without adding costs, its proposal calls for reducing the amount of milk, juice and eggs.

Under the current program, young children receive WIC vouchers for about 9 ounces of vitamin C-rich juice and 3 cups of milk per day. If the changes are adopted, the children would get 4 ounces of vitamin C-rich juice and 2 cups of milk per day.

Their monthly allowance for eggs would also be reduced from up to 2 1/2 dozen to a dozen.

People should not be getting their nutrients from concentrated sources that fail to provide overall nutrition, while also contributing unhealthy foods to their diet. Juice is basically a sugary, fiberless way to get vitamin C into a diet, when kids and mothers should be eating more actual vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables. Milk is basically a way to make calves grow really fast into cows, which means it's probably not a good source of protein and calcium for kids, when other sources (like legumes and vegetables) are much healthier and inexpensive. The plan doesn't exactly turn WIC participants into vegans, but it brings their diet much more in line with the government's current nutrition recommendations:

Suzanne Murphy, a professor at the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii and chairwoman of the Institute of Medicine WIC study, said current guidelines provide WIC participants with more dairy than federal nutrition guidelines recommend.

Fortunately, if the proposal goes through as written, this also means fewer eggs and milk sold by the industry. This, of course, is why they are pressing so hard not to get squeezed out, but it's exactly the sort of thing activists can fight to help reduce the demand for animal products, along with school lunch programs and the like.

Categories: WIC | nutrition recommendations | USDA

Healthy pork possible through cloning

MSNBC.com

There's no threat of Omega 3-enhanced pig flesh hitting tables any time soon, but researchers are working on it, along with chicken and cow research. Corporate scientists are working on ways to enhance cooking oils and other products as well. The problem with altering our entire food supply to adapt our nutrient intake is that we're messing with a lot more than just a product. Animals and plants, even when confined to farms, are part of the environment, and the impact of genetically-altered plants and animals on the environment cannot be foreseen. It's in corporate interests to spend millions and millions of dollars to try to develop these new products, because they could pioneer whole new categories and make a fortune, which is what they're in business to do. It does not behoove them to tell their customers to eat a healthier whole foods, plant-based diet. So it's up to us. If we don't see significant progress away from engineered food in the next twenty years, we may well see the dawn of an age where every plant, tree, seed, and food item is owned by Monsanto or DuPont.

Categories: GMO | genetic engineering | omega 3

Camps embrace veggie option

Cool:

Kids Make a Difference, a Los Angeles-based program, offers day camps and overnight camps for children interested in environmental issues. The camp also serves vegan meals exclusively.

"Every child who comes to camp doesn't have to question whether the food is vegan," camp director Andy Mars said. The camp attracts children who are vegan and children who typically eat meat at home, but Mars said none of the campers have complained about eating vegan.

In addition to hiking, swimming and other activities, campers assist in meal preparation. They roll their own sushi and heat up vegan franks and beans over campfires.

Because the campers are involved in meal preparation, they're more likely to try and enjoy new foods, Mars said. And peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are always available for the unadventurous.

The camp's capacity is 12 campers — that way everyone will fit in the eco-conscious van the camp uses, Mars said.

In 12 years, Mars said, he has had one complaint about camp food, and it was from a parent who was shocked when her camper came home and wanted to become vegetarian.

Mars chose to serve vegan food at camp programs because it's healthy and it follows the environmental and ecological goals of the camp.

"We try to teach children to respect all life," Mars said.

There's some fun moments in that story. You can learn more about Kids Make a Difference here.

Categories: camp | kids | vegan | environment

Opposition to 'meatout' lacks forward thinking

In response to an opinion in Penn State's Digital Collegian that was itself a response to the Great American Meatout, I sent a letter to the editor that I also posted here earlier this week.

The letter was published today, and I have to say that I approve of the headline they gave my piece.

I did start out quite a bit harsher than I usually do, but if you read the original opinion, you'll see why. If Hanelly had actually taken a moment to visit a Meatout event on his own campus, he might have learned enough to have written a more informed piece.

I'd also like to add that creative editing removed the following from my original letter, making it come off more antagonistic than written: "expecting something fresh and intelligent from the Penn senior." The last part was changed to "him," as if I knew the guy, when really the point is that you'd expect a senior in media studies at Penn State to offer something fresher and more intelligent than what he did in his published opinion. I'm a bit disappointed that the paper made this edit, as it surely wasn't due to space constraints. Perhaps they were concerned it could come across as a slam against the school?

I wonder how many Digital Collegian readers are going to ask themselves why some guy in Los Angeles is reading their paper and writing them a letter, but we can't just limit ourselves to writing the editors of our own local papers. We can reach people all over the world with accurate, animal-friendly information if we spend just a few minutes gathering our thoughts to craft a well-reasoned letter to the editor of any news outlet, all thanks to the internet.

Categories: meatout | letters to the editor | letter writing | advocacy

How do you make a soybean taste like a hotdog?

