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I stopped consuming imported food years ago, and that includes domestic food corporations who shifted manufacturing to Canada and Mexico. Given how the rest of the world completely hates us since the Cheney presidency, I don't dare consume imported food....lets just say it's a soft target and leave it at that.....thanks Dick! I've heard Hillary Clinton comment on this.....she's well aware of the potential danger. As Thom pointed out, things won't get better while we continue to be under Teapublican austerity, nor will it get better with the Libertarian get government out of everything mentality.
Good idea since we can all get medical coverage. Oh wait no we can't.
We should send a Mekong River Catfish to each of the Congressmen who wouldn't fund the FDA - and make them eat it...raw.
There is a study...or a few, that show that consuming some dairy fat has health benefits, especially for women. Google "dairy fat health" and you will find several articles.
I think a more important issue than whether to eat animal products or not, is that we need to eat organic. The pesticides, genetic engineering and hormones used in both animal and plant based foods are what needs to be avoided. They destroy our bodies as well as the planet. I avoid soy because most soy beans are genetically engineered, as is corn and you find both in nearly everything including animal feed. The best thing we can do right now is buy organic foods, whether you are vegetarian, vegan, or omnivore.
There's a reason the some humans have evolved adult lactose tolerance--milk became an important foodstuff. It can't be that bad for us if we changed our biochemistry to accomodate it rather than die trying.
Humans have also been eating meat long before the invention of agriculture. We have evolved to be omnivorous. We certainly eat too much of everything and especially processed food.
People ate plants long before farming was developed. You don't have to farm them if they grow abundantly enough. Many forest-dwelling peoples don't farm, but yet eat plants.
@frisbeeguitar, finally we come to the real reason for this discussion on Vegan Diets, Animal Rights. Greek philosopher Plato once wrote that Democracy would eventually evolve to the point where even the dogs stood up on their rear legs and demanded their rights. The eating habits of early man were obviously handed down to him in his evolution from lower animal life forms, thus his diet was primarily meat as his animal ancestors lacked the cognitive ability to develop and implement farming, The question has to be asked as to why, after a hundred years of real scientific development, no means currently exist to produce a source of synthetic protein. One has to assume that, in our capitalist system, the cost associated with that exercise precludes the ability to make an acceptable profit ! I would expect Corporate food producers to embrace a manufacturing process that is not location dependent and isn't held hostage to climatic conditions ! The real problem is that far too many Americans remain connected to their ancestors farming traditions that we moved past almost a century ago. Not many today remember the consternation over the end of the family farm and the required move by many rural citizens to the cities to work in modern jobs. Old McDonald died a long time ago !
I'd like to see a law that cows must be grass fed, as they were naturally before we humans decided to cage them and feed them corn and other cows. This would require more land for the same number of cows, and therefore less supply of beef. People would have to learn to eat less of it, and when they did eat beef it would be healthier for them.
My wife, son, and I became vegans immediately after the closing credits of COWSPIRACY: The Sustainability Secret. That was back in October. The transition initially was kind of daunting. It didn’t take any extra effort In The Real World, we just bought different stuff at the store. There are tons of vegan cookbooks and recipes on the web so figuring out what I was going to make for dinner was not a problem. The difficulty was almost entirely … mental.
Goodbye meat, goodbye cheese, goodbye milkshakes, goodbye omelettes, goodbye the basis of our diet since for-freakin’-ever.
There have been some epic fails in the dinner department. Four of them. All because the person who wrote the recipes claimed the meal would be tasty. The author lied. It happens. Cookbook authors are not infallible. But three days into our new Vegan Lifestyle we were kinda vulnerable to despair. It passed. And with each new (and tasty) vegan dinner the transition to becoming a citizen of planet Vegah became easier and easier.
The thought of eating some really good fried chicken is still there … but now it’s followed by a queasy feeling that though it might taste good … I’ll feel physically off afterwards. That’s because the couple of times we strayed from the vegan diet … we didn’t feel very well. Deep fried golden brown and delicious wasn’t supposed to make us feel terrible. But it did. We felt poisoned by food. Weird.
I now have a dozen or so dinner plans that are family pleasers. Breakfasts and lunches are also taken care of. We’ve made it into the cruise control mode. Vegan cooking unencumbered by the thought process. Click on over to http://www.cowspiracy.com/ or give Gene Baur’s new book, Living the Farm Sanctuary Life a read. Good stuff.
Actually, the available evidence, if examined carefully (reading the scientific papers) indicates that the vegan diet is not good. I am an emeritus professor of biochemistry in a medical school and have delved deely into this subject. Vegans typically eat too much vegetable oil (omega-6 fatty acids) and get way too little omega-3 fatty acids (supplied by butter from pasture-fed cows and also by freshly ground flaxseeds). Oxidation of the polyunsaturated fatty acids causes production of malondealdehyde, which derivativizes proteins and leads to all sorts of pathologies, including vascular (heart) problems. Vegans typically eat way too much food containing lots of oxalic acid, which can lead to anemia (as it did me due to being vegan for a long time). Vegans forget that plants have spent many millions of years developing toxins (detailed by many publications of the renowed biochemist Bruce Ames) that undermine the metabolism of predators (like insects and us). Some of the worst are in soybeans and in wheat, leading to impaired guts and many other problems. Meat from grain-fed animals is not very good, either, since the lipids in grains are bad for us and they get transferred to the animals. I prefer wild-caught fish and eggs from free-range chickens raised by a local farmer. Vegans also eat too many processed foods, which lacksthe vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals needed for our cells to funciton well. The best book giving the scientific evidence on these subjects but very readable is PERFECT HEALTH DIET by Jaminet and Jaminet.
