Archive for Uncategorized

Five Part Series on How to Go Vegetarian

September 15, 2009 at 3:27 am · Filed under Uncategorized

Hey, this blog has moved! Did you notice? Just in case you haven’t updated your reader I wanted to let you know that in honor of the blog re-launch at www.hungryherbivbores.com, I’ve started a five part series on how to go vegetarian/vegan.

Please check out the new posts! Share them with your friends and family members that have been thinking about making this change but just don’t know how. I miss you on the new blog … it’s cooler over there, I promise!

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Experts at Johns Hopkins suggest drinking milk to combat milk allergies

August 24, 2009 at 5:44 pm · Filed under vegan meanderings ·Tagged , , , , , ,

This past weekend The Baltimore Sun and probably several other media outlets reported on a research study detailed in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The really smart people over at Johns Hopkins, a well-respected university research center and teaching hospital, think the way to combat milk allergies is to give kids more milk. Come again? I wasn’t quite sure I read that right. But yes, it’s true. These well-paid, smart people conducted a “study” over 17 months to help children with sever milk allergies overcome them BY DRINKING MORE MILK.

The 18 children were given small amounts of milk on a regular basis to see if their bodies would begin to tolerate the beverage – which of course is not meant for them to drink in the first place. Hmmm … now I’m not a researcher but I do consider myself a somewhat intelligent person. And when I went to graduate school they motivated us to ask the tough questions like “Why do we exist?” I beg these researchers and this reporter to start over at the beginning, “Why do humans drink milk?” That might be a much more difficult question to answer than how can we make kids who are naturally intolerant to another species byproduct overcome their allergies by giving them more of the same byproducts?

What did the researchers, who were “encouraged” by the findings, discover? That “regular dairy use could help children become more tolerant and remain so”. Oh goodie! That means kids can drink more milk meant for calves not humans and the dairy industry can keep making lots of money. Yet all is not well with this scenario. Many of us are aware that cow’s milk does not come without cost. The raising of cows in this country is creating an environmental disaster. The cows are treated horribly, their babies are used for worse things like veal, and all of them eventually land in a slaughter house for a disrespectful end of life. Furthermore, the very smart researchers found that “for some children the allergies returned after they stop drinking milk”.

Now can I stand by and let this go without remarks? Not so much.

Dear miss reporter Kelly Brewington might I share with you my comments:

“Wow, I am shocked at this study. Did the very intelligent, well-educated, well-paid researchers ever consider that humans were not meant to drink the milk of cows? Cows milk is supposed to be for their calves not for us humans and our children. I won’t go into details about the  horrific conditions these cows tolerate to create milk that humans consume or how study after study shows that animal products lead to heart disease and cancer.

There are so many great alternatives to animal milk such as almond milk, soy milk, hemp milk, and rice milk. Why would the researchers put  children through this testing? Was this study funded by the dairy industry? Or could it be that even the smartest people in our society have forgotten to ask the simple questions like why is it that we drink milk in the first place?”

Please send your comments to Kelly kelly.brewington@baltsun.com and/or Dr. Robert A. Wood, lead investigator on the study http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/staffDetail.aspx?id=3152.

Sources:

The Baltimore Sun, August 2009, http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/health/2009/08/children_milk_allergies.html

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Lets Kill Cows to Save Dogs and Cats

August 18, 2009 at 3:26 am · Filed under vegan meanderings ·Tagged , , , , , ,

I don’t discriminate between animals. If it lives, breaths, feels pain, and has eyes to stare back at me, then in my opinion it deserves my respect. Sadly this is not so with many so-called animal lovers that like to put their animals into categories.

Let’s start with the most common … people who swear they love their dogs and cats but happily throw cow’s flesh or chicken’s flesh on their grill for dinner. Now if you’re one of these people, what gives? I mean really. Do you look into the eyes of your dog or cat and tell them that you love them? Do you let them sleep in your bed? Do you think about them when you’re away? Do you think they are capable of loving you back? Then why wouldn’t a cow, pig or chicken be just as capable? The reality is that they ARE just as capable. And yet, we force them into torturous, confining conditions and kill them just so we can eat their flesh and steal their body’s byproducts. Would you do that to your dog or cat? Would you hang Fluffy by her hind legs, blow a hole in her head, strip off her skin and eat her belly? Um, I don’t think so. Come on … let’s start making the connections.