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

I'm not a huge fan of processed soy products. I try to keep my consumption down when it comes to all processed products, but these foods make for an easier transition to a vegetarian and vegan lifestyle. Despite the apparent increase in vegetarian meat substitutes seemingly everywhere, the market is a bit down right now.

Proprietary soy protein manufacturer Solae has introduced some new products in time for summer

as marketers try to pull veggie burgers and other meat substitutes out of a slump.

According to statistics from ACNielsen, dollar sales of meat substitutes sold in food, drug and mass-merchandising stores, excluding Wal-Mart, rose 6.6 percent in the 52 weeks ending March 1, 2003, and then began to drop. For the 52 weeks that ended Feb. 25, sales were down 1.8 percent. Ross said one of the reasons for the decline is that protein-based diets have led some consumers to start eating meat again.

However, Ellen Deutsch, senior vice president and chief growth officer with the Hain Celestial Group of Melville, N.Y., the parent of Yves, said statistical data for the last 12 to 26 weeks is showing a turnaround. She said while the low-carb fad did cause meat alternatives to hit some bumps along the way, the health benefits to eating soy products create a sustainable trend.

A core group of consumers remained loyal to meatless products throughout the low-carb craze, she said, and new products will attract new customers.

Hmm, I wonder who those core customers are...

Categories: vegetarian | meat substitutes | soy | Solae

It is a green revolution in McChicken’s world

DNA Mumbai

Activists found an unlikely partner for vegetarian outreach with a McDonalds in Thane, India, which already serves local-styled vegetarian foods:

The Thane outlet of the restaurant chain, on Monday, promoted its vegan meals — lemon-flavoured ice tea, French fries, burgers without mayonnaise, McVeggie and Mc Aloo Tikki with veg patties.

“We are asking them to have more vegetarian products and vegan meals. Our target are fast food restaurant chains like McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Café Coffee Day, etc,” said Sunish Subramanium, PAWS volunteer. They planned to approach other MCDonald’s outlets in the city as well, he added. “This is an internationally popular concept, which was started 22 years ago and which spread like wild fire in the United States,” said Sujatha Karanth, coordinator, DIYA, who organised a similar campaign in Bangalore on Monday.

Certainly if the demand is there, it would behoove these restaurants to carry more vegetarian and vegan products. I don't see the demand in the U.S. yet, but I sure am curious about the Mc Aloo Tikki.

Categories: McDonalds | India | vegan | vegetarian

Vegan Lunch Box

You may have heard about this fantastic blog called The Vegan Lunch Box. It is one of the few blogs that is on my daily viewing roster. Everyday, Jennifer posts pictures of what she sends her son(known as Schmoo) to school with in his lunch box. She puts me to shame! I am especially excited about a recent post that included a recipe for vegan croissants. I will be testing this recipe out sometime this week or weekend and posting pictures. If you would like to check it out for yourself, head over to Vegan Lunch Box

VeggieBoards Hints & Tips

From time to time I'll be posting hints & tips on how to use VB. For some of you this will be common knowledge. Today we're going to start with something simple... the icons and what they mean.



The red and green arrows on VB's main page indicate whether or not that indivdual forum has new messages. A green arrow means that forum contains new messages since your last visit. A red arrow means that forum contains no new messages since your last visit.



When you click on a forum you'll see a list of topics. To the left of each topic name is an icon. A blue icon means there have been no new messages added to that topic since your last visit. A gold icon means there have been new messages added to that topic since your last visit.

A black dot in the center of either icon means you've posted a message in that thread. That's an easy way to see which topics you've participated in.

If you look at the first topic you'll see a little blue square to the right of the gold icon. Clicking that square will take you to the first new message in that thread. I'm surprised how many people don't know about this one!

You can reset all of the icons by clicking the "mark forums read" link at the bottom of the main page or by selecting the same link from the "quick links" menu at the top.

So that's your VB101 lesson for today.

Campus 'meatout' supporters full of baloney

This anti-meatout editorial from Penn State's Digital Collegian is so dunderheaded that it barely merits a response, but I felt it shouldn't go unchallenged, so I wrote the following letter:

I read Andrew Hanelly's opinion, expecting something fresh and intelligent from the PennPenn State senior, but instead I found some of the most ignorant, backward thinking I've ever encountered from a young person on the subject of vegetarianism and animal suffering.

Arguing that the suffering of animals is valid based on good ol' American tradition is ridiculous. Slavery was an American tradition. Tradition is what we make it. Barbecues will continue on just fine, featuring a variety of non-meat items on the grill. They already are, with veg-friendly options becoming common at these events as the compassionate lifestyle grows more widespread.

Many of the jobs Hanelly claims would be lost to a meat-free society belong to uneducated and/or migrant workers that suffer greatly at the hands of an industry that makes sweatshops look like union strongholds. Read Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation for a riveting account of the human toll of meat-processing.

Finally, Hanelly's assertion that products are tested on animals completely ignores the fact that many excellent alternative products exist for the same hygenic purposes. The toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant and other products I use are not tested on animals, and can be found at a national grocery store you may have heard of: Whole Foods Markets.

