Here is an informative interview with Nathan Runkle, founder and executive director of Mercy for Animals.  MFA is a national non-profit animal advocacy organization that has gone undercover to expose some of the worst cases of animal cruelty imaginable.  Consuming anything from an animal involves cruelty on some level– eating an egg is eating a steak is eating a piece of cheese.  Please keep in mind that MFA does not go looking for the worst cases of animal cruelty in order to document it and show it to the public to shock us into choosing a compassionate diet.  Sadly, this is the norm.  I would have a hard time finding anyone who actually supports cruelty to animals and, yet, vegans only make up 0.2% of the American adult population.

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:

I think these topics are interesting to pursue, particularly for me because a family friend recently passed away from a bacterial infection that wouldn’t respond to any antibiotics. Now, I don’t know all the facts of his case and I’m not assuming anything or saying that this is what caused his death, but the situation immediately brought to mind all those things I’ve heard of animal antibiotics causing antibiotic resistant bacterial infections in humans. Again, I’m not saying that this is what happened to him, it just sparked my interest in learning more about the topic. This article explains it all in a nutshell:

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.

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.

It’s just wrong! I was one of those people who said “I could never give up cheese!” until I learned exactly what it’s like on a dairy farm. See for yourself in the video above.  Thank you, MFA for bravely going undercover to expose the cruelty of our “food” industry:

Captured on hidden camera, the shocking scenes of abuse reveal a culture of cruelty at Conklin Dairy Farms in Plain City, Ohio. During a four-week investigation between April and May, MFA’s investigator documented farm workers:

• Violently punching young calves in the face, body slamming them to the ground, and pulling and throwing them by their ears
• Routinely using pitchforks to stab cows in the face, legs and stomach
• Kicking “downed” cows (those too injured to stand) in the face and neck – abuse carried out and encouraged by the farm’s owner
• Maliciously beating restrained cows in the face with crowbars – some attacks involving over 40 blows to the head
• Twisting cows’ tails until the bones snapped
• Punching cows’ udders
• Bragging about stabbing, dragging, shooting, breaking bones, and beating cows and calves to death

Dairy is a cruel industry. Cows are repeatedly impregnated. When the calf is born it is separated from it’s mother almost instantly and the milk that the mother produces for her calf is sucked out to be sold in grocery stores. Male calves are either left to die or they wind up as veal while female calves grow up to become dairy cows. When they can no longer produce milk, they are slaughtered. Consuming dairy (no matter where it comes from or how “humane” or “organic” it is) contributes to this abuse.

Sorry for the rant, but this crap makes me mad.

My #2 reason for avoiding dairy: it is nutrition for a baby cow, not for a human.

I’m only 86 pages deep into T. Colin Campbell’s The China Study, but those few pages have been completely life changing.  It really is an amazing book and I recommend that everyone read it.

From the T. Colin Campbell Foundation’s website:

The few people who were consuming protein-rich diets were more susceptible to primary liver cancer. At about this same time, an experimental animal (rat) study from India showed the same effect. My associates and I then embarked on a basic research program to investigate this surprising effect of protein feeding on cancer development. Supported entirely by public money–mostly from NIH–we explored in depth over the next 27 years various characteristics of this association. We needed to confirm this observation then determine how it worked. We did both. The results were profoundly convincing and, along the way, they illustrated several fundamental nutrition and cancer principles.

• Tumor growth could be alternately turned on and off by feeding diets containing higher and lower levels of dietary protein, respectively
• Dietary protein promoted tumor growth but only at dietary levels above that needed for good health (ca. 10% of total energy)
• Although dietary protein did not initiate cancer, it enhanced initiation and, more importantly, promoted tumor growth
• The protein effect could be explained by multiple biochemical mechanisms, appearing to act in synergy
• The dietary protein having this tumor promoting effect was casein, the principle protein of cow’s milk. Two plant-based proteins, soy and wheat, did not promote tumor growth–even at the higher level–unless supplemented, possibly, with their respective ‘limiting’ amino acids
• The casein effect on tumor growth very likely extends to other animal proteins as well
• Based on the criteria used by the government’s program for determining whether chemicals are carcinogenic, casein is very likely the most relevant chemical carcinogen we consume

However, I question studies that are focused on single agents and single events because they are usually missing the larger context. Thus, we sought that larger context within which casein, perhaps animal protein in general, relates to human health. An opportunity arose for us to conduct such a study among human subjects in rural China where various cancers were geographically localized and where diets contained relatively small but varied amounts of animal based foods. In seeking this larger context in this nationwide study, we learned—from multiple perspectives—that relatively small amounts of animal based foods (and/or the lack of whole plant based foods) nutritionally conspire to cause degenerative diseases like cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases commonly found in the United States and other highly industrialized countries.

