Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon
Newsvine
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
TechnoratiThe New Year is upon us, and at PETA, we're encouraging people to, for their new year's resolution, give a healthy vegetarian diet a try.
Just last month, the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta celebrated that the average cholesterol level in this country has fallen to 199, which is below (just barely) their stated target of 200. It's too bad the CDC is happy with a 199 average in this country, since at 199, people are still dropping like flies from heart disease.
Heart disease kills more people in North America than does any other cause of death. Up until the 1980s, it was assumed that as people get older, their arteries inevitably become clogged. If you didn't get hit by a bus or die of cancer or something else, your arteries would eventually close, causing either your brain or your heart to give out, and that would be it. Enter Doctors Dean Ornish and Caldwell Esselstyn, two doctors with 100 percent success in preventing and reversing heart disease, using a low-fat vegan diet.
If you know someone who has had a heart attack or suffers from heart problems, please stop listening right now and buy them Dr. Esselstyn's book, Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease, which details his work at the top heart clinic in the world, The Cleveland Clinic. He covers both the skepticism of his colleagues, and also his 100 percent success taking people with advanced stages of heart disease, people who were told by their cardiologists that they were going to die, and stopping the disease in its tracks and even, in most instances, reversing it . The book will change, and perhaps save, their life.
The average vegan American's cholesterol level is about 133, while the average vegetarians cholesterol level is 161. And the average meat-eater's cholesterol level is now at 199. Although the medical establishment may say, "Well, you've done your best," at 199, people are still dying in droves. As Dr. Charles Attwood pointed out, this is insane: If people were being run down by trucks at the same rate that they're dying from heart attacks induced by meat, eggs, and dairy products, drastic steps would be taken.
And it's not just heart disease that a vegetarian diet is good for. The American Dietetic Association, the world's largest organization of nutrition professionals, performed an extensive review of all the scientific studies about vegetarian diets. They found that vegetarians have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and obesity than meat-eaters, and wrote a position paper on vegetarian and vegan diets which concludes that vegetarian and vegan diets are appropriate for all stages, including infancy and pregnancy, and that in fact they have, "health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases."
And it's not just disease prevention that a vegetarian diet helps -- most vegetarians report increased energy and concentration, among other advantages. Consider a study from a school for troubled youth in Miami. Dr. Antonia Demas from Cornell University put kids there on a vegan diet, resulting in a The Miami Herald headline, "Brain Food: Student Vegans See Boost in Grades, Energy." School Principal Mary Louise Cole explained that the students "seem to have a lot more energy -- they don't have the down times." Gabriel Saintvil, stated that "I used to get tired when I ran laps or lifted weights. Now I get endurance and keep on doing it."
It works for adults, too. Carl Lewis, named "Olympian of the Century" by Sports Illustrated, says, "[M] y best year of track competition was the first year I ate a vegan diet. Moreover, by continuing to eat a vegan diet, my weight is under control, I like the way I look."
And Atlanta Hawks guard Salim Stoudimire reports that his veganism, "does amazing things for my basketball game. I essentially never get tired [so] I have certainly became much more of a pain to guard because I have a lot of energy. And at the end of games, when everyone is not jumping as high, I now get a ton more points in the paint and rebounds. And I don't get sick very often. I can't shake the feeling that more athletes should try eating this way."
Of course, new year's resolutions tend to focus on weight loss more than anything else, and vegetarianism is helpful there, too, since vegetarians are one-third as likely to be obese as meat-eaters are, and vegans are about one-tenth as likely to be obese. You can be an overweight vegan, of course, and you can be a skinny meat-eater. But on average, vegans are 10 to 20 percent lighter than meat-eaters. Temporary diets don't work, but a lifestyle switch to a vegetarian diet does, in instance after instance after instance, as documented in books like Dr. Neal Barnard's Food for Life or Dr. Dean Ornish's Eat More, Weigh Less.
The cancer prevention properties of a vegetarian diet were covered on HuffPo last year about this time in Michael Huffington's new year's resolution column about his own vegan commitment after he read Dr. T. Colin Campbell's best-selling book, The China Study, so I won't revisit them here.
Of course, a vegetarian diet is also the best diet for the environment and animals, as has been discussed admirably in the past on HuffPo. I grew up in Minnesota and Oklahoma, and when I was first presented with the idea of not eating meat, it sounded to me about as plausible as not breathing oxygen. But upon further examination, I came to see that my progressive ideology requires of me an openness to new and challenging ideas, even if they strike at the foundation of my existence -- what I eat.
Readers interested in meal plans, cookbook recommendations, recipes, and more, can find it all at www.VegCooking.com. For more information on all aspects of vegetarianism and the meat industry, please visit www.GoVeg.com.
Happy Eating and Happy New Year!
Bruce Friedrich is vice-president in charge of international grassroots campaigns for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the world's largest animal rights organization, with more than 1.6 million members and supporters.
56 Comments so far
Show Allti--I think you're right on about PETA. Their tactics are often quite bizarre, I agree, but you have to admit that people have noticed. And while it turns some people off, I think overall, they have brought the issue into the mainstream much more than if they used conventional tactics. Let's face it, the latest anti-war rallies have hardly merited a mention in the MSM. But PETA has almost become a household word/acronym.
Because their main objective is to bring to light the horrors of the meat industry, I think by and large they are on the right track. Again, I question some of their stunts and Pamela Anderson is not the best spokesperson, in my opinion, but she does attract media attention and in our bizarro society, that's what it takes to get the word out. Your comparison to the Kucinich dilemma is perfect. Good luck and good health to all of us in 2008!
Peacenow, I didn't mean to offend you. I'm a partial vegetarian (I still eat fish and some dairy), but I don't think anyone needs to apologize for what they eat. Yes, the way animals are raised and killed is inhumane, but we're all bombarded with a massive advertising campaign since birth that eating meat is a good thing and vegetarians are eccentric lunatics, so it's no wonder people are so resistant to giving up meat. After all, the meat industry has been working to try to make people feel they have to apologize for NOT eating meat, as in those commercials on TV a while back: "Beef, real food for real people." The inference being, of course, that vegetarians aren't real people and beef eaters are.