For a senior majoring in media studies, Hanelly sure hasn't been paying much attention to what's going on in the real world.

I encourage you to express your opinion as well, especially if you're from the area.

Categories: veganism | animal suffering | animal cruelty | meat-processing

Eating right works like drugs in lowering blood cholesterol

Earth Times

I like how this site calls a near-vegan diet "eating right." Granted, I'd prefer an all-vegan diet, but the diet prescribed in this study is so much closer than the standard American diet that it is definitely eating righter:

Over a year, the 66 participants ate a soy-rich diet featuring almonds, fruit, vegetables, beans, psyllium, oat bran and other high fiber foods. They were also urged to avoid dairy products or limit their consumption to low-fat or fat-free products. Knowing that participants who regularly ate lean meat, poultry and fish, would find the diet tough to follow, hence they were encouraged to limit such foods to fewer than three meals a week.

Although recent research says that soy is not very helpful in reducing cholesterol, it was a key feature in the diet because it effectively substitutes animal products.

The high fiber foods significantly helped lower LDL levels. More than 30 percent of the group who followed the diet closely benefited with their LDL levels lowered by more than 20 percent. Such improvement was seen until now only after a course of low-dose statins, the researchers said.

Categories: study | research | vegan | health | nutrition | cholesterol | statins

Meatout 2006

Today's the day! Find an event near you.

Or just take advantage of the day to focus on outreach. If you have any literature still sitting around to be handed out and discussed, today gives you at least some kind of ice-breaker to bring up the subject with friends, family, even co-workers. Who knows? Maybe people in your life will hear about Meatout through the media or other sources and come to you, the resident vegetarian, for more information. Be ready!

Categories: meatout | vegetarian | vegan | outreach

Spotlight on vegetarianism in today's Winnipeg Sun

Winnipeg Sun | Food Fright

With acceptance of meatless diets growing, it's great to see a Canadian focus on vegetarianism -- with a strong emphasis on veganism -- the day before the Great American Meatout:

• Healthy body, healthy planet


• Going cold-turkey: Family went vegan for son's health


• Bone of Contention: How can a vegetarian and carnivore coexist?


• What do Mahatma Gandhi & Steve Jobs have in common?


• Vegan Recipes: Vegan Caesar Salad; Pecan and Date Tart with Chocolate Ganache

Categories: vegan | health | environment | recipes

Vegetarian DHA EPA product set for launch

Food Ingredients First: Nutrition

I was only just reading about the controversy over Omega 3s at VeggieBoards (too) late last night, and lo and behold!:

A Swiss based company claims to have won the race to create the world's first vegetarian omega 3 DHA EPA launched to the natural health trade. The company will shortly be launching a product called Algae Pure extracted from a secret strain of Algae.

Wonder what kind of fortune the company will be asking vegetarians to spend...

Categories: omega 3 | EPA | DHA | algae | nutrition | health

Study highlights possible health risk with Atkins diet

USATODAY.com

Doctors published a case report on a life-threatening complication claimed by a woman to follow her adoption of an Atkins regimen. Of course, Atkins will have none of that:

Dr. Abby Bloch, vice president of programs and research at the Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation — a medical research charity run by Atkins' widow, Veronica — said ketoacidosis was not triggered by diet and could only occur if the patient had an "abnormal clinical metabolic condition."

"It is not brought on by diet unless she had an underlying cause which she and her doctors weren't aware of," Bloch said.

"Ketoacidosis is an abnormal state that occurs when there is a clinical abnormality. It doesn't occur when there's a normal state like a low-carb diet."

The patient, who was not identified, was admitted to an intensive care unit for four days after becoming short of breath. Before being hospitalized, she had lost her appetite, felt nauseous and was vomiting four to six times a day, the doctors wrote in the paper.

Tests confirmed ketoacidosis.

Ketones are produced in the liver when insulin levels fall due to starvation or diabetes.

"Our patient had an underlying ketosis caused by the Atkins diet ... This problem may become more recognized because this diet is becoming increasingly popular worldwide," said Professor Klaus-Dieter Lessnau, who led the team from the New York University School of Medicine.

Clayton said that the main problem of high protein diets is in the strain they put on kidneys and the risk of renal failure.

Categories: nutrition | health | Atkins | ketosis | ketoacidosis | expialidocious

As Luck Would Have It, Bishops Allow Meat on St. Patrick's Day

The Washington Post

For centuries, the Vatican required Catholics to abstain from eating meat on all Fridays to observe the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Forty years ago, it decided that Catholics needed to follow that rule only during Lent, the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter.

Now bishops are waiving even that rule, granting dispensation tomorrow for St. Patrick's Day, despite the Vatican's prohibition. About one-third of the country's 197 dioceses have issued a one-day waiver of the rule, citing the benefits of Irish American tradition and community.

Oh, brother. Lest we think they're becoming too lenient, though,

The bishops who waived the rule for this St. Patrick's Day said that Catholics eating meat should offset their action by making another sacrifice tomorrow or on another day during Lent.