Now let’s talk about another group of people who are under my skin recently. These are the folks who call themselves “rescuers”. I must preface by saying that I have a lot of rescue friends. I am a self proclaimed “rescuer”. Many of these people are well intentioned. I do not pass judgment on them individually but on a general principal as a group of people, I do find some “rescue” behavior odd.

On the surface, rescue people seem very kind. They spend every weekend and many hours of every day springing dogs and cats from the pound or scooping them up off the dangerous streets where they may be running stray,  injured and homeless. They bring these dogs and cats into their houses. They treat them like children. They love them, buy them great food, give them toys, and worry about their well being. They spend enormous amounts of money caring for these animals. And then they sit down to dinner to gnaw on the hind legs of a cow or a chicken’s breast. Do these folks think that perhaps that cow liked it’s hind leg attached to it’s body? Or that that chicken needed its breast to keep it’s lungs and heart safe? Probably not. But why not?

And why is it that when I challenge these ideals, these groups of people get incredibly angry and defensive? I am at a loss here and finding myself a bit frustrated. I have been working hard here in the Phoenix area to bring ideals of veganism to the forefront of people’s minds. Over the past few weeks I have been working with a local rescue group to purchase booth space at a very large upcoming event. The rescue’s event coordinator was so excited to have vegan booth at this popular animal event. We had everything settled and I was prepared to have a booth with literature about factory farming with delicious vegan food samples. But just this past weekend, the event coordinator took my information to the board for approval and they denied me! Yes, the board denied me! Do you want to know why? Because there is a hamburger-slinging vendor that attends these animal rescue events and this hamburger-slinging vendor shares its profit with the animal rescue.

You see my booth was going to offer free samples of delectable vegan food and apparently this was too much of a threat to their bottom line. So I ask you, does the death of one animal justify the means of another? Does killing cows for money to save dogs really make a difference in the overall health and welfare of animals on this planet?

This rescue is not the only one. There are rescues that sell animal products like leather hand bags or shoes at auctions to raise money for their dogs and cats. Then several others have fancy banquet events where they serve up cows, chickens and pigs to celebrate their great achievements in rescue-land. They justify it by saying that people pay a lot of money to attend these black tie events and they need to feel that they are getting their money’s worth. Again, selling out the cows to save the dogs and cats.

To me, this is so upsetting. If you can’t tell by my unusual and unapologetic tone tonight. I’m at a loss of understanding as to where these folks come from. Is it too difficult to make the correlation between the animals your hug and kiss every day and the animals on your plate?

According to popular podcaster Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, the average 75-year-old meat eater that resides in the United States is responsible (in their life time) for the death of:

  • 10 cows,
  • 34 pigs, and
  • 2,535 turkeys, ducks, and chickens.

Now I ask you … if the average rescuer saves 10 animals a year and continues to eat as most Americans do, they will have killed more lives than they would have saved. Yes, that is correct. They would have KILLED MORE LIVES THAN THEY SAVED.

All I’m saying to the rescue that denied me for the hamburger-slinging vendor … open your minds. Buck conventionalism. Ask the deep questions of yourself and the world around you. Is this how you want to live? Killing more than you’re saving? At the very least, can’t you accept the mere presence of a peaceful and compassionate vegan in the midst of a hamburger-eating crowd? I think the cows would appreciate it. Heck, I’ll even bring vegan treats for the dogs!

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Vegetarian Calcium Sources

July 7, 2009 at 5:17 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , , ,

There is one question that has come up more often than others lately. People keep asking me where vegans get calcium if they don’t eat cheese, milk, or other dairy products. The answer is simple … there are many foods high in calcium that have nothing to do with animals. And then an educational opportunity ensues.

Why is calcium important?

Obviously kids need calcium because it helps their bones grow. After puberty, bone growth ends but bone density increases until roughly age 30.1 So that means if you don’t eat your calcium, you may fall apart! But literally, many people suffer from weak bones as they get older and you can imagine that having weak bones means they break a lot or impede functioning. Women are at a greater chance of calcium depletion especially during pregnancy when calcium shifts from the mother to the fetus.

The recommended level of calcium for adults age 19 through 50 years is 1000 mg per day.2 You can increase or maintain bone density by choosing foods high in calcium, taking vitamins with calcium, and exercising to preserve bone mineral content. Of course here were going to talk about getting calcium from food since food is one of my favorite topics.