As far as PETA is concerned, I doubt it was started by the beef industry for the purpose of making vegetarians look bad. Instead, I suspect it's simply a group of people who are overreacting to the already-existing disinformation campaign propagated by the beef industry. A sort of "All right, you jerks, you've been attacking us for decades, so now we're going to start hitting back" kind of thing. That may not be the best way for PETA to get what it wants, but it's understandable.
Regardless as to PETA's origins, motives and tactics, though, they're right: eating meat isn't good for people (or the environment) and neither is the way we treat livestock. Personally, I think that if the average person were to actually witness what goes on in a typical slaughterhouse they'd have a real hard time eating meat again, which is why most people don't want to look. Maybe PETA is just trying to make people look, even if their tactics are a bit in-your-face.
And they've got just about as tough a row to hoe as Kucinich does in his in-your-face quest to make people look at what our government is doing to our country and the world.
"
peacenow, I see your point about PETA's not going about converting people to vegetarianism in the best way, and of course suggesting that prisoners be used for medical experimention instead of animals is revolting, but if you think not eating meat is a good idea (and it seems as though you do, going by your posts), does it really make sense to eat meat simply because PETA's tactics annoy you?"
Of course not, and I never said that. I am trying (slowly) to phase out meat. I haven't had beef in about three years, and I am trying to avoid chicken (I had turkey for Christmas dinner, and I broke down and had a chicken burger last week. I'm sorry). I still eat fish, which I realize is a tough issue for some, but again, I'm sorry. Occasionally, if offered with a meal, I will have bacon. It's hard when you eat meals at family gatherings where others still eat meat.
However, PeTA has no moral high ground. Frankly, they act like thugs. I've always suspected that they were actually a disinformation group started by the beef industry to make vegetarians look bad. That's the only explanation I can think of for some of their more idiotic and offensive campaigns.
bless, I agree with you that if the country as a whole could kick the meat habit we'd all be better off, especially as regards global warming. I hope you have a good year in 2008, too.
peacenow, I see your point about PETA's not going about converting people to vegetarianism in the best way, and of course suggesting that prisoners be used for medical experimention instead of animals is revolting, but if you think not eating meat is a good idea (and it seems as though you do, going by your posts), does it really make sense to eat meat simply because PETA's tactics annoy you?
"...from what I've heard many vegans actually have vitamin deficiencies and are actually more succeptible to disease."
Where did you hear that? I've seen a few doctors during my twenty years as a vegan. Guess what they all say after they discover I'm a vegan... "I can do some tests but I guarantee, there is nothing wrong with you."
If they have that figured out, maybe your info is not so accurate.
And, I do get tested every so often and they are right, no problems, no deficiencies, nada.
Humans are herbivores. Deer don't get deficiencies eating a natural diet. Why would you? Something to think about, no?
Here's some places to get a better look at why vegans are actually the healthiest people:
http://www.pcrm.org
and
http://www.notmilk.com
and
http://earthsave.org
Happy wellness to you all:)
"peacenow–stomach bugs and food poisoning are not the same thing. I would agree that a good vegan diet would probably boost one's immune system to be better able to fight off disease."
Sorry, but stomach bug or food poisoning, the result is pretty much the same. I actually got the worst of it. I am not a scientist, but from what I've heard many vegans actually have vitamin deficiencies and are actually more succeptible to disease.
" I also agree that teaching by example is the way to go.
annedailey–I would guess that PETA does not believe that slaughtering animals is ethical."
Actually, they actively support animal euthanasia.
"How interesting…I've been a vegetarian for 25 of my 44 years, but I don't think condemning meat-eaters is the way to encourage a plant-based diet."
If meat-eating contributes to diabetes, heart disease, environmental decline, animal abuse, and just about every other ill, do you really think those of us encouraging a change of diet are most interested in 'condemning' rather than healing? everyone? and everything?
If you do, you are mistaken. I have counseled (and cooked for) many, creating more wellness all round has always been the goal. But, hiding the impacts of one's choices from them is not only irresponsible, it encourages ignorance in action. In any case, that is my take and I have more respect than that for people and their ability to do what is right if armed with the facts in the matter.
"It sort of smacks of elitism. I also don't think it works for everybody, especially not those in 2nd, 3rd and 4th world countries."
I have lived in Iran, Argentina, and Chile and traveled to many more countries including Taiwan, Vietnam, India, etc.
In Argentina, everyone eats crucified animals. They actually nail them to a cross and roast them... gross! So, being vegan there is a challenge, socially anyway.
But, we bought kilos of grapes EVERY DAY! And ate them all! We bought the sweetest broccoli I have ever eaten in my life. And when the chestnuts were in season, they were amazing and cheap. Everything was cheap and vegetable/fruit stands were all over the place.
We had eggplant, avocado, incredible peaches (by the kilo at really cheap prices!) and fresh rolls every day. We found vegan pastas... it is different. There was only one rather depressing supermarket. But many, many food stores that were small and excellent whether for buying nuts, spices, pasta, potato chips, rolls, vegetables or fruits.
When we went outside town, we could get giant buckets of the best sun dried tomatoes and jars of olive tapenade... my fresh roll sandwiches made with tapenade, fresh tomatoes, avocado and thin sliced onions with Brewer's yeast were killer, and the locals liked it too.
In many 'impoverished' places, healthy eating is much easier than here and one can actually get food that has been locally grown, never sprayed, etc. So organic is easier often as well… because the stands are actually run by the farmers. The sad truth is that economies are being intentionally sacked by mega corporate interests to put these independents out of business… and then the days of everyone eating cheaply will be over. And they do eat very cheaply everything but meat… which they are told is essential. So, in my view, especially for third world countries, a realistic understanding of the nutritional value of a plant-based diet would do a world of good immediately.