Categories: meat | Lent | Catholicism | St. Patrick's Day

U.S. health care mediocre across the board - Health Care - MSNBC.com

Does this mean I should feel better about not having health insurance, then?

“It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter whether you’re rich or poor, white or black, insured or uninsured,” said chief author Dr. Steven Asch, at the Rand Health research institute, in Santa Monica, Calif. “We all get equally mediocre care.”

It's times like this when I'm glad that I pay close attention to preventive care. Going vegan, for example.

Categories: health | healthcare

An ethical diet: The joy of being vegan

A lengthy Independent story in the Food & Drink section on the mainstreaming of veganism is one of the more positive pieces on veganism I've ever seen in the media. Worth a look, and certainly deserving of your praise. (Note: If you wish to submit a letter for publication in the newspaper, it must include the sender's name, postal address and daytime telephone number)

Tofu, nuts lower cholesterol

globeandmail.com

May I join doctors Campbell, MacDougall, and others in criticizing the attitude of some health professionals (especially when they're quoted in articles with otherwise positive news for vegetarian diets) who almost seem to be attempting to create a self-fulfilling prophecy:

Dr. Alice H. Lichtenstein, a professor of public health and nutrition at Tufts University in Boston, said the study was scientifically solid, but the diet is so strict she believes most North Americans would find it hard to follow in the real world.

"It's a great diet and they started with a very motivated group of individuals who were used to consuming a low-fat or vegetarian diet," Lichtenstein said in a telephone interview. "But I think that for the general population, we have to be realistic -- and it's unlikely that they're going to be able to adhere to something like this.

I'm just about fed up with remarks like this. Maybe if health professionals actually made an effort at preventive health education, especially nutritionists like Licthenstein. Hey, this is a great diet. But it's a tough sell, so let's talk about some great drug options I just heard about at the latest multi-national pharmaceutical company-sponsored conference...

Damn, already.

Categories: health | nutrition

Mad cow, bird flu set moody stock swings in motion

This just in from USA Today's Money section: "The USA is not going vegan."

Well, that must be reassuring to their readers... I wonder what their source is for that insightful observation.

According to Thomas Morabito, analyst at Susquehanna Financial, "People will still buy beef, pork and chicken." Evidently meat is cheap right now due to overproduction (and let's not forget government subsidies), not reduced demand. Yet, the demand for vegan products rises. Of course, I don't meant to suggest that the USA is, as a country, going vegan. But -- and I'll admit my sources on this next statement are mostly anecdotal, since vegan surveys are far too infrequent -- if I look around at all the vegan activity (the absolute explosuion of communities and retailers) on the web, if I look at the number of vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants and retail shops opening around the country, and if I look at the number of vegan convenience foods making their way on to mainstream grocery store shelves, I can't help but come to the conclusion that the veganism must be growing in this country, whether some Americans are going completely vegan or simply incorporating more vegan meals into their regime. And this is what has multinationals buying up vegetarian product companies to hedge their bets for the future. I'm not financial analyst, but that's how I interpet the writing on the wall, despite proclamations that meat-eating isn't going anywhere (Don't you realize? Meat-eating is American!).

Categories: vegan | marketplace

SuperVegan

My newest favorite vegan website.

Want to control weight gain? Go meat-free

Here it is again. Same Reuters source, but at MSNBC.com today. Don't worry, I won't post every time it's published. I just thought it would be good to show the news is getting out, sparking further debate on the subject of diet and weight loss in this country.

Categories: health | nutrition | weight | obesity

Switching to vegetarian keeps weight down: study

Khaleej Times Online (Reuters)

People in the know have been recommending vegetarian diets for healthy weight loss as far back as I can remember, and yet a shocking number of people continue to shy away from the diet for fear of carbs, perpetuated by Atkins types like Jimmy Moore who like to call vegetarians "loony." This is how loony we are:

Researchers, who studied the eating habits of 22,000 people over five years, including meat eaters and vegetarians, found they all put on a few kilos but meat eaters who changed to a vegetarian or vegan diet gained the least.

“Contrary to current popular views that a diet low in carbohydrates and high in protein keeps weight down, we found that the lowest weight gain came in people with high intake of carbohydrates and low intake of protein,” said Professor Tim Key.

The research compared weight gain among meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians and vegans -- who eat no animal products -- and is published in the International Journal of Obesity.

The data also reflected the well-known benefits of exercise for weight control.

The findings are from the British arm of EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition), which is comparing the diets of 500,000 people in 10 countries to discover how diet is linked to cancer.

Categories: health | nutrition | weight | obesity

Unsafe milk: NDTV unearths dairy scam

NDTV.com (New Delhi)

Milk "production" for today's large, modern-day markets (regardless of country) seem to lead to some pretty nasty solutions:

Buffaloes are regularly injected with oxytocin, a potent artificial hormone which is given to women and animals to hasten delivery.

The hormone increases contractions in the womb and causes milk to flow faster. But it does so by causing immense pain to the animals which undergo labour pains twice a day.

