Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed A.B. 1437, a bill backed by The Humane Society of the United States that requires that starting in 2015 all shell (whole) eggs sold in California must come from hens who were able to stand up, lie down, turn around, and fully extend their limbs without touching one another or the sides of an enclosure. In other words: California will become a cage-free state.

I have to admit to having mixed feelings about this.  While many of my Facebook friends are so excited over this, I’m a little sad and I have to respectfully disagree with them.  Of course, I don’t want to be labeled the crazy vegan on Facebook, so I’m going to post something here instead so that I can be the “crazy vegan” blogger.  On one hand, I realize that people eat eggs and I would rather those eggs come from hens who are able to move freely and who live a somewhat “normal” life.  On the other hand, laws like this and Prop. 2 which we recently passed here in CA only encourage consumption of these products.  It takes away the guilt involved in purchasing and eating products from animals, thus promoting the idea of “happy meat/eggs/etc.”  Instead of focusing on issues like this, I really wish HSUS would do more to encourage and promote a healthy vegan diet… which in effect would stop the consumption of eggs, dairy, meat.

And once the hens stop laying eggs (maybe after a year or two), she is slaughtered.  Really, I don’t think her being able to freely stretch her wings while living a life of imprisonment all to be slaughtered anyway is really much consolation.

A couple of days ago, I posted two news articles about the same Supreme Court decision.  You can find that post here and read both of the stories.  It seemed that different groups, each with an interested in the case, were spinning the news about the decision in their favor.  I just wanted to know the facts and what the court decided, not the story swayed to fit a certain agenda, so I read the court’s decision myself.  I hope I got it right.  If I didn’t, please feel free to correct me.

The Background

The Devil (Monsanto), who makes the popular herbicide Roundup, together with Forage Genetics International (FGI) developed a seed of alfalfa that is resistant to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.  So a farmer can plant this alfalfa seed (called Roundup Resistant Alfalfa or RRA) and use Roundup to control any weeds without killing the RRA.  In 2004, Monsanto sought nonregulated status for this RRA.  This nonregulated status refers to a section of the Plant Protection Act (PPA) that presumes genetically engineered plants to be
“plant pests” and are thus considered “regulated articles” until the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) determines otherwise.  Monsanto feels that their product is not a plant pest risk and therefore not subject to the applicable regulations, so they petition APHIS to grant nonregulated status to their RRA.

In order to make such a determination, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) requires federal agencies (that would be APHIS) to conduct an environmental impact statement (EIS).  An EIS need not be completed if the agency (again, APHIS in this case) determines based on a shorter statement known as an environmental assessment (EA) that the proposed action presents no significant environmental impact.  APHIS only completed an EA and decided to approve the unconditional deregulation of RRA.  No EIS is ever conducted and RRA seeds began to be sold and planted.

Conventional alfalfa farmers and environmental groups banded together and sued challenging APHIS’ decision on the grounds that it violated NEPA by not conducting the EIS.  The District Court in that case sided with these alfalfa farmers and environmental groups and agreed that, indeed, APHIS violated NEPA by deregulating RRA before conducting a detailed EIS.  The District Court asked each side what remedy should be imposed.  In the final judgment, the District Court rejected the remedies presented by both sides and sort of split the difference down the middle so that both sides sort of got what they were asking for.  Ordinarily, the remedy for failure to conduct an EIS is to vacate the permit that was unlawfully given (as in revoke the permit).  In this case, that would mean that any use of RRA would be prohibited.  But because Monsanto had already begun selling these RRA seeds, farmers had already begun planting them and some farmers had already purchased the RRA seeds and had intended to plant them, the District Court was going to allow those seeds to be planted and used.  Essentially, the Court decided that whatever was out there already could be used, but put a stop to the sale and use of any new RRA until the EIS could be completed, in effect partially deregulating RRA.

Here We Are

Monsanto didn’t like that decision and appealed, which brings us to this case now.  The Supreme Court reviewed everything and has found that the District Court erred in partially deregulating the RRA because the law states that in order to deregulate in whole or in part, the EIS must first be done.  The Supreme Court felt that the District Court abused its discretion here and decided to reverse the decision of the District Court.

Now, the USDA must decide whether or not to allow the GM seeds to be planted.