Chile was a similar story, lots of incredible vegetables at really cheap (but not as cheap as Argentina) prices. But the flavors were so much better than here. We are eating many of products grown in those countries but picked much too early and the difference in taste is pronounced.
If one buys from the locals, fresh organic foods are plentiful.
A good backgrounder on food availability is http://www.foodfirst.org/12myths.
And, after reading that, remember, it takes 1/16th of an acre to feed a vegan. It takes 50 times that much land to feed the typical meatarian!
So, the 'poor' people are only getting poorer because we are abusing our common resources to the benefit of no one, including the other animals who also have a right to call this planet home.
How interesting...I've been a vegetarian for 25 of my 44 years, but I don't think condemning meat-eaters is the way to encourage a plant-based diet. It sort of smacks of elitism. I also don't think it works for everybody, especially not those in 2nd, 3rd and 4th world countries. It's easy to be a vegetarian who only eats organically when you have lots of money, and please don't say that anybody can do it. Organically grown food costs more...shouldn't, but it does...I know, because I buy and eat organic foods all the time. We should be encouraging everyone to eat as low on the food chain as possible, imo, while recognizing that options are limited for some people.
If you would like to try going vegetarian, there are so many incredibly delicious foods that can be very easily prepared.
And, since we often think vegetarianism is about what we do not eat, it is also easy to forget that what total vegetarians (vegans) do eat is an incredibly rich, (yummy) and varied diet.
There are not only all the varieties of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, there are so many dishes that combine these in tasty ways.
And, there are some rather amazing alternatives available as well.
So, I have to list some favorites.
Follow Your Heart has great cheeses. http://www.imearthkind.com/Main.htm
Tofutti cream cheeses (except the salmon) and sour supreme.
http://www.tofutti.com/btcc-herbs.shtml
Soy Delicious 'Ice Cream' http://soydelicious.com/products/purely_decadent.html
Wholesoy (http://www.wholesoyco.com/) makes incredible lemon soy yogurt, unbelievable low cal but so rich frozen desserts and addicting yogurt smoothies (mango is tops!)
Morning Star Farms makes an incredible vegan burger (http://www.seeveggiesdifferently.com/product_detail.aspx?family=363&id=3...). I fry it with a little canola oil until it is brown on both sides (a little crispy) but keep the lid partially on (to make sure it is juicy inside). Then I use cheddar (above) lettuce, tomato, onion (either fried before or thin sliced raw) on a some really great French bread or herbed focaccia.
I also slather the bread with Nayonaise. http://www.nasoya.com/nasoya/nayonaise_original.html
Now, there are so many recipes that we could list, and that would not be fair to everyone who wants to move on, but they include artichoke pasta, champagne dogs (similar to a Chilean 'completo' but vegan and using Tofurky's beer brats http://www.tofurky.com/products/sausages.htm), tacos with Amy's organic refried beans with chilis, cheddar cheese, salsa, sour supreme, black olives, avocado, lettuce wrapped in a soft fried sprouted corn tortilla from "Food for Life" (or similar). These tacos are total YUM and total FUN!
Anyway, there are base sauces that wrap almost any stir fry in great taste and like many, I have my standard canola oil, soy sauce, basil, minced garlic and onion and chili pepper one. I lightly brown the garlic and minced onion in the oil, add everything else and then the cut veggies, starting with the ones that might need a little longer to cook.
And on and on and on until your health and energy exceeds your wildest expectations…
Oh, but on other days, a large bowl of totally ripe persimmons is all I could ever want. You see, vegan is not about vegan, it is about food freedom:)
Oops, I almost forgot, vegan pumpkin pie with Soyatoo's soy whip.
And the deli stuff: Lots of it for making any kind of sandwich from Tofurky (all vegan) to Yves (no longer all vegan but still has vegan bologna, Canadian bacon, etc.)http://www.yvesveggie.com/
peacenow--stomach bugs and food poisoning are not the same thing. I would agree that a good vegan diet would probably boost one's immune system to be better able to fight off disease. I also agree that teaching by example is the way to go.
annedailey--I would guess that PETA does not believe that slaughtering animals is ethical.
Munch1, that was very interesting and educational.
Thank you.
"Atherosclerosis is one of the easiest diseases to produce experimentally, but the experimental animal must be an herbivore." William C. Roberts, MD
Humans are herbivores!
Makes sense a vegan diet would improve our health now doesn't it? Most animals do have more robust health eating a diet consistent with their ecological design.
There is a very good reason why people instantly become healthier when they remove ALL animal products from their diets, HUMANS are HERBIVORES.
And because humans are herbivores, all human interferences in the rights of other animals to also live as they were designed to live (rather than being unnaturally murdered to become food for an animal they are not designed to fear) is criminal (and the crime is usually murder).
I have to say, I have yet to hear of a 'nice' murder. And, I think the other animals (pigs, cows, chickens, goats, horses, dogs...) would agree.