In a couple of years, the forced contractions often cause the animal's womb to rupture, rendering them useless.

"Dairy people inject the animals in the belief that it increases milk. This is a misconception as it only lets the milk down faster.

"The milk definitely causes damage and harm to humans as well as the cattle in which it is injected," said Dr Vinod Sharma, Chief Veterinary Surgeon, JeevAshram.

"In the animals, the poor beast gives milk for 3-4 years and then goes dry and cannot reproduce. As a result they are let off on the streets of the Capital," added Dr Sharma.

I stopped by an Indian restaurant for dinner tonight, but I'm avoiding restaurants that serve naan with dairy, so I moved on. It's not that I'm boycotting the restaurants so much as I can't seem to enjoy dal, sag aloo, and all those delicious dishes nearly so much without. Many of the meatless Indian dishes that incorporate dairy involve plenty of cruelty, as witnessed above, much less all the cruelty involved with dairy in our own country.

Categories: animal cruelty | milk

As vegetarianism grows in popularity, so are food options

Port Huron Times-Herald: Eat your veggies

This one starts off obnoxiously:

When vegetarians go out to eat, they're usually green with envy.

I may envy the selection carnists can choose from, but certainly not the offerings. It continues:

"You go to a restaurant and you can choose from five pages of food," said Sherry Young of Port Huron, a vegetarian for the past 14 years. "If I go to some restaurant and there are three choices for me on the menu, that's huge.

Young admits things have gotten easier in the past couple of years. She and other local vegetarians said they are seeing more meat-free options at restaurants and grocery stores. And vegetarianism has a growing, positive image, especially among young people.

This is true enough. The trend shows in the continued opening of vegan and vegetarian restaurants, especially in major cities. In Los Angeles alone, several vegan restaurants have opened in just the past three years, and most of them appearing to be doing strong business. I think we may need to step up the frequency of polls into people's veg*nism. Would be interesting to see if there is a statistically significant increase in various types of vegetarianism over the last 2-3 years, and what kind of trend we'll see over the next five years.

Of course, those numbers mean nothing compared to the dollars spent on vegetarian products, and clearly that market is growing rapidly.

Categories: food | meat-free

Meatless products satisfy cravings

This is rather idiotic:

Asbury Park Press Online

The article suggests that, because numerous companies are now offering fake chicken nuggets, bacon and so on, vegetarians are just as susceptible to meat-flavored junk food cravings as the rest of the population. I won't deny enjoying the occasional fried soy chicken burger at Native Foods, but it's not because it tastes like meat. I haven't eaten chicken in roughly 20 years, so I don't even remember what it tastes like.

What these companies are doing is less for vegetarians and vegans and more for transitioning carnists who seek familiar foods, much like yours truly. It was rather easy for me to go vegan literally overnight because I only had to substitute my usual animal-based products with plant-based items like the one this article describes. Over time, I adopted a less processed, more whole foods diet, though convenience foods occasionally fit my time constraints better even today. These meat analogues are also used frequently by so-called flexitarians. After all, what's easier than having a veggie burger once in while instead of a hamburger? That's probably the original veggie substitute for meat-eaters, and all these new products are merely an extension of the concept. Again, it's convenience, not cravings (mostly). Most veg*ns I know prefer natural whole foods to meat substitutes.

However, if this article had indicated that we eat lots of vegan desserts (like cookies and soy cream)... then they might have had something!

Categories: diet

Celebrities become meat in sandwich

The Sydney Morning Herald | Entertainment | People

It's kind of ironic. I've been indignant on occasion at hearing an actor called ignorant when speaking out for the animals. Surely not all actors are up on every subject, but quite a few are educated and effective activists in their own right. Regrettably, it's now time to point up the ignorance of actor Sam Neill (whom you may remember from carnivore-fest Jurassic Park):

Neill has taken part in his first advertising campaign - to promote red meat - as part of a deal with Meat and Livestock Australia.

In the big-budget advertisement, which is due to appear on Australian television screens for the first time tonight, Neill uses the slogan "Red meat, we were meant to eat it".

"Lean meat three or four times a week is still an essential part of the diet of the most highly developed species on the planet," he says in the ad, part of a five-week campaign.

We're "meant" to eat it? If anything, our teeth and other anatomical structures suggest nothing of the sort. Those carnivores with the needle-sharp teeth in that big CGI-fest you starred in were meant to eat meat. We're merely adaptive enough to survive on meat, being wily omnivores...

On top of which, the first meat any doctor has the sense to recommend people cut out of their diet is red meat. So where's the scientific basis for Mr. Neill's claim on behalf of Australia's meat industry? Absurd. I'm amazed they found a celebrity willing to go out on a limb like this, but it shows their desperation to fight the growing trend away from red meat, so I suppose it's a good sign, if nothing else.

Categories: meat | advertising

Tyrannosaurus Veg

Evidently vegetarians are tyrants because we capitalize on opportunities like everyone else...