I came across this video and found it pretty interesting. I’d also like to check out the documentary when it comes out in Fall 2010. What do you all think? Is it nonsense or a threat to our environment/human health?

Remember, the easiest thing you can do to help protect our Earth is to adopt a vegan lifestyle.

Monsanto Wins Supreme Court Case: Genetically Modified Alfalfa Ban Lifted

WASHINGTON (AP)– The Supreme Court on Monday lifted a nationwide ban on the planting of genetically engineered alfalfa seeds, despite claims they might harm the environment.

[Read full article and court's decision here.]

Why this is a problem:

Alfalfa is grown on over 21 million acres, and is worth $8 billion per year (not including the value of final products, such as dairy), making it the country’s third most valuable and fourth most widely grown crop. Alfalfa is primarily used in feed for dairy cows and beef cattle, and also contributes to pork, lamb, sheep, and honey production. Consumers also eat alfalfa sprouts.

This is because alfalfa is cross pollinated by bees, and pollen will travel easily from GM alfalfa to non-GMO and organic alfalfa. “Even with the best isolation methods, you can’t control bees; they can travel several miles,” Scheele says.

[Source.]

So, all that “organic” beef and dairy won’t be so organic anymore, will it?!  And who knows what health effects this will have on people who consume those products.  We already know the dangers of other GM foods…

Monsanto has too much power and it totally infuriates me that they can get away with this stuff.

The World According to Monsanto:

EDIT:  Here’s another article.  Is it about the same court decision?  A different spin on the same topic?

EDIT #2:  Please refer to this post for further information on this case.

About Farm Sanctuary

Farm Sanctuary, located in Orland, CA rescues and rehabilitates abused and neglected farm animals from factory farms, stockyards, and slaughterhouses.  Most of the animals at the sanctuary were born to be “food animals,” but are now free to live their lives comfortably and safely at Farm Sanctuary’s 300-acre farm.  The California farm is home to lots of cows, a few donkeys, geese and ducks, pigs, turkeys and chickens, rabbits, and goats and sheep.

While public tours are given only on Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm, from May 8 to October 31, members are invited to visit between 8 am and 4pm every day of the year.  Becoming a member is very easy– all it takes (at a minimum) is a yearly pledge of $20.  Members also receive Farm Sanctuary’s quarterly newsletter and a discounted rate at their cabin.

I was really interested in visiting because it’s important for Emma to understand why we don’t eat animals.  She does have dairy on occasion, but is mostly vegan and my hope is that it will soon be her choice to avoid dairy (which would make her totally vegan) once she is old enough to understand what is involved in producing dairy and that it’s not really all that great for our body.  Likewise, I want her to be educated about where meat comes from in the event that she chooses to eat meat later in life.  I grew up thinking chicken came from the grocery store and asking questions like “are we eating the muscle of the animal?” without really getting a detailed answer.  Knowing her personality, I don’t think she would ever regularly consume meat– and you can’t miss or crave something that you’ve never had– so I don’t think this will ever be an issue, but I would like her to be educated nonetheless.  At this stage, everything is kept very basic and I only tell her what she needs to know in terms that are easy for her to understand.  Besides that, she’s out of school for the summer and fun little educational trips like this are enjoyable for her.

Road Trip

We left Sacramento around 9 am and made it to Orland around 11am.  It was quite windy yesterday, which I was thankful for because that meant it wouldn’t be so hot.  I’ll take wind over heat any day when we’re farm-bound.  Since there is no place to eat at the farm, we decided to first have lunch in town and then make our way to the farm.  I always get nervous about traveling to small towns in the middle of nowhere surrounded by food-animal farms because I’m concerned that finding something vegetarian (let alone vegan) will be quite challenging.  Thanks to Farm Sanctuary’s website, I was armed with a list of veg-friendly restaurants in Orland and I hit the jackpot with the one we stumbled upon.

The first one on the list, Alta Marie’s Bakery, was the place I chose to visit because the Farm Sanctuary description indicated that they carried vegan pastries on a regular basis.  I was hoping to score some… and I liked that they were described as offering vegan items instead of “things can be made vegan upon request.”  I get tired of going places where I can really only order a salad and even then I have to request that it be made without the cheese or meat that normally comes on it.  It gets old.