Humans are herbivores who fortunately have no business in the murder of anyone racket:
From "The Comparative Anatomy of Eating", by Milton R. Mills, MD
Facial Muscles
CARNIVORE: Reduced to allow wide mouth gape
HERBIVORE: Well-developed
OMNIVORE: Reduced
HUMAN: Well-developed
Jaw Type
CARNIVORE: Angle not expanded
HERBIVORE: Expanded angle
OMNIVORE: Angle not expanded
HUMAN: Expanded angle
Jaw Joint Location
CARNIVORE: On same plane as molar teeth
HERBIVORE: Above the plane of the molars
OMNIVORE: On same plane as molar teeth
HUMAN: Above the plane of the molars
Jaw Motion
CARNIVORE: Shearing; minimal side-to-side motion
HERBIVORE: No shear; good side-to-side, front-to-back
OMNIVORE: Shearing; minimal side-to-side
HUMAN: No shear; good side-to-side, front-to-back
Major Jaw Muscles
CARNIVORE: Temporalis
HERBIVORE: Masseter and pterygoids
OMNIVORE: Temporalis
HUMAN: Masseter and pterygoids
Mouth Opening vs. Head Size
CARNIVORE: Large
HERBIVORE: Small
OMNIVORE: Large
HUMAN: Small
Teeth: Incisors
CARNIVORE: Short and pointed
HERBIVORE: Broad, flattened and spade shaped
OMNIVORE: Short and pointed
HUMAN: Broad, flattened and spade shaped
Teeth: Canines
CARNIVORE: Long, sharp and curved
HERBIVORE: Dull and short or long (for defense), or none
OMNIVORE: Long, sharp and curved
HUMAN: Short and blunted
Teeth: Molars
CARNIVORE: Sharp, jagged and blade shaped
HERBIVORE: Flattened with cusps vs complex surface
OMNIVORE: Sharp blades and/or flattened
HUMAN: Flattened with nodular cusps
Chewing
CARNIVORE: None; swallows food whole
HERBIVORE: Extensive chewing necessary
OMNIVORE: Swallows food whole and/or simple crushing
HUMAN: Extensive chewing necessary
Saliva
CARNIVORE: No digestive enzymes
HERBIVORE: Carbohydrate digesting enzymes
OMNIVORE: No digestive enzymes
HUMAN: Carbohydrate digesting enzymes
Stomach Type
CARNIVORE: Simple
HERBIVORE: Simple or multiple chambers
OMNIVORE: Simple
HUMAN: Simple
Stomach Acidity
CARNIVORE: Less than or equal to pH 1 with food in stomach
HERBIVORE: pH 4 to 5 with food in stomach
OMNIVORE: Less than or equal to pH 1 with food in stomach
HUMAN: pH 4 to 5 with food in stomach
Stomach Capacity
CARNIVORE: 60% to 70% of total volume of digestive tract
HERBIVORE: Less than 30% of total volume of digestive tract
OMNIVORE: 60% to 70% of total volume of digestive tract
HUMAN: 21% to 27% of total volume of digestive tract
Length of Small Intestine
CARNIVORE: 3 to 6 times body length
HERBIVORE: 10 to more than 12 times body length
OMNIVORE: 4 to 6 times body length
HUMAN: 10 to 11 times body length
Colon
CARNIVORE: Simple, short and smooth
HERBIVORE: Long, complex; may be sacculated
OMNIVORE: Simple, short and smooth
HUMAN: Long, sacculated
Liver
CARNIVORE: Can detoxify vitamin A
HERBIVORE: Cannot detoxify vitamin A
OMNIVORE: Can detoxify vitamin A
HUMAN: Cannot detoxify vitamin A
Kidney
CARNIVORE: Extremely concentrated urine
HERBIVORE: Moderately concentrated urine
OMNIVORE: Extremely concentrated urine
HUMAN: Moderately concentrated urine
Nails
CARNIVORE: Sharp claws
HERBIVORE: Flattened nails or blunt hooves
OMNIVORE: Sharp claws
HUMAN: Flattened nails
For more resources, visit the Herbivore Awareness Project http://www.allinharmony.com
I really wish the type of meat people choose to eat would be factored into this discussion. I am an omnivore, but spent 12 years as a vegetarian, and now only eat meat from farms that I know well and respect. I attend slaughters, and have participated in several, so that I can truly say I know where my food is coming from. I thank every animal whose body becomes food for me. I would never touch meat from a factory farm, or even a local one that i hadn't visited. I am very healthy - cholesterol included. Small-scale, diverse, biodynamic farms, like the one where I get the majority of my meat, do not harm the environment (though some monoculture, large scale vegetable farms DO), rather they protect and enhance the land. We need to be thinking about WHERE our food comes from, not just what it is. I've been a PETA member for a number of years, because I think they get a lot accomplished, but i'm really bothered that they won't look at ethical meat-eaters as part of their movement.
I don't understand the hesitancy in becoming vegan. It's clearly the thing to do if you care about the earth, care about animals, and care about yourself. It's akin to democrats hesitation in impeaching war criminals. It's the only correct action.
Peta also uses pretty sexist methods. It would be akin to Gandhi having women take their shirts off as they collected salt. Why help one group at the expense of another?
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine advocates a vegan diet http://www.pcrm.org/
"peacenow–I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous. Being a vegetarian certainly wouldn't protect one from food-borne illnesses anymore than it would protect you from being injured in a car crash. You are either misinterpreting what people are telling you about the benefits of vegetarianism, or you are talking to some wacky people. No one I know would ever make that connection!"
I quote coco from this very thread:
"ve been vegetarian for over 25 years and it's true that i seem to benefit from better health than my 'carniverous' friends. they frequently get sick with colds and stomach bugs etc"
I've also heard that from several other people. In general, there are two kinds of vegetarians - those who teach by example and those who evangelize. As with all sorts of religions, teaching by example is much more appealing.
I could do a whole list of choice statements from PeTA, including Ingrid Newkirk's claim that she would rather see no AIDS vaccine than one that was due to animal testing; the campaign to get a town called Fishkill (which literally means Fish Creek in Dutch) to change their name; their constant exploitation of women in their "I'd rather go naked" campaigns, and such cheerful pamphlets as "your mommy kills animals."
I am slowly converting to a vegetarian diet, but I am reluctant to call myself vegetarian precisely because of bullies like PeTA.
peacenow--I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous. Being a vegetarian certainly wouldn't protect one from food-borne illnesses anymore than it would protect you from being injured in a car crash. You are either misinterpreting what people are telling you about the benefits of vegetarianism, or you are talking to some wacky people. No one I know would ever make that connection!