Meat eaters welcome, too, at weekend vegetarian fest

The Seattle Times | Local News

Vegetarians of Washington's Vegfest 2006 is this weekend:

After drawing nearly 10,000 people to last year's event at the Seattle Center's Fisher Pavilion, the fifth-year festival has claimed the much bigger Exhibition Hall.

Clearly this a very successful event, in no small part drawing on the broad number of veg-curious omnivores out there.

it's the cross-eaters who are chewing up the either-or stereotype of the Birkenstock vegetarian vs. the military-boots meat man. Witness Georgetown's Smarty Pants, which features a lineup of sandwiches that can all be ordered vegetarian-style. "There's more integration," Lee says.

Inclusiveness is the order of the day, which is something all vegetarian activists should at least think about. Remember the last time you went to go buy something that involved a salesperson? For me, the low-pressure, leave me alone, but let me have the information when I need/ask for it, approach works best when someone's trying to sell me on something, and I dare say most people would likely agree, especially when it comes to something as personal as one's diet.

Categories: vegetarian | vegfest | advocacy | outreach

'Meatless' meals add health to family's diet

AZ Republic

In advance of the coming Great American Meatout on the 20th, we should expect to see more articles like this one, which focuses on meat protein alternatives like grains, legumes, and so on (dairy, too, regrettably). Unfortunately, it bases its information on the somewhat outdated (though important for its time) Diet for a Small Planet, which was written when it was thought that protein combining was necessary at every meal.

That said, I'm glad it's bringing "meatless" awareness to Arizona readers.

Categories: meatless | Great American Meatout

I'm so vegan it hurts

Salon.com Life

I've seen and heard exclamations of this sort from various vegans over the years, and Salon.com's Cary Tennis has a surprisingly thoughtful response that other vegans may find helpful. I'll start with the most germane snippets of the reader's letter:

My problem is that I am finding it harder and harder to function in this world where animals are slaughtered and consumed. I go to grocery stores as little as possible, considering I have often simply cried when I am forced to walk down the aisles containing the flesh of once living creatures. I only date other vegetarians or vegans and have mostly surrounded myself with friends who are vegetarian or vegan.

[snip]

I am having trouble not being angry at those around me that eat animals. I've become shrill and pedantic, but I don't know how else to be.

The other problem is that I feel I am being pushed out of the radical activist community. Whenever I bring up the question of animals at broader activist coalitions, I am told flat-out that I am demeaning the plight of X (where X stands in for a group of humans who are somehow oppressed, though few of them are being slaughtered, I might add) by suggesting that we extend our fight for all life that is oppressed by Power. In this way I have been unable to sustain coalition practices with various feminist, civil rights, queer liberation and antipoverty groups. I am becoming more and more of a mono-issue radical, even though I have always tried to proceed in intersectional coalitions.

How do I stick to my principles -- for I am unapologetic on this issue -- without bouts of anger and depression? Is continuing to isolate myself from those who eat animals a good course, or should I try to be more open to those who commit acts that I feel are evil? How do I continue to build coalitions with people who refuse to believe that the treatment of animals is important? In short, how does one live as a joyful, ethical vegan, fighting for life and liberation against all forms of oppression?

Heady stuff, and something I'm not used to seeing outside of smaller veg-friendly communities. I was moved by the respect Tennis showed for the writer:

Sometimes we adopt beliefs that meet certain personal needs of which we are unaware. We might have, for instance, a strong spiritual thirst that no religion can satisfy, and so we imbue our activities in the secular realm with a spiritual passion and fervor, and so we take practical setbacks especially hard. Or we might have a powerful moral sense of right and wrong and yet a very sensitive nature, and so we are drawn to debates and yet find that we take things too personally. When our activities are meeting several needs at once, particularly when some of those needs are hidden, we often find that the thing we love is also the thing that gives us the most pain. So it is important for you as an activist to know yourself well. Until you do, you are likely to respond to conflict and setbacks with uncontrollable emotion.

There is a stumbling block, however, in coming to know how your political beliefs meet your psychic needs. You may fear that if your beliefs have a personal motivation they are somehow less valid. But adopting certain beliefs that fulfill certain emotional or spiritual needs does not mean those beliefs are invalid. It only means that you choose certain causes among many because those certain causes have a personal meaning to you. The trick is to know what that personal meaning is. Knowing that will not only help you avoid pitfalls but can also be a source of great strength.

This is true because you are not just working for a cause; you are expressing your deepest sense of who you are. We humans are smart and efficient, and we choose activities that meet many needs at the same time. It is also important to keep in mind that others, also, while their reasoning may not be correct, have deeply personal reasons for putting forth what they believe. In working with activist coalitions, you may find at times you have to let other people work out whatever they are working out, and offer them support, even if it feels as though to do so weakens your own cause. There are many things worth fighting for in this world, and though activists may differ about priorities, they are all basically good people trying to improve the world.

A good way to discover why you are reacting so strongly to certain situations is to enter a period of...

[snip]

...some kind of spiritual questioning, in which you deepen your beliefs about how we should treat animals and try to connect it with your broader moral and ethical beliefs, would be extremely helpful. If you cannot attend a retreat or work with a therapist, perhaps you could simply take a break from activist activities to read and reflect.