Alta Marie’s is pretty much right off the freeway and easy to find.  We strolled inside and perused the menu and I was nervous that perhaps they weren’t so vegan friendly after all.  Everything on the menu was meat, meat and more meat.  So I asked the person at the counter what was vegan and she consulted with the owner/baker to figure out what vegan dish could be whipped up based on what they had on hand in their kitchen.  I really liked that they were so accommodating and went the extra mile to make me something as special as the rest of the dishes.  They even knew enough to ask if honey was okay for me since one of their salad dressings did contain honey.  I was very impressed with their knowledge of what vegans eat and don’t eat and really thrilled that they had 3 turnovers in their pastry case that were all vegan (2 pineapple and 1 cherry).

Even though the list was pretty extensive, I settled on their house salad with dried cranberries, fresh strawberries and walnuts added.  I opted for the balsamic vinaigrette (the one that had honey in it because I thought it would be more appealing to my kiddo and I hoped she might want to share my salad), but they do have a raspberry vinaigrette that is all vegan.  I know honey isn’t vegan and I do avoid it whenever possible, but one little cheat won’t get the vegan police after me, I hope.  After lunch, I snagged all three of the turnovers– they were SO GOOD!!!

Alta Marie’s makes vegan cakes and pies if you give them a little notice.  They even make vegan wedding cakes!

We Arrive At Last

The farm is located about 10 minutes outside of Orland and was really easy to find.  Once we got there, I got my membership and we set off to see the animals.  When I was signing up for my membership and the Farm Sanctuary gal was going over the map with me, she said something like “over here are the turkeys and chickens…” while pointing at the map.  Emma then chimes in (rather loudly, as she has no volume control):  “Chickens and turkeys!!  We don’t eat those!!!!!!!!”  It was cute.  The Farm Sanctuary gal responded: “You’re in the right place then because neither do we.  We just love them!”  It was cute.

(Click on each image to see a larger version.)

Excited to see the cows... or happy to be out of the car?

Happy California cows. No, they aren't found on dairy farms, contrary to what the cheese commercial says.

Noisy geese!

Sleepy chicken... I interrupted her nap to take this photo.

Friendly sheep. He came right up to the gate to greet us. I think he was hoping for a treat.

Turkey. You can see that s/he's been debeaked, which means s/he probably came from a factory farm.

Turkey toes, or lack thereof. Further evidence that s/he came from a factory farm.

And here’s some video of the hungry pig who came over to say hi!  Emma had a full conversation with her, but you can’t really hear anything because of the wind:

Why is this place so great?  First off, they are a worker-owned co-op, meaning that the people who work there are the owners.  Pretty cool, right?  Secondly, they are very vegan friendly.  There is a huge selection of vegan baked stuff (from local bakeries) like cupcakes, cakes, cookies, scones, etc.  They are also very Raw friendly.  Third, they have the most insane bulk foods section you’ve ever seen in your life.  I did happen to take my camera with me so that I could post some photos of it, but I chickened out at the last second.  I didn’t want to look like a weirdo taking photos of dried beans and rice, so I used my iPhone instead so that I could look as if I were texting/emailing/Facebooking all the while casually snapping photos.  Why I was concerned about looking like a weirdo in SF is anybody’s guess– the town is full of ‘em!!

Most of my pictures are blurry, but you can read some of the bin labels if you zoom in and look closely.  None of these are repeats (photos of the same thing).  I’m not joking when I say that the bulk section is HUGE:  bulk spices, teas/coffee, beans/legumes, rice, pasta, cereals, flours, sugars, candy (lots of vegan ones too), nuts and nut butters, olives, dried fruits, oil, soy sauce…. seriously, if you can think of it, it’s probably in the bulk section.

Above:  bulk candies… notice how many are vegan!  Vegan gummy bear things, peanut butter cups, nut cluster things.

Above: granolas galore!

Above: more cereals

Above: any kind of flour you could ever need

Above: more flours

Above: cereals… notice how many are Raw!  How cool is it that you can get raw granola in the bulk section?!

Above: Rice, rice…

Above: …and more rice!