"peacenow–You say PETA's ad campaigns are frequently nasty and ugly. Well, they're nowhere near as nasty and ugly as the animal industries they're trying to expose. Most Americans just don't want to think about where their food comes from, just like they don't want to think about where their oil comes from."
There's no excuse for suggesting, for example, that medical tests be done on prisoners in order to save animals, or for gloating about a politician's prostate cancer simply because he drank milk.
"By the way, the food poisoning you got had nothing to do with the fact that you ate vegetables! It was the fault of the restaurant–sheesh!"
You miss my point. I've heard endlessly from smug vegetarians that they never get sick, or at least never get food-borne illnesses. That has not been my experience. I never blamed the vegetables, my point was that not having meat did not spare me from getting sick.
peacenow--You say PETA's ad campaigns are frequently nasty and ugly. Well, they're nowhere near as nasty and ugly as the animal industries they're trying to expose. Most Americans just don't want to think about where their food comes from, just like they don't want to think about where their oil comes from.
By the way, the food poisoning you got had nothing to do with the fact that you ate vegetables! It was the fault of the restaurant--sheesh!
Oh I could spend a few hours looking up some stats and providing the sources that proved to me (years ago when I reasearched it) that vegetarianism is dangerous to your health..... but I won't.. Don't want to get into an argument when there are other issues more important to me..
But for me, I'll stick with meat... It has my vote.
Becoming a vegetarian is the best thing I ever did! I don't miss eating meat, or cheese or any animal foods at all. Vegan food tastes so much better than animal food. I never have to diet-- in fact I eat A LOT of food just to keep my weight up! I feel great, & I can't remember the last time I had a cold or got sick. And when you think about all the suffering that animals must endure so people can eat them, it's a no brainer. Let's just love the animals-- all the animals, the way you love your dog or cat. The world would be a much kinder place if we stopped killing all these precious beings.
"'ve been vegetarian for over 25 years and it's true that i seem to benefit from better health than my 'carniverous' friends. they frequently get sick with colds and stomach bugs etc"
Actually, I just got ovr one of the worst stomach bugs of my life which I got from a vegetable wrap sandwich I got at a restaurant. Plus, there's all the stories of tainted spinach, etc. (yes, I know they were tainted with animal wastel; but stopping meat production will not stop nasty stuff from getting in the food supply).
Don't get me wrong, I am trying hard not to eat meat. However, I find the moral and health superiority of vegetarians slightly smug. (For example, appeals to authority like "Schweitzer and Gandhi were vegetarians. Well, so was Hitler).
And finally, for me, PeTA has no credibility. Their ad campaigns are frequently nasty and ugly, and they're supported by such luminaries as Pamela Anderson (who famously once said that instead of medical testing on animals, why not just use prisoners). At one point they even managed to make me feel sorry for Rudolph Guiliani, with their despicable "got prostate cancer" campaign.
ti--Obviously, not eating meat isn't bad for you. Even conventional doctors advise limiting animal products. The problem is the addiction to the whole meat industry. If we could kick it, a whole host of other problems would be on their way to being solved. Good luck in 2008!
The most physically fit person I know personally is a partial vegetarian, eating fish and eggs and some dairy, but no red meat or fowls. This person is a woman in her forties and she is in amazing physical condition (she exercises a lot, too).
My point is that I'm not a nutritionist or a scientist, so I can't relate any statistics or studies to back up any claims I may or may not have as to the benefits or deficits of a vegetarian diet, but I do at least know one person who I can look at and say, "Well, I guess not eating meat isn't bad for you, after all."
A few people have said we're omnivores, but I don't think so.
The other great apes eat the occasional slow-moving rodent and some insects, but more than 95 percent of their calories come from plants.
According to this fairly detailed piece by Dr. Milton Mills, which comes with a helpful chart, human beings are herbivores by classification:
http://www.vegsource.com/veg_faq/comparative.htm
Does anyone know of something that contradicts this? I find the intuitive argument convincing too:
* We are the only species that has to cook meat so that the bacteria on it doesn't kill us (and so that we can digest it);
* We don't find the idea of killing animals and eating them raw appealing--we find it disgusting.
If we cook meat, it won't kill us right away, but eventually, it still gets us...
i do indulge now and again,so i am a hypocrite.my conscience says,no animal should have to die,to feed me.
We have omnivore's teeth and colon but have to turn vegetarian because an overpopulated world can't support so many meat eaters.
Of course vegetarianism is the way to go. But there will always be humans who will say: no no no! We can do it in moderation. We can stop destroying wildlife for cattle grazing, we can stop the air and water from being polluted for livestock, we can stop new diseases form rearing up like SARS and bird flu thanks to livestock production. And yet we still have slaughterhouses where the workers gouge the eyes out of the animals being slaughtered to sustain a bad diet.
These dum dums are doing the same thing that Global warming deniers do(and conveniently they always ignore the contribution of meat and dairy to global warming).
Tolstoy(hunter turned vegetarian) "We shall always have wars as long as we have slaughterhouses."
If you want to strike a deadly blow against injustice, you simply have to go vegetarian. Any thing else is just an excuse, or a kneejerk reaction based upon the myth of human supremacy.
If you are against racial supremacy-you MUST be against human supremacy.
You cant have your cake and eat it too. If you have the right to discriminate according to species then other humans have the right to discriminate according to race or gender or religion(like they already do).
Every possible pro meat argument has been refuted here:
http://animalvegfaq.tripod.com
Nice article. You all are also strongly encouraged to find ORGANIC veggies and food. Insecticides are all over most of the vegetarian foods - unless they're organic. It's not that much more expensive anymore, and besides - who in their right mind would pay to ingest insecticides?
0000000000
TOXIC PRODUCE
"... But what's a mother to do with fruits and vegetables
contaminated with pesticide residues? Oh, you say, that's not possible because our government sets standards to protect our children from these poisons.