[snip]

I suggest you do this not only to be more effective in your work, but also to better play the other roles in your life. After all, you are not just a militant vegan; you also have family, friends, intellectual and artistic interests, a spiritual side, an emotional life. It may be that you are simply out of balance, that you have ignored many of your other legitimate needs in pursuit of this singular objective. If you can find out what else you need to be happy, perhaps after a while things will just straighten out for you and make more sense.

It may appear that I have steered clear of the topic of animal rights. What I respond to is your inner turmoil, your emotional suffering, which would be important to me no matter what the substance of your beliefs or the nature of your conflicts with others. I support your struggle to improve the world by advocating greater compassion and awareness of other living things. And I think the way to wage that struggle is to gain greater awareness of the forces in your own life that drive you to do it.

So, that was well met. Truly the problem goes beyond the issue of animal rights, as I'm sure other types of advocates face their own issues (despite the unique AR issues raised by the reader), and Cary Tennis did a very smart job in recognizing that and addressing the roots of this reader's (and many devoted vegan's) struggle.

On a side note, it's nice to see veganism addressed so constructively in a well-read non-veg forum.

Finally, my advice would be to let go. It's understandable for caring people to take the world on their shoulders, but it doesn't do anyone any good. One must take care of one's self, and follow one's own compass first and foremost, and then take a breath and look at the world from a place of peace.

Looking at non-vegans as "others" or even murderers is a filter that ultimately harms you and your activism. Looking at people as individuals with their own set of circumstances that have brought them to where they are at this point in time will open you up to be a more effective activist, and you find yourself connecting with people on a much more personal level. This is ultimately healthier for you, and allows for a much more profound impact to be made on the individual. This keeps you from talking at them, when you should be talking with them, ideally listening more than talking (see Dale Carnegie, How To Win Friends and Influence People, etc.). Oddly, when you stop trying to be so militant -- i.e., imposing your views on others -- you open people up to find out what appeals to them, which gives you the ability to see where a vegan lifestyle intersects with what's important to them. You can know what's important to them until you listen. In the process, you create the potential for meaningful relationships where everyone wins, rather than everyone being a means to an end.

After looking at this subject for some time, it seems that any activism that hopes to succeed needs to connect to people on an individual level, whether through conversation, the written work, or various art forms. But slogans and arguing priorities is a form of attempted mental dominance that is never as effective as one-on-one communication.

UPDATE (Tuesday, March 14, 2006): Bob and Jenna discuss the story in Vegan Freaks podcast #30 and bring up some points I didn't address here, mainly that the article is dismissive in the sense that attributing the letter writer's need to advocate on behalf of animals comes from a psychological need, which isn't something you'd say to a civil rights activist. I say that it might. I think a lot of activists have a strong sense of justice, and their activism comes out of a need to see justice served. That can manifest itself in a number of ways.

Categories: vegan | activism | burnout

Politics a meaty business, study finds

Stuff.co.nz (New Zealand)

A study on meat-eaters and vegetarians linked to work on phobias has some results that seem in keeping with anecdotal evidence I've gathered over the past few years as a vegan. While there are obviously some conservative vegetarians out there, they seem to be in the minority. Even the writings of Matthew Scully and those who have demonstrated compassion for animals tend to speak from the paradigm outlined in the following quote (which pretty much represents all that's relevant from this article, so don't bother clicking on the link unless you want to read about other, more trivial findings):

Victoria University senior psychology lecturer Marc Wilson, an omnivore, and PhD student Michael Allen, a vegetarian, say meat is symbolic.

'Why do people eat meat? Partly, it's a way of expressing dominance or masculinity . . . Really masculine men eat more meat,' Dr Wilson said.

National Party supporters and men who saw the world in a hierarchical way tended to eat more meat than Labour Party supporters and women - who saw the world in a more interconnected, less structured way, the researchers found.

It certainly figures for me. While I do believe hierarchies exist, there's no doubt in my mind about our interconnectedness. As for structure... well, I've never been good at working within other people's or institution's structures, but I like working within my own.

Based upon reading the opinions of many other vegetarians, I'm inclined to say that many agree, but I'm curious to know how many disagree, why, and what political perspectives they have.

Categories: politics | psychology

The Veggies Come First...

Kolkata Newsline (India)

I've previously blogged about the impact of the bird flu in India, what with the airlines going vegetarian and a renewed vigor in vegetarian activism in the country due to increased awareness of livestock mismanagement.

The restaurants are also seeing a sizable impact due to the flu:

Arup Roy, food and beverage manager of Teej, a popular vegetarian restaurant in the city, says, “the number of people in our restaurant has increased after the flu. Though a majority of our clients are Marwaris and Gujaratis, who are vegetarian anyway, there is sharp increase in the numbers of the mixed crowd, who are now opting only for vegetarian food. Our business has increased by almost 10-15 percent.”