Why not get calcium rich foods from animals?

As with many food ideologies we tend to have as a culture, I think it is such a tragedy that people think they can only get calcium from animal sources. However as a communications professional, it consistently shows me the power effective marketing can have over time. Marketing, lobbying and misinformation, have all worked together to increase profits in the dairy industry and make food cheap for people. What does that mean? It means in the end as consumers we are being told that dairy products come from happy cows and that we need them to grow up big and strong. Ahem …. I have to disagree.

In fact research shows that dairy products can actually leech (that is a nice word for “suck out”) calcium from your bones. According to milksucks.com, “both clinical and population studies show that milk-drinkers tend to have more bone breaks than people who consume milk infrequently or not at all.”3 I know! Hard to believe after what we’ve been taught for generations. According to Michael Greger, MD, milk does indeed come with a lot of calcium but it also comes with a lot of baggage like cholesterol, saturated fat, and even puss and feces. Overall it is harmful to humans. It is the number one source of artery clogging fat in the United States diet. It is also one of the top allergens in the US diet. Dr. Greger says “the calcium found in leafy green vegetables like kale and broccoli is absorbed about twice as well as the calcium in milk.”4

What are vegetarian calcium sources?

So what are vegetarian calcium sources? Below are some of my favorite vegan sources of calcium:

  • tofu
  • soy milk
  • tempeh
  • tahini
  • kale
  • collard greens
  • broccoli
  • spinach
  • oranges
  • black beans
  • peas
  • almonds
  • molasses

More information on foods high in calcium:
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/calcium.htm

What are your favorite calcium-rich foods? Make a list and pass it along to your friends.

Notes:

(1) Preserving Bone Density, Julian Huang, MD, http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/pain-medication/preserving-bone-density, accessed 6-24-09.

(2) Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes, Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine: Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1997.

(3) Milk Sucks: Got Osteoporosis?, www.milksucks.com/osteo.asp

(4) Dr. Michael Greger, Latest in Clinical Nutrition 2008, www.drgreger.org

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Animal Advocacy Speech

June 21, 2009 at 8:42 pm · Filed under vegan meanderings ·Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

A few days ago, I gave a speech to 20 people about what it takes to get meat on their table. It was an nerve-wracking and exhilarating experience all at the same time.

I have been a member of Toastmasters for a little less than a year. What a great organization! I joined because my brother asked me to officiate his wedding. Toastmasters helped me sail through that with flying colors and I liked the group so much I kept going to meetings. Over time I realized that perfecting my speaking skills could take me to new places and open doors. Not only will polished speaking skills help me in my Web development business … (light bulb!) I can actually have a platform with which to talk about animal advocacy. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize this. I think it’s because I was a bit afraid to put myself and my vegan values out there in such a “loud” way. I love talking to people 1 on 1 and I love writing about veganism but speaking to groups of people puts my animal advocacy on a whole different level.

The whole purpose of my speech was to inspire the audience to go vegetarian just one day a week. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot to many of you who read this blog but to people who have never considered a vegetarian diet, it’s a place to start. During the speech, I told two stories.

What Happens to Beef Cows in the United States?

I started with Whitaker, who was once considered a typical beef cow. He was found – just days old – on the side of a road in California. It’s likely that he fell off a transport truck as some farm animals do. Our friends at Farm Sanctuary saved him and now he lives a happy life on their farm. I had a beautiful picture of Whitaker blown up and mounted on an 11×14 foam board. I passed his picture around the audience. I mean seriously, who wouldn’t think this cow is cute?

whitaker-to-print

Then I began to explain what happens every year in the United States to the other 35 million1 beef cows that are not as lucky as Whitaker. I described their filthy feedlot conditions and details of the slaughter process. The cows are first shot in the head with a captive bolt gun. Then they are hung by their feet. Their necks are slit and they die piece by piece to make steaks and hamburgers. Because this process happens so fast often times the cows are still conscious. I showed a picture of a feed lot and passed it around.

feedlot

At this point in the speech, I think people were shocked. I actually heard a gasp when I revealed the number of cows slaughtered each year.

What Happens to Pigs Raised for Food in the United States?

Next I told the story of a pig named Socks. Socks was found wandering the streets in Springfield, Massachusetts after he wiggled out of a transport truck passing through town. He too was saved by the nice people at Farm Sanctuary. At first Socks was scared stiff around people. He would cower and run as far away from humans as possible. After a while at Farm Sanctuary, Socks made friends with both humans and other pigs. I showed an adorable picture of Socks.

socks

Then I described the conditions for the other, not-so-lucky, 105 million2 pigs that are raised and slaughtered in the United States every year. Breeding sows are piglet-making machines. Once a sow is impregnated, she is put in a gestation crate – a small metal pen, just two feet wide. She cannot turn around or even lie down comfortably. She lives in this gestation crate for four months until she is ready to give birth. Then she is moved to a farrowing crate – which is not much bigger. After nursing her babies for 2-3 weeks, they are taken away and she goes through the whole process all over again. Once a pig reaches 250 pounds, their fate is to die in the same way cows are slaughtered.

gestation-crate-2

The Crowd’s Reaction

It was interesting for me to see the crowd’s reaction. This is the first time I have ever given a speech like this. There have been many talks about Web development, camping, dog rescue, etc. but never a speech so honest and adamant about inspiring people to change. I think the audience really didn’t know what to make of all the information. My evaluator was complimentary on my delivery but asked me to back up my figures with citations which was a helpful tip. I have done that for you here in this post.

The most interesting thing to me is that the words of my speech seemed to have staying power with the audience. It has been well over a week and I continue to get Facebook messages from audience members asking me for recipes and telling me that they have been thinking about their food ever since my speech. At our last Toastmasters meeting two members said they used to be vegetarian but had moved away from it in the last few years. My speech inspired them to cook vegetarian one night a week. These are amazing things!

I can’t believe how effective it can be for just one person to take a stand and share knowledge with others. If I can speak to groups even just a few times a year and inspire people to make a change, so can you. If you’d like a copy of the speech with the images to display, just send me a comment and I’ll get them to you. One person at a time, we can make a difference for the animals.

Many thanks to Farm Sanctuary for providing the information and imagery needed to help each one of us advocate on behalf of the animals in a meaningful way.

Stay tuned … my new revelations have inspired me to make many changes to this blog and my advocacy work in general.

References

1. Farm Sanctuary, Factory Beef Production, http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/beef/

2. Farm Sanctuary, Factory Pork Production, http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/pork/

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Vegan Dog Foster Hard at Work

June 5, 2009 at 3:05 pm · Filed under vegan meanderings ·Tagged , ,

I am quite embarrassed that it has been over a month since my last post! I have been busy with my dog rescue work. Our latest foster dog, Sundae, consumed all of my time and attention outside of running our Web development business. She recently moved on to another foster so now I actually have time to tell you her story.

Sundae was spotted cruising the streets of southwest Phoenix for several days. Finally some rescue people were alerted and one brave woman in particular, Mary, came to Sundae’s rescue. You see Sundae had a belly full of pups, a prolapsed uterus and an umbilical hernia. Um, ouch! She was quite a mess to say the least. What does all that mean? Well the hernia (intestines pushing through her abdominal wall) was so big Mary couldn’t tell for sure if Sundae was pregnant. The prolapsed uterus was likely because she was trying to give birth but the pups and they were not coming out. Basically her uterus (which normally resides happily in a female’s body) was hanging out her back end. Gross!

Lucky for Sundae, after hours of searching and talking with neighbors, Mary found her. She was taken to a vet where her wounds were fixed up and out came four pups via c-section. Four pups! Honestly we thought the pups would be dead. But they weren’t! Four precious pups, 3 girls and 1 boy. Check out their story in this awesome 3 minute video. Mom and pups are all available for adoption at www.mixedupmutts.net.

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Lets get real about the swine flu

April 27, 2009 at 10:57 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

Not only are pigs so darn cute and smart, but they are transmitters of the now infamous swine flu virus. That is just one more thing – like their skin and flesh – best left to the pigs. But you see folks, it’s a packaged deal. If you want to eat their meat, then you get the bad stuff too … just like high cholesterol.

CNN says “Seemingly out of nowhere, the swine flu virus has spread from person to person in Mexico and the United States, triggering global concerns as governments scramble to find ways to prevent further outbreak.”¹ Yet in the same article they say how swine influenza has been known to spread from pigs to humans in the past.

Why are people always so amazed when diseases that affect the foods we eat “suddenly” become a problem for humans? What is so shocking? I think it’s because people believe they are living under some fluffy pink umbrella where the government protects them from harmful foods. Well why don’t we all just stick our heads in the sand a little longer and act like we’re so shocked that this swine flu has come “out of nowhere”.

Are we really in danger of a swine flu epidemic?

Now it’s not time for everybody to get their panties in a bunch … there have only been 12 reported cases of swine flu detected in the United States from 2005 to 2009.² If you are a fairly healthy person, you can probably fight it like the common flu. If you are elderly, immune suppressed, or a child, you may be in greater danger.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is worried that such an “outbreak” of a virus jumping from one species to another could cause havoc for humans. If humans don’t have have the immunity to fight this virus, then it could be devastating.

What is the swine flu virus?

Well obviously pigs (swine) are the primary carriers of the virus. It has been detected in pigs in China, Vietnam and now Mexico. Pigs can also carry the human flu virus which means these things all mesh together in their portly bellies and make for a strain of flu that can easily pass to humans. There are also links between the avian flu virus and this swine flu virus.

Pigs are kept in tight, contaminated areas and people handle them daily – all in an effort to maximize profits not in the best interest of human or pig heath. Clearly the pig handlers are most at risk. Once one person is contaminated, it is transmitted just like the regular flu by sneezing, ingesting germs from something carrying the virus, etc.

The CDC says swine flu symptoms are similar to the regular run-of-the-mill flu symptoms including “fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A few patients have reported that they also suffered from diarrhea and vomiting.”³ It can be treated with anti-viral drugs.

Where’s the logic in all of this?

Here’s what cracks me up the most, CNN tells us … be really scared of this “pandemic outbreak” of swine flu … but, hey … go ahead … keep on eating pork! Have they lost their minds? Now even if a person can’t get swine flu from a cooked piece of pork … couldn’t they make the correlation that the mass production of pigs kept in close quarters contributes to the spread of the disease? If people didn’t eat those pigs, then we wouldn’t produce them and this disease wouldn’t be a problem. Perhaps that’s too politically incorrect for them to mention if say Hormel wants to sponsor their Web site.

My prediction is that if this swine flu becomes a larger problem the powers that be will euthanize all pigs that test positive for swine flu virus. Then they will go about their normal business as if they have eradicated the problem and everyone will go back to living under their fluffy pink umbrella. That is until the next “shocking outbreak” of a food animal virus appears.

Sources:

1. – CNN, accessed 4/27/09, http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/27/swine.flu.qanda/?iref=mpstoryview

2. – CNN, accessed 4/27/09, http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/27/swine.flu.qanda/?iref=mpstoryview

3. – Wikipedia, accessed 4/27/09, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_flu

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Rethinking fish consumption

April 23, 2009 at 5:19 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

Many times when I tell someone that I’m vegan, they say things like “good for you” or “I’m pretty much vegetarian but I eat fish.” I politely correct them and let them know that people who eat fish but not land animals are “pescetarian”. Several people have made this comment to me and so I started to wonder, what exactly is in these fish they are eating? While I choose not to eat fish, I wondered if this was really a healthier lifestyle than that of a true carnivore. So I started to do some research … and, um … you couldn’t get me to ingest fish purely because of the levels of toxins they contain not just because I don’t want them to suffer and die just to fill up my dinner plate.

Our beautiful blue sea is not so clean

Let me explain. In a nutshell, people treat the ocean like a giant garbage dumpster. It is a convenient place to put toxic waste, hazardous materials, and even sewage in some countries. What is out of sight is also out of mind (for most people). This human behavior has infected sea creatures who are trying to do nothing more than just mind their own business! But humans don’t care. They don’t think this behavior effects them. But studies are emerging that show not only is our toxic behavior threatening animals in the ocean, lakes, streams, etc. it is causing big problem in the humans that eat those fish.

Two major chemicals found in fish are dioxins and mercury. Dioxins are chemicals produced by humans in industrial, municipal, and domestic incineration processes. They have also been found in cigarette smoke, home-heating systems, and exhaust from cars running on leaded gasoline or unleaded gasoline, and diesel fuel.

However most human dioxin exposure comes from eating fish.1

Studies have shown that even minimal amounts of exposure to dioxins can decrease sperm count, suppress the immune system, cause birth defects, endometriosis, and learning problems.2 Mercury is a known cardiac toxin meaning that it is very bad for your heart and can cause heart attacks. It is also a know neuro toxin thought to harm child development.

Bendib Cartoons

Bendib Cartoons

So how much of these dioxins and mercury really exist in fish?

The World Health Organization says that a person should not ingest more than one trillionth of a gram of dioxin per day. Just one piece of fish contains way more than that! The Food and Chemical Toxicology journal says that “If someone depends on fish as a healthy alternative to meat, they would exceed the proposed health-based guidelines for industrial contaminant intake.”3

You might hear parents worried about vaccinating their children because vaccines used to contain mercury. I don’t know but some vaccines may still contain mercury. I’m not a mercury-in-vaccines-kind-of expert. However these parents who might be worried, should consider that one serving of tuna (1/2 a can) is equivalent to being injected by 100 vaccines containing mercury.4

Some people may ask, “is wild-caught fish better than factory-farmed fish”? Need I say that farming anything in today’s industrialized structure is typically not healthy for the animals or the  people who eat them. Fish farming is not different. In this particular case, factory-farmed fish have more of the toxins we discussed than wild-caught fish. My analysis is that if wild-caught fish are laden with dioxin and mercury then I sure as heck wouldn’t go near factory farmed fish.

But what about the health benefits?

This is usually the argument I get. Even after people hear about the toxins, they still think that fish contain some magic oils humans need for brain development. Yes, it is true, fish can be a good source of Omega 3 which has proven to help with vision, heighten problem-solving skills and make people smarter. Now who doesn’t want to see better, fix the world’s problems, and get smarter?

We don’t need to eat fish to get these super powers. In fact the risk of toxin exposure in eating fish outweighs that of not eating fish. When eating to live well, why accept any risk at all? By getting Omega 3 from plant sources we can get the nutrients we need without the risk. Fish get their Omega 3 from plants and we can too.

Foods that contain appreciable amounts of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the vegetarian omega-3:

  • Canola oil
  • English walnuts
  • Flax oil*
  • Flax seed (ground)*
  • Hemp beverages (hemp “milk”)
  • Hemp oil*
  • Hemp seed / hemp nut (ground)*
  • Olive oil
  • Leafy green vegetables (small amounts, but a good omega-3 to omega-6 ratio)
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Soybeans
  • Soybean oil
  • Supplements

*highest sources5

Personally I choose to take algae-derived DHA every day and I sprinkle some flax seed in between Earth Balance and sugar-free jam on my English muffin in the morning. Mmmmm, good!

What does all this mean?

People who don’t eat animals have very low levels of industrial toxins in their blood. From the day you decide not to eat fish, the numbers of toxins in your body will begin to fall. That is something good for you, the fish, and the ocean. Um, and if you’re wondering, yes, fish are animals. They have vertebrae, circulatory systems, and a brain. They are clearly not plants or single celled organisms. So let them go about their merry business. We don’t need to eat them and I’m sure as heck they don’t appreciate us eating them!

Notes:

1. Dr. Michael Greger, Latest in Clinical Nutrition 2008, www.drgreger.org

2. About Digest on Dioxins (not cited but used as reference), http://www.greenfacts.org/en/dioxins/about-dioxins.htm#1B

3. Food and Chemical Toxicology 45 (2007) pages 2279-2286.

4. Dr. Michael Greger, Latest in Clinical Nutrition 2008, www.drgreger.org

5. Vegetarian Omega-3 Sources: The Best Fish-Free Fatty Acids – www.vegetariancuisine.suite101.com

6. Scientific Facts on Dioxins (not cited but used as reference), http://www.greenfacts.org/en/dioxins/l-2/dioxins-1.htm

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Vegetarian Children: Healthy of Hazardous?

April 10, 2009 at 3:55 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

This article “Vegetarian children: Healthy or hazardous?” ran in my local paper, the SanTan Sun News this week. I felt compelled to write the reporter. This is the first time for as long as I can remember that I felt the need to comment on an article. While the nutritionist was “ok” with vegetarian kids she made it seem as though vegan kids would die from lack of protein. In my response, I challenged the reporter to consider interviewing two sources instead of just one for articles of this type because just as you can find a nutritionist that says veganism is “bad” for kids, you could find one that says it is “good” for kids. If you’d like to share your thoughts, the reporter, Miriam Van Scott, can be reached at miriam@santansun.com.