Aside from the bulk section, Rainbow also carries lots of hard-to-find vegan goodies like Dandies marshmallows.  They stock them all the time!  They also have all kinds of vegan cheeses, even those soft ones that can be spread on crackers.  I’ve never tried them, but I’m impressed that they carry it.  The fruit/veggies section is all organic and mostly locally grown.  The peaches smelled so delicious when I walked by, but I just couldn’t bring myself to shell out $3.50 per pound for them.  Likewise with the plums.  We did, however, stock up on bananas and in addition to being fair trade, they were so sweet and yummy (and comparable in price to my local store or Whole Foods).

The vitamin section is also out of this world, but I didn’t take the time to look through it.  We had been there long enough and my kiddo was hungry and ready to leave.  I could seriously waste hours in this store just looking through everything.

The price of most items was comparable to or maybe a little bit more expensive than Whole Foods.  By that, I mean like the loaves of bread, boxes of cereal, etc. were comparable in price to WF.  The prices on the bulk items is very reasonable, the most expensive items being the Raw cereals at $8 per pound. I know that sounds like quite a bit, but for the Raw stuff that sounds like it’s probably the going rate.

Anyway, the bottom line is– if you’re looking for something and can’t find it at any other store, chances are good that Rainbow has it.  I just wish it was closer!

Here’s a snippet from the interview:

If someone wants to help animals, what’s the best way for them to become more active? How can people support MFA?

There is a special place for each person within the animal advocacy movement. I’m a strong believer that no matter who you are, where you’re from, how old you are, or what your background is, you can take your own special and unique skills and talents and put them to use making the world a kinder place for animals.

Great chefs can teach vegan cooking classes, teachers can get involved in humane education programs, lawyers can participate in animal law efforts, and students can promote veganism to fellow students. The animals need strong voices on so many fronts.

I think, in a general sense, the best thing people can do to get active is to simply speak up about farmed animal abuse and veganism – wear message t-shirts, put a bumper sticker on your car, wear a pin, distribute literature, have conversations with friends, family, and strangers about the issues, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, and share and promote information and videos with your circle of contacts on Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, and other social networking sites.

I’d also suggest contacting local and national organizations about internship programs, volunteer opportunities, and ways you can get involved with national campaigns on a local level.

MFA also has a list of ways people can get active for animals within their communities at http://mercyforanimals.org/action-center.aspx

MFA exists and is able to carry out its lifesaving work because of the generosity and support of kindhearted individuals who share our vision of a world where animals live free of unnecessary suffering. I encourage readers to consider making a financial contribution to support MFA’s life-saving campaigns. I also encourage people to volunteer, intern, and spread the word about MFA. You can find a wealth of resources and information on getting involved and becoming a member at MercyForAnimals.org.

[Read more here.]

Here’s a great video that explains how diet soda can cause weight gain when you’d think that something with 0 calories would have the opposite effect.  The video also goes into great detail about pH and the importance of eating lots of alkaline forming foods (i.e. fruits and veggies) and why here in the U.S. we have the highest calcium consumption and also the highest rates of osteoporosis.  You’d think that consuming lots of calcium would save your bones, right?!  Well, it all depends on where you get your calcium from.  Dairy=bad calcium.  Here’s a handy chart listing good vegan sources of calcium:

In short: when farmers stuff cows with antibiotics, the cows develop resistance genes, then pass them along to us.

More details can be found in this article:

Lead researcher Dr Pak-Leung Ho said: “These resistance genes may possibly spread to the human gut via the food chain, through direct contact with animals or by exposure to contaminated water sources.

“When the resistance genes end up in bacteria that cause infections in humans, the diseases will be more difficult to treat.”

But how do these bacteria become resistant to antibiotics?  Here’s a great article explaining it all in great detail:

Just as immunization helps the human body fight disease by exposing the body to small amounts of a virus or bacteria, when bacteria are continually exposed to small amounts of antibiotics they can develop immunity to them. Over time this leads to the development of new, stronger strains of bacteria, with the antibiotic immunity passed on to subsequent generations.

Another example is staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria that is the most common cause of staph infections, and that can cause pneumonia, meningitis, toxic shock, skin abscesses, heart valve infections and other serious and deadly medical conditions. In the United States, almost every strain of s. aureus is now resistant to the antibiotics oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin, and strains of the disease have begun developing resistance to newer drugs like methicillin and vancomycin. The threat of prolonged illness or death from an s. aureus infection has increased as it has become more resistant and fewer drugs are able to effectively control or eliminate it.