I totally agree with you. I don't really care how people enter the plant based life style, because it has so many good side effects. I started it because I thought it would help me achieve a healthy weight. My husband had a raised consciousness about the arrogance of human beings oin thinking everything in the planet and all of the creatures are here for us to use. We have both learned and grown in this lifestyle. 15 years and we will never go back.
I totally agree with you. I don't really care how people enter the plant based life style, because it has so many good side effects. I started it because I thought it would help me achieve a healthy weight. My husband had a raised consciousness about the arrogance of human beings oin thinking everything in the planet and all of the creatures are here for us to use. We have both learned and grown in this lifestyle. 15 years and we will never go back.
I totally agree with you. I don't really care how people enter the plant based life style, because it has so many good side effects. I started it because I thought it would help me achieve a healthy weight. My husband had a raised consciousness about the arrogance of human beings oin thinking everything in the planet and all of the creatures are here for us to use. We have both learned and grown in this lifestyle. 15 years and we will never go back.
I'll take it from your name, MontanaMuleGal, that you practice what you preach. And I'm way ahead of you, but not by choice.
ChicagoMatt, I think the app should be called FlashMob in the Pan.
If you really want to save the planet, don't reproduce.
Actually saying it is about "moderation" is like saying "slavery" is okay in moderation. Many people miss the the point of what "veganism" is. Veganism is nonviolence in action. Veganism is our moral obligation to not use beings that can feel pain and suffer and also have the self interest in living.
We all agree it is morally wrong to hurt animals. Veganism is about changing your paradigim. Currently you have been programmed to think that animals are here to serve us or we are supposed to use them. Actually nothing can be further from the truth.
Go vegan and educate others. Please read the book "Eat Like You Care" and "Animals As Persons."
Also, nonvegans should be called nonvegans, not carnivores. Humans are not carnivores. Not even close.
www.vegankit.com
Moderation! Maybe I can reduce my risk by oh maybe 50%. But summer is coming. Grilling season. Better shoot for 25%...... Who am I kidding.
I've been a vegetarian for about 40 years & do not miss the meat, although I remember fondly some of the dishes I made as a young wife. I was a devoted follower of James Beard. I still salivate at the memory of his Chicken with 40 pieces of garlic!
I continued to cook Beard's & many other meat dishes for my late husband & now for my boyfriend, but keep my own vegetarian ways. Now, almost a half century later, it would nauseate me to consume a steak, ham or bird dish, although I do consume an occasional egg or cheese dish.
I've found that there are many delicious things that can be done with vegetables & fruits
Cowspiracy is a very compelling documentary. It really helps to see the true impact of animal agriculture. It is a real change to go from omnivore to vegan. I approached it as an adventure 15 years ago and the food is actually more varied and my tastes have completely changed. It takes a commitment and eventually the new lifestyle is completely comfortable and second nature.
Thanks Lee for that one...I'd not heard of that book.
You are right TarryFaster.
I've been vegetarian off and on for 25 years, vegan now for 8. The common question, where does a vegan get their protein? In the plant kingdom. Meat provides some nutrients that also can be gained from eating from the pksnt kingdom, but b12. The animals humans consume are all plant-eaters but perhaps pigs.
Man does not need to eat animal protein to survive. Omnivores (I once was one), just have a difficult time letting go of eating meat. It is not easier to cook a omnivore meal than a plant-based one, from my experience. It may seem so, but cooking anyway new, or different just takes planning and an open mind. Sautéed veggies, a cooked grain, pasta, legumes, salad, isn't much different than a standard American diet meal, minus the animal protein.
Few theories I have is it's: 1.) psychological, 2.) humans love the taste of the fat either in meat or used to season/cook meat, why it's hard to give it up.
I live in "beef" country, in the West, surrounded by Angus farmers. I have no problem finding everything I need here to cook a delicious and nutritious meal for my omnivore hubby. Veggies may be limited in a town of 3K with one grocery store, but there are grains, legumes, spices, tofu, veggies and fruit, flour, sugar, alternative milks, even ice creams and gluten-free products (I'm celiac too).
I am not pushy, do not preach about the benefits of my diet, nor encourage others to change theirs, unless they're curious about why I became vegan or are interested in how to cook something. My husband has 3 immediate family members who had or have died of 3 different cancers, 1 was a niece. None of them belief it was diet related. Obviously no one knows for sure. But their diets are the SAD (standard American Diet), except they eat little vegetables and fruit, and a lot of sweets, ie sugar.
I have only mentioned that I've read that cancer cells love sugar. All their doctors have said their diets are not a concern, nor is the sugar. I feel one of the problems with the omnivore/vegan diet debate is most in the medical field do not get nutritional training, and aren't qualified to advise what is healthy or not. "A little of this once in a while" is a standard motto, and my in-laws/my own family say just that.
I forsee just as Thom as previously predicted in 2004, us fighting over water. This is just the tip of the iceberg. We can not continue to live the way we have. I do not believe our Paleolithic ancestors were meat eaters solely. I personally believe the Paleo Diet is another faze.
We can all choose to eat the way we choose, without regard to how, where we get our food. But, eventually it will affect us all with what resources are available to us all.
The standard retorts and excuses to our national and global food/water shortage issues will affect us all. It will be no easy task to satisfy all, and share our resources