I’ve long known that strawberries are one of the most contaminated fruits and to avoid non-organic ones at all cost.  A friend sent me a link to a news article explaining why and, upon doing my own research on it, I’m pretty freaked out about eating any non-organic strawberries or products made with them.  It’s important to keep in mind that I’m talking about strawberries in whole fruit form and also to anything that contains them– jam/preserves, yogurt, etc.  What the government allows to be sprayed on these crops that feed us is really disturbing. (Not to mention how disturbing it is that a human being applies these chemicals and then works the field that they were sprayed in.  It’s so sad that these people are then coated in these carcinogenic pesticides that will probably give him/her cancer one day when they don’t have health insurance and don’t even make a decent wage for their efforts.  This little tangent is besides the point, though.  But seriously, if you live near me in California, take a little drive down highway 101 near Salinas and head over to towards the coast and you’ll see what I mean.  This is where my local strawberries come from.)

Strawberries were treated with a seriously hazardous pesticide called methyl bromide.  Methyl bromide has been banned for a few years now because it is found to deplete the ozone layer.  That’s bad news right there… so enter it’s equally as hazardous-to-our-health cousin methyl iodide.  Methyl iodide does the same thing methyl bromide does (kill every living organism in the soil) without the ozone depletion.  Still, exposure to methyl iodide has been found to cause thyroid toxicity, neurological damage and fetal loss in lab animals.  The U.S. EPA has classified methyl iodide as Group C: Possible human carcinogen, while the State of California has determined under Proposition 65 that methyl iodide is a carcinogen.

So why would the federal government who thinks methyl iodide is possibly a human carcinogen allow it to be used on our food?  Well– and I need to point out that I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist– it wasn’t too difficult to find out the reason:

According to Treehugger.com, “the chemical will be manufactured by Arysta LifeScience Corp. (under the catchy name “Midas”) – whose former chief executive is now the EPA’s chief administrator for the northwest region – for use on fields growing tomatoes, peppers, trees and strawberries (amongst others).”

(Incidentally, this is not the first instance I’ve heard of the government being in bed with private companies.  The above is just one example and it’s all got me questioning everything– from food to vaccines.)

Guys, I’ve barely scratched the surface here.  I spent a few minutes poking around and found all this information.  If you’re buying non-organic strawberries (and tomatoes, peppers, etc), chances are really good that it’s being treated with methyl iodide.  And since it’s a fumigant (I think that means it’s a gas?), does this mean that all those stalls at the farmer’s markets or places along the highways that advertise as being “no spray” are using this stuff?  Sure, it’s not a liquid that is being sprayed onto the crops, but would they intentionally deceive people concerned enough to ask?  I get it that it’s hard and costly to become “certified organic,” but if I ask the person selling the fruit if they are organic and they reply “no spray,” I personally take that to mean it’s semi-organic.  Like organic without the government stamp “certified organic.”  NOT ANYMORE!

Are you reading this, husband of mine?  This is why I’m so picky/neurotic over the food we eat and what we feed our kids.  And this is just about strawberries– I haven’t even researched in depth any other fruit or vegetable.  For me and my family, our new rule is all organic all the time.  No exceptions.  I encourage you all to take yourself to your favorite search engine and type “methyl iodide strawberries” and quickly glance over the results.

This is crazy!

Happy Meal toys and other promotions that come with high-calorie children’s meals will soon be banned in parts of Santa Clara County unless the restaurants meet nutritional guidelines approved Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors.

I have to be honest:  I don’t have any strong feelings about this one way or the other, but my first reaction was why does the government need to be involved in something that is a parent’s decision? Honestly, another example of wasted tax money.  Santa Clara County, by the way, is one county south of where I live.  It’s a pretty affluent area where I guess there’s nothing better to do than pass stupid laws like this.  A better approach to childhood obesity would be to focus on school lunch programs, which children consume daily instead of occasionally (at least I hope people don’t buy their kids happy meals every day!).

And for the record, I in no way support fast food chains.  I’ve been known to eat fast food on rare occasions, but I have never once bought my 4-year-old a Happy Meal.  She has never asked for one, or gone ga-ga over a toy that is included in one.  At most of these places, it’s possible to purchase the toy separately from the meal, so what’s the big deal?!  When she sees those Golden Arches, she knows (and has said) that “we don’t eat there,” “they don’t have any food that we like to eat” and their food “is not good for our bodies.”

Be sure to check out the full article.  What do you guys think?

Seriously, break the addiction people!!  I don’t trust artificial sweeteners of any kind– no Equal, Splenda, or NutraSweet for me EVER!!

The Ingredients (from this article):

Aspartic Acid

Aspartate is referred to as an “excitotoxin” because of the nerve cell damage that it causes. Many chronic illnesses have been attributed to long term excitotoxin exposure, including multiple sclerosis, ALS, memory loss, hormonal problems, hearing loss, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, hypoglycemia, dementia, brain lesions and neuroendocrine disorders.

Phenylalanine

Phenylalanine is an amino acid normally found in the brain. Human testing has shown phenylalanine levels in the blood are increased significantly in those who chronically use aspartame. Excessive levels of phenylalanine in the brain can cause the levels of serotonin to decrease, which can lead to depression, schizophrenia and make one more susceptible to seizures.