Before you swallow that, check out the March[1999!] issue of Consumer Reports. It analyzes the pesticides on and in 27,000 samples of produce taken right out of supermarket bins, and it finds that a startling
number of them contain unacceptable levels of some highly toxic chemicals. Children are especially endangered. Seven items stood out as being hundreds of times more toxic than the rest: apples, grapes, green beans, peaches, pears, spinach, and winter squash. Yes,
these are foods we all consider to be good for you ... but not when they are laced with a medicine cabinet of pesticides.
Methyl parathion is the most prevalent poison that Consumer Reports found. It's an organophosphate insecticide that attacks the neurological system of insects — but also of humans. Two out of five peaches tested contained unacceptable levels of this killer.
Then there's Dieldrin, a cancer-causing pesticide removed from the market twenty-five years ago. But these toxics don't just disappear from the soil. Even today, three-fourths of the winter squash tested by Consumer Reports contained Dieldrin. Well, you might think, I'll just
wash it off. Think again — like many pesticides, Dieldrin is absorbed into the pulp of the produce, so it's impossible to wash off.
Instead of poisoning these healthy foods, safe and economical alternatives are readily available. Let's encourage their use. Government policy should shift from protecting chemical manufacturers to helping farmers shift to sustainable methods of production.
Meanwhile, to get fruits and veggies that are good and truly good for you, look for certified organic produce.
(From http://TexasObserver.org/JHapril99.html
by Jim Hightower http://www.jim hightower.com
----------------------------------------------------
Although the material i'm inserting is dated, it is still relevant. Under the reign of the corporate butt kissing Bush regime, these problems have only gotten worse.
----------------------
Eleven Reasons Why We Should Buy Organic
The first ten reasons below are reprinted from Grow Organic No. 102 October-December 1997 Excerpted from an article by Sylvia Tawse in Delicious, April 1994 and CROPO Issue 23, July,1995.
l. To Protect Future Generations
"We have not inherited the earth from our fathers, we are borrowing it from our children" -Lester Brown. The average child receives four times more exposure
than an adult to at least eight widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food. Food choices made now, determine your child's future health.
2. To Prevent Soil Erosion
Soil is the foundation of the food chain in organic gardening. In conventional farming, however, the soil is used more as a medium to hold plants in a vertical
position, so they can be chemically fertilised. Soil structure is neglected and the top-soil is washed or blown away.
3. To Protect Water Quality
Water makes up two-thirds of our body mass and covers three quarters of the planet. Pesticides and other chemicals widely contaminate ground water and
rivers and pollute our primary source of drinking water.
4. To Save Energy
Modern farming uses more petroleum than any other industry. More energy is now used to produce synthetic fertilisers than to till, cultivate and harvest crops.
Organic farming is still based on labor intensive practices such as hand weeding, green manure and cover crops instead of chemicals.
5. To Keep Chemicals Off Your Plate
Many pesticides and herbicides were registered long before extensive research linking them to cancer and other diseases could be established. They are poisons
designed to kill living organisms and can also harm humans. In addition to cancer, pesticides are implicated in birth defects, nerve damage and genetic manipulations.
6. To Protect Farm Workers
Farmers have a much larger risk than non-farmers of contracting cancer. Farm worker health is also a serious problem in developing nations, where pesticide
use can be poorly regulated. An estimated one million people are poisoned annually by pesticides.
7. To Help Small Farmers
Most organic farms are small, independently owned family farms of less than 100 acres. Many family farms have been lost this past decade. Organic farming could be one of the few survival tactics left for family farms.
8. To Support A True Economy
Although organic foods might seem more expensive than conventional foods, conventional food prices don't reflect hidden costs such as pesticide regulation
and testing, hazardous waste disposal and clean up and environmental damage. If the hidden environmental and social costs of chemically-produced conventional
produce were added to that produce, it would be more than double the price of organic food.
9. To Promote Biodiversity
The conventional farmer uses monoculture, the planting of large plots of land with the same crop year after year. This approach leaves the soil lacking in
natural minerals and nutrients, which have to be replaced by chemical fertilisers in increasing amounts. Single crops are also more susceptible to pests, making farmers more reliant on pesticides. Insects have become
genetically resistant to certain pesticides and despite the increased uses of chemicals, crop losses are increasing. Organic farmers encourage natural
predators on their farms and are content with a smaller harvest. They also practice crop rotation to add health and energy to the soil.
10. For A Better Taste
Organic farming starts with the nourishment of the soil, which leads to the nourishment of the plant and, ultimately, our palate. Ask the many chefs who
prefer to use organic foods.
11. Certified organic means GE-free
Certified organic food does not contain genetically engineered organisms.
http://www.netspeed.com.au/cogs/coggene.htm
/end of excerpt - source:
http://www.netspeed.com.au/cogs/cogreas.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
Energetically it is true to say that some foods are positive and some are negative. Some have a clear, strong positive life force energy and are a good influence on our bodies and minds. The more processed a food is, the less life force it has. Heavily processed, insecticide infested foods have a dulling effect on our consciousness. The human body is not designed to process pesticides. Go organic!!
I became a vegan 3 weeks ago after reading the book 'Skinny Bitch'. I was a moderate meat eater, but discovered 20+ years ago that dairy was a big problem (eczema, severe sinus headaches, complexion problems). So far I'm eating more foods than I ever did on a meat diet and I feel good. My question is about the plankton website http://www.whyplankton.com/. I only see an order form to purchase dvd/cds, books and pH testing strips, but not the plankton itself. Am I missing something or can I purchase the plankton from the variety of sellers I'm seeing in the search engines?
Thanks, Morelli
KEM PATRICK
shame you have to advise us all now when you are joking......some people just have no sense of humour but thanks for sticking up for me on that other thread.
CANADACURMUGEON
i believe flax seed oil has the omega 3 fatty acids.
EVERYONE
i've been vegetarian for over 25 years and it's true that i seem to benefit from better health than my 'carniverous' friends. they frequently get sick with colds and stomach bugs etc. and PACPLYER is to be believed about the 'bathroom' business. fibre is very good for the system and fruits and vegetables are full of it. as opposed to meat that is just full of additives: steroids, antibiotics, hormones, preservatives.
Sluggy--Your comment about the "freedom" to eat meat strikes me as bizarre. Like someone insisting they have the right to drive a gas-guzzling Hummer, screw the consequences. Also, what's your beef with PETA? (Sorry about the pun.)
A happy and healthy new year to all--Go Vegan!
This is vegitarian Soilent Green. When the screen opens, click on the other icons. Truly great stuff. Fantastic healing powers also, it's the fountain of youth. It's always been right there for the taking. It goes good with whale steak.
http://whyplankton.com/
Just kiddng about the whale meat gang.
I've been a vegetarian for about 12 years, and have raised my kids that way. Some people have a meat fixation, and cannot possibly imagine much beyond cows, pigs, fowl and fish. I've dabbled in wide combinations of herbs, spices, ethnic foods, etc. and have a wider palate than any meat-eater I know.
You still gotta be skeptical. Just because they cite a study, even with impressive names attached to it, doesn't make it true. You've gotta look at the studies themselves: who did them, who paid for them, how well-designed the study was, what exactly the findings were, what limitations the study had, and so on. Plus you have to remember, when dealing with information that comes from *any* advocacy group, they'll have a tendency to only present the evidence that supports their position, even if there's evidence that contradicts it. Celebrity quotes are meaningless (and can be taken out of context); books by individual doctors may or may not be objective; and newspapers are not peer-reviewed scientific journals (although they may cite stuff from them though.)
I'm not saying that a vegetarian or vegan diet is good or bad; you're free to eat what you want. It's one of the last freedoms we have left!
Older hamburger chomping "carnivores" start having colon and digestive problems, and spend a lot of time in the bathroom reading right-wing magazines waiting for things to "come out right." I know. I used to be one of them.
It is simply amazing what happens when you flush your colon of all that (BSE?,) hormones and antibiotics that ALL red meat eaters experience since FDA meat inspectors disappeared seven years ago as a favor to the ranching industry. When you're younger, your immune system can cope with this chit. But as you get older you spend more and more time in the reading room making sounds like our commander-in-chimp does.
Introducing your G.I. to a high concentrations of natural fiber, antioxidants, complex natural sugars and vitamins will be akin to a religious experience. I was forced to do this because eating rubber-stamped USDA meat (high fat) gave me GOUT. Now my morning business is a brief delight, I feel happier and healthier and I have lost weight and am helping boycott greenhouse emmisions from the sinister cattle industry.
A win-win-win.
But I don't think I would have tried this if I hadn't been crippled first. And be sure to avoid frankenfruits and vegtables at the big food giants. (Avoid the nice looking Genetically modified Monsanto spliced produce.) Go to a latino poor person market instead. They have awsome produce and it's half the price of where you shop.
Try it. You'll like it.
Sluggysan,
It's good to be skeptical on anything about one's health; I think you have to really examine sources and claims, for sure.
But it seems like the original sources would assuage that skepticism.
I mean, PETA can't fake an ADA statment, or the book by Dr. Esselstyn, or the quotes from celebrities and the study from the Miami Herald. It seems like they have their bases covered...
You read this?
http://www.heartattackproof.com/excerpt.htm
That's not PETA...
All the health stuff at www.GoVeg.com seems to be fully cited, too...
i know i'm inviting flamage by saying this: but i'm very skeptical of anything that comes from anyone from PETA. sorry folks. if you'd like to provide me with a non-peta affiliated site with evidence-based information, i'd be willing to listen. plus, in a post-industrial, post-peakoil world, a vegan diet will simply not be calorically dense enough to sustain life. having said that: eating meat sparingly is probably the best way to go.
CanadaCurmugeon,
What you say is contradicted by 100 percent of the science. There is not even one reputable doctor who will back up your assertions about cholesterol (including Dr. Whitaker, who agrees that cholesterol is a problem and says that people should eat meat AT MOST a few times/week and only as a side dish if at all--he does not say you need it), the need to go slowly to vegetarianism (huh? where do you get that from?), or the false notion that some people can't do it (addressed more in a moment).
The science on these issues could not be more clear; check out chapter one of Dr. Esselstyn's book:
http://www.heartattackproof.com/excerpt.htm
There is not a single prominent medical or dietetic group that will tell you eating meat is good for you. On the pro-vegetarian side, we have an array of prominent medical groups and physicians, including Doctors Andrew Weil, Dean Ornish, Caldwell Esselstyn, T. Colin Campbell, Neal Barnard, and the list goes on.
On the pro-meat side, there is literally one guy (seriously, just one)—Robert Atkins, who keeled over dead at 260 pounds in 2003, and whose company went bankrupt shortly thereafter.
The American Dietetic Association, the world's largest organization of nutrition professionals, performed an extensive review of all the scientific studies about vegetarian diets. They found that vegetarians have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and obesity than meat-eaters, and wrote a position paper on vegetarian and vegan diets which concludes that vegetarian and vegan diets are appropriate for all stages, including infancy and pregnancy, and that in fact they have "health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases."
So on the side that says you should eat some meat, we have not one medical or dietetic group in the world, but one guy who dropped dead at more than 260 pounds (and he was under 6 feet tall, by the way). On the other side we have some of the most prominent doctors and nutritional researchers in the world, and all the scientific and medical bodies that exist.
It may make it easier for some people to make the switch slowly, but I know many, many people who have adopted a vegan diet, and most of them have done it "overnight" (or close) as I did 21 years ago. And again, you can't cite any sources for the things you assert, which are without basis.
The Web sites in the article are clear and good and provide ample documentaion from original sources.
www.goveg.com and www.vegcooking.com
If everybody stopped eating meat most of the world's problems would be solved. Seeing other species as our brothers and sisters would help us see other people as ourselves.
Let me say first that I am mostly vegetarian - just bare with me.
To bad you got caught by the drug industry propaganda about Cholesterol - There is no real connection with heart disease. The data does not support it. When an artery is damaged cholesterol is converted to an activated form which causes plaques. The damage is caused by homocystein which builds up because some enzyme cofactors - yes vitamins- are in short supply. See Dr Whitakers MD reports at Drwhitaker.com for details.
Yes Dean Ornish and others have done great work by reducing some fats - these are feed lot beef fats that you get at the supermarket.(those are very sick animals) If you must eat meat get grass fed beef or whatever. The meditation and exercise that Dean Ornish et al recommend is also important.
If you are going to become vegetarian it will take about a year - reduce the red meat then the fowl and then the fish. It takes a year because your digestive enzymes and other parts of the body must adjust. Try to do it fast and you will fail. I can no longer eat red meat - terrible digestive upset. I can eat fish and fowl in moderation like one turkey spread over a year.
I have found one specific problem with being vegetarian and that is some neurological problems such as crawling and stinging sensations and also possibly essential hypertension. These I think are related to a lack of two omega 3 fatty acids - namely EPA and DHA. These as far as I can tell are not found in plants but are essential for neurological system maintenance. My problems have lessened with taking fish oil. I know of other vegetarians with the same problem. They may not occur in everyone.
Vegetarianism has lots of benefits but not all people can go all the way.
Great article! I've been a vegan for several years and I don't miss animal products at all. There are tons of tasty mock meats, non-dairy milks, and other vegan foods, and with each new year, more and more delicious vegan products show up on the market. That's a real sign of progress.
I did not intend to go on a vegetarian diet but with the ever increasing price of food, especially meat, and the never ending food poisonings inspite of the government's expenditure of our tax money to proclame rather than insure food safety I lost my desire for the taste of meat. That was some months ago and I feel better and more at peace. A funny thing - I also lost my desire to watch television and have unpluged the propaganda box.
Great article. Very informative. I do love vegetables and will eat almost all of them but vegetarianism is just not for me. Thanks anyway. Happy New Year!
Eating meat is an ingrained cultural habit that is not necesary at all- its amazing that it seems like meat holds such a central place in american identity-
if you are breaking rocks all day, living in the wild, or farming it makes some sense to eat meat
but given the dangers of a meat based diet, the massive ethical issues, karmic traces in meat, etc.
i am really glad that this is starting to connect with a wider group
All we are saying is give peas a chance. I notice abc tv ran a feature piece a couple of days ago showing even fundamentalists in North Carolina are now turning to the "Adam and Eve" diet which is all plant-based and nearly all raw food. Maybe we are coming out of the dark ages of thoughtless slaughter and hypnotic gorging.
KFC - Kentucky's Finest Cabbage
It's nice to see CommonDreams putting something pro-animal and pro-health.
I'm sure a lot of readers will scream foul, and I guess I wonder if they're really progressives, or if they're conservatives who have infiltrated CommonDreams.
I'd guess that most CommonDreams readers are fans of Kucinich as the one truly progressive candidate; it's worth noting that he's also a vegan, for animal rights reasons.
So were/are many other icons of progressive thought, including Schweitzer, Tolstoy, Gandhi, Alice Walker, and many others.
It's pretty basic: You'll be just as healthy (well, healhier actually) without causing animals to suffer and die, so why pay people to hurt and kill them?
Nice piece y'all; thank you for posting it.
"Why not give a vegetarian diet a try for the New Year?"
The only answer I find from the US history is that the US can not survive without NONVEGETARIAN DIET. US is founded on NONVEGETARIAN DIET (killing thousands of Native Americans). Now the US is enjoying the nonvegetarian diet in Iraq, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Somalia...(the "flesh" of innocent children, women and men).
So my question is whether the US society will survive without NONVEGETARIAN diet?????????
I've given up dairy and also gave up pork and beef a long time ago. I'm working on the others...I'll get there. Have to agree that Vegan is the best diet for people's health.
Thanks for posting this. As a long-time vegan, I've been aware of the positive health effects that come along with plant-based diets for ten years now. Heart disease, cancer, and diabetes run in my family but I know I'm doing my part to help avoid all three by staying away from meat, eggs, and dairy.
REAL progressives don't eat meat. Stop the killing and murder of humans by starting with what you put in your mouth: Animals. It ain't THAT hard to do in 2007. THANK YOU Bruce & Common for posting this!
Fab article! As a long-time vegan, I can definitely swear by the benefits of a healthy, vegan diet. I have tons of energy, I never get sick, and I am slim and trim, which at 53 years of age is pretty awesome. Meat and dairy products are ruining our health, destroying the planet, and causing immeasurable suffering among animals. It is time we all adopt a vegan diet.
Great piece, Bruce! I've been a vegetarian for 16 years and a vegan for 4. When I told my doctor that my dad (who eats meat, milk, and eggs) has heart disease and is on cholesterol-lowering medication, she insisted that I get a cholesterol test ASAP. My doctor was impressed when my test came back at 131--a well below average risk. Our health starts with what we put in our mouths. Be kind to your body and animals in 2008--give veg a try!
Very gratifying to see such articles on CommonDreams, my home page that comes up every time I turn on my computer. Please publish more! I love the expression "REAL progressives don't eat meat."
Some vegans are very condemning; some encourage, but some condemn. There is a lot of self righteousness in these comments, on both sides, sadly. And SHOCKER, I sometimes do it myself--I rationalize that I do it in RESPONSE to angry and defensive meat-eaters, but "he started it!" is so grade school.
We'll be more effective if we reply compassionately, rather than "in kind" when someone is nasty--good reminder.
Vegetarian food is cheaper, so eating vegetarian is actually easier in 2nd and 3rd world countries too. Veggie foods are the staples; meat is just for the affluent (leaving aside eskimos, etc., of course).