To meet this sudden spurt in demand for green food, they have introduced new dishes like Matar Methi Malai, Paneer Zaikedar, Aaachari Paneer Tikka and Kasturi Vegetables. The crowds certainly aren’t complaining about missing their favourite chicken dish, “as people are ready to wait quarter of an hour to find a table during weekends,” says Roy.

And while the numbers may be soaring at the veg joints, the dwindling number of people ordering chicken in multi-cuisine restaurants have forced them to take a leaf out of their veggie counterparts’ menu. Sanjay Mukherjee, senior executive manager of Grain of Salt, says, “the demand for chicken is abysmally low, so we had to remove chicken dishes from the buffet menu.” But, he agrees there has been nearly a 10 percent hike in the number of people asking for vegetarian dishes.

It's hard to predict if this will have any lasting impact, but Britain has been increasingly improving its diet since the mad cow scare (and now with this one), so who knows? Maybe some of these increased veggie eaters will enjoy the food so much they'll realize that it's an attactive lifestyle. Of course, much like I hear in the U.S. all the time, some people "just like their meat," so some restaurants are stepping up their fish offerings as poultry declines dramatically in popularity. Can't win 'em all?

Categories: bird flu | avian flu | India | vegetarian

Oooh, yes, I like to bake, cook, and yes, eat. If you have ever happened by my blog (Vegan-licious), this is not suprise to you. Lately, I have decided that I would stop by the Veggieboards recipe section and try out a recipe or two. The above picture is a recipe called "Olivia's to die for chocolate chip cookies. Now obviously, I took the easy way out and made bars and I used chunked chocolate as I was mysteriously out of chips. I adjusted the baking time to 20 minutes for this recipe. The rest of the recipe can be found http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=49691

Students graze at healthy VegFest

The Independent Florida Alligator

Way to go, Animal Activists of Alachua! I love student activists. AAA sponsored Gainesville's fourth annual VegFest, exposing fellow students to the benefits of vegan eating. They brought in bodybuilder Kenneth Williams to lend an impact to their message:

Williams gets his protein from natural sources such as nuts, tofu and spirulina - a microalgae that produces 20 times as much protein as soybeans.

Tracy, a member of the Army ROTC, said he had never thought of the idea.

"You always just assume you can get [protein] from milk and animal products," he said.

Williams became a vegan six years ago, and the decision changed his life. He now travels the country as a spokesman for In Defense of Animals, an international organization that fights animal exploitation.

He said he hopes students will research what he tells them, adding that it is for their own good.

"You can combine all the wars this world has had - all the deaths," Williams said, "and heart disease is still number one."

Congrats on a successful event! Hopefully other students will read about this and launch VegDay events at their own schools.

Categories: vegan | advocacy

Warren couple fights cancer with vegan diet

EastBayRI.com

I love stories that start out like this:

In 1992 Barry Brown, 58, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and given five years to live. Fourteen years later, he's still around, and credits much of his successful cancer story with a radically changed diet. He has been in clinical remission for the past five years.

Both he and his wife Chris, 61, have become vegans

Ms. Brown went on to start a business called "The Natural Choice," holding cooking classes and cooking for people in their homes. Nice way to turn a life-affirming and life-saving choice into a lifestyle that has the potential to help others!

Categories: diet | health | vegan

More Britons worried about eating chicken

ABC News

Good news for the chickens:

Worries about eating chicken were mounting among Britain's increasingly health-conscious consumers even before Europe's latest bird flu scare, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Some 57 percent of respondents said they were worried about the safety of chicken meat, up 6 percent from the previous year, according to the national poll by the UK's Food Standards Agency conducted between September 5 and October 16.

It's also good news for Britons. Looks like they're moving ahead of the pack in the West, in terms of recognizing the need for healthier diets, and actually adopting them, if slowly:

"It's encouraging that the agency's survey shows a growing awareness among consumers toward healthier eating," said Gill Fine, consumption and dietary health expert at the FSA.

The amount of salt and fat in food topped the list of food issues to worry 62 and 58 percent of respondents respectively.

Many more people were now claiming to be eating more vegetables and fruit compared with a year earlier.

The more veggies and fruits people eat, the less room they have for animal carcasses and other unhealthy foods...

Categories: chicken | diet | health

Six easy solutions for vegetarian meals during Lent

The Journal News

Did you know that if you give up meat for Lent, you can still eat fish? I guess with Jesus fish doesn't so much grow on trees as appears out of nowhere... The author of this piece recommends sushi for Lent, or tuna casserole. Failing that, there's so many ways to cook the flesh of fish, which somehow is not meat. I grant you that your average meat-eating Joe considers meat to come from a four-legged creature, but that just points to the ignorance I address in this letter to the editor:

In regard to Elizabeth Johnson's Lent piece, I'm getting really tired of reading about meatless meals and finding out that the writer is referring to fish. Meat is the flesh of a formerly living creature, fish, fowl, or mammal. To go truly meatless for Lent, one most forgo the flesh of all creatures. To suggest otherwise is doing a disservice to your readers, and the animals.

Categories: Lent | meat | fish