Methanol

By far, the most controversial ingredient in aspartame is methanol (aka wood alcohol). An EPA assessment of methanol states that it is “considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidated to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic.” This oxidation occurs when methanol reaches 86 degrees F (30 degrees C).

Formaldehyde

A product broken down from aspartate is a known carcinogen and causes retinal damage, birth defects and interferes with DNA replications.

The EPA recommends a consumption limit of 7.8 mg/day. A 1 Liter aspartame sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol, seven times the EPA limit.

The most common maladies related to methanol poisoning are vision problems including misty vision, progressive contraction of visual fields, blurring of vision, obscuration of vision, retinal damage and blindness.

Environmental Working Group (EWG) has released it’s 2010 shopper’s guide to pesticides. For the first time, blueberries are showing up on the “Dirty Dozen” list, which is pretty shocking to me. I’ve always thought (and it’s been stated in several cook books that I own and a few other places) that if organic blueberries are unavailable that conventional ones were okay because the pesticide levels on them were pretty low. Well, they now rank #5 on the worst list. I try to buy only organic produce for us and I still wash the majority of it in a fruit/vegetable wash, but I do admit that I have been slacking lately. I’ve indulged a few times on imported conventionally grown grapes (#12 on the bad list), but I have always washed them beforehand. It really grosses me out to see people eating them straight out of the bag as they leave the grocery store! Eww! Not only are organic fruits and vegetables better for your health, they are the best choice for the environment too. I’m vowing now to only purchase certified organic produce from now on whenever possible and I will totally avoid those foods on the “Dirty Dozen” list if I can’t get them certified organic.

Download your guide here!

I used to have this page up all the time, but had to take it down for formatting reasons. I had planned to put it back up once I figured out the blog glitch but, as you might guess, I never spent time figuring out the glitch and thus never put it back up. In honor of Earth Day, I’ll make it it’s own special post.

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Billions and billions of animals are raised and killed for food in the U.S. every year. This has a huge impact on our planet.

You probably have no idea that animal agriculture produces more greenhouse gases than automobiles. Cows, especially, emit massive amounts of methane and nitrous oxide. Animal agriculture produces 100 million tons of methane per year; about 85% of this is caused by the animals themselves and an additional 15% of emissions are released from the massive cesspools used to store untreated farm waste. Methane is responsible for almost half of the global warming impacting our planet and nitrous oxide has over 300 times more impact on global warming than that per mass of carbon dioxide.

Carbon dioxide can remain in the air for more than a century, while methane gas cycles out of the atmosphere in just 8 years. This means lower temperatures in as little as 8 years if there is a significant decrease in methane emissions now. Since animal agriculture is the biggest culprit for methane gas emissions, it is clear that transitioning to a vegan diet will have a profound effect on global warming. While being vegetarian is a good start, dairy farms that make the milk and cheese that you drink and eat contribute to this methane problem. Since eliminating dairy from my diet, I have never felt better.

Also contributing to global warming is the fact that deforestation is destroying forests to make grazing land for cattle and for the planting of crops to feed the cattle. Aside from the negative impact this has on the environment, the effect of deforestation on global warming is two-fold: there are more cattle and cattle waste to emit greenhouse gases and there are fewer trees to remove them from the atmosphere. It takes a lot of land to raise animals for food and even more to raise crops to feed those animals. Unless we decrease our consumption, deforestation will only get worse and more widespread.

In the U.S., most of the grain harvested is used to fatten up farm animals. If this grain went to feed humans instead, world hunger wouldn’t exist. Instead, forests are cut down to make more land to be exploited by animal agriculture. Planting crops which become animal feed pollutes soil and water with agro-chemical waste. About 10 BILLION pounds per year of nitrogen fertilizer alone is dumped into fields.

Animal agriculture does more than pollute our land. Runoff from cesspools of untreated farm waste (the ones that emit huge amounts of methane gas) is the number one cause of water pollution in the U.S. To put it in perspective, one dairy farm of 2,500 cows produces as much waste as a city of 411,000 people. The waste from these farms is collected in huge cesspools. In fact, 60% of America’s fresh water sources are considered to be “impaired” largely due to contamination from animal agriculture. Not only does it pollute our water, but it is extremely wasteful of the water that isn’t impaired when you consider that over half of the water used in the U.S. today goes to animal agriculture. It takes 2,400 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef, while it only takes 180 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of whole wheat flour.

You’re probably thinking that you, one person, going vegan has no significant impact. According to research done by PETA (not my favorite organization, but their data seems to be good), by going vegan for one month, you save:

• 8,000 gallons of water
• a quarter acre of land
• a quarter ton of soil erosion
• a half ton of polluting animal manure
• the carbon dioxide equivalent of 270 pounds of greenhouse gases
• the energy equivalent of burning 7 gallons of gas
• 160 pounds of crops wasted on farmed animals

The impact is greater than you think. If going vegan is too much, even decreasing your meat consumption would have a huge impact. If we don’t do something soon, we won’t have a planet to live on.