This is the article:

See page 36-37

see page 36-37

see page 36-37

This is my response:

Hi Miriam,

First I want to thank you for writing the article “Vegetarian children: Healthy of hazardous?” in the San Tan Sun. As a long time vegetarian, I was at first happy to see that the article was placed in such a prominent location. I read it carefully and I do have some feedback for you. First of all, I am surprised that you interviewed and quoted only one source. As you know there are always two sides to every story. Perhaps you could have consulted Dr. Michael Greger, www.drgreger.org, a physician and nutritional expert on veganism. He would have a different perspective than that of Amy Hall.

While I agree with some of the things Hall had to say, I think she was incorrect about some as well. The article made it seem as though vegan diets are unhealthy for children. In fact, the health benefits outweigh those of a meat-based diet.

Did you know that eggs cause a food poising epidemic every year affecting 100,000 Americans annually. Additionally eating just one egg a day can shorten a person’s lifespan according to The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. When it comes to products made from cow’s milk, the number one source of artery-clogging saturated fat is dairy. It is also one of the top allergens in the United States. The calcium in dark green leafy veggies is absorbed twice as well as that of milk.

Shall we talk about meat? Did you know that chicken contains alarming levels of arsenic. A bucket of chicken from a typical fast food restaurant would be expected to have as much as almost 50 times the amount of arsenic allowed in a glass of water according to a report by the National Institute of Health and the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service. I need not mention the horrible cruelty endured by animals used for food production.

While Hall suggested that chicken has greater levels of protein that non-animal-derived products, clearly it also comes with greater levels of hazardous chemicals and cruelty. There are many vegan protein sources other than beans that do not have these unwanted “additions” including soy, nuts, tempeh, seitan, quinoa and brown rice.

I do agree with Hall that any diet – not just a vegetarian or vegan diet – should be monitored to ensure that children are receiving proper nutrition. Please keep in mind that American children are riddled with obesity, diabetes and also experience B-12 deficiency despite or as a result of eating meat. A vegan diet can be nutritionally sound provided that it is well balanced and that the child or adult eats a wide variety of non-animal derived foods.

Thank you,
–
Josephine Morris

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A Day With Gene Baur

March 31, 2009 at 6:09 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , ,

I feel so lucky today. Gene Baur, co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, made a second trip to Arizona on a book tour for his national bestseller Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food. Better yet, Kerri, the director for the Humane Society of the United States arranged for a small number of us to eat lunch with Gene and then attend his talk and book signing. I felt so luck to have such a great resource at our fingertips.

This lunch was so important to me. You see Gene Baur is the person that inspired me to go vegan a little over a year ago on his first book tour trip to Arizona. I was vegetarian for five years before that but honestly I did not fully comprehend the suffering of dairy cows or egg laying hens until I heard Gene speak. My life changed because of that talk. So to hear him again today discussing the same issues made me feel as though my choices are making a difference in farm animals lives. Furthermore, I could sit and listen to every word he said without feeling any sense of guilt or shame for my food choices.

Gene talked about many important issues including gestational crates, battery cages, global warming and the social impact of choosing a vegan diet. I will go into these issues in future posts as each topic deserves one if not several pages unto itself. The things that impacted me the most today were ….

  • Seeing so many people attend a vegan event in support of Gene and Farm Sanctuary!
  • Gene’s personal stories of interacting with agribusiness and the animals that suffer as a result.
  • Gene’s continued commitment to helping people “eat in a way that coincides with their values”.

If you have the opportunity to meet Gene Baur in person and listen to one of his talks, I highly recommend it. Check out the Farm Sanctuary calendar of events.

What I love about Gene Baur is that those of us who have been inspired by him kind of think of him as a big deal. But if you talk to him, he is humble and kind. He is like the friendly neighbor that seems to nice and smart to be real; yet he is. He is dedicated to the animals in a way many of us can’t even conceive. Spending over 20 years advocating for animal rights day in and day out no matter how grisly the statistics or how strong the agribusiness industry may seem, Gene remains committed to inspiring individuals one at a time. He makes me want to work harder at not only living an inspired vegan life but to also stay focused on inspiring others.

Have you inspired someone today?

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