Modern industrial farms are ideal breeding grounds for germs and disease. Animals live in close confinement, often standing or laying in their own filth, and under constant stress that inhibits their immune systems and makes them more prone to infection. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, as much as 70 percent of all antibiotics used in the United States is fed to healthy farm animals.

It has been estimated that at least 18,000 Americans die every year from drug-resistant infections. In addition, the National Academy of Sciences calculates that increased health care costs associated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria exceed $4 billion each year in the United States alone—a figure that reflects the price of pharmaceuticals and longer hospital stays, but does not account for lost workdays, lost productivity or human suffering.

So that’s the scoop on how bacteria become resistant to the drugs that are supposed to treat us when we become infected, but what about antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers?  I’ve read that they’re “bad” but I never knew why.  Since it’s sort of along the same lines, I thought I’d research that topic a little further too.  In the same way explained above, bacteria become antibiotic-resistant through repeated exposure to antimicrobial agents, such as those found in soaps and hand sanitizers.  By continually exposing bacteria to these antimicrobial agents, we are encouraging them to evolve.  When we wash our hands with antibacterial soap, there is a residue of antimicrobial agent that gets left behind as well as bacteria that weren’t killed by the hand washing.  These remaining bacteria must either evolve (mutate) or die.  This is scary:

Some antibacterial agents go after the same physiology of bacteria that prescription antibiotics do. This means that if a particular strain of bacteria develops a resistance to an antibacterial agent in a household cleaner, it will also be resistant to similar attacks from prescription antibiotics. Microbiologists call this cross-resistance.

Read the full article here.

We stopped using antibacterial hand soap in our house a while ago and only use a natural hand sanitizer when soap and water aren’t available.  (Our natural hand sanitizer uses plant extracts to kill the bacteria and leaves no reside behind to encourage bacterial mutation– read the article above for more info on that).  What we use as an all purpose, natural soap/body wash/shampoo in our house is Dr. Bronner’s (look for a post soon about natural body care).  This stuff is awesome and can be purchased in bulk to save you a few bucks.  Trader Joe’s carries the peppermint scented liquid and bar soap and is much less expensive than Whole Foods, but Whole Foods has a huge selection of scents and bottle sizes.  In Sacramento, the Natural Foods Co-Op has several scents in bulk in the makeup/vitamin section.  I’m sure you can buy it lots of places online too.  We still use regular dish soap and I’m not quite sure at this particular moment if it’s antibacterial, but if it is, I will probably start using Dr. Bronner’s as a dish soap too (or at least look into non-antibacterial dish soap).

To make into a hand/body soap, I fill a foaming soap pump up about 3/4 of the way with water then fill to the top with the Dr. Bronner’s soap.  It’s that easy!

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), antibacterial soaps are not necessary, but washing your hands thoroughly with ordinary soap and warm water is one of the most effective ways to ward off infection.

More here.

How it works:  Instead of “killing” germs, it removes them from your skin.  Fats, oils and proteins offer safe havens to germs, and water alone is unable to break down these substances. Soap or detergent is necessary to remove microorganisms from the skin.

Anyway, it’s interesting food for thought.

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This film looks to be just as powerful and life changing as Food Inc. I can’t wait to see it!

The feature film Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.  The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering yet under-appreciated researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.

Dr. Campbell, a nutritional scientist at Cornell University, was concerned in the late 1960’s with producing “high quality” animal protein to bring to the poor and malnourished areas of the third world.  While in the Philippines, he made a life-changing discovery: the country’s wealthier children, who were consuming relatively high amounts of animal-based foods, were much more likely to get liver cancer.  Dr. Esselstyn, a top surgeon and head of the Breast Cancer Task Force at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, found that many of the diseases he routinely treated were virtually unknown in parts of the world where animal-based foods were rarely consumed.

These discoveries inspired Campbell and Esselstyn, who didn’t know each other yet, to conduct several groundbreaking studies.  One of them took place in China and is still among the most comprehensive health-related investigations ever undertaken.  Their research led them to a startling conclusion: degenerative diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even several forms of cancer, could almost always be prevented—and in many cases reversed—by adopting a whole foods, plant-based diet.  Despite the profound implications of their findings, their work has remained relatively unknown to the public.

Read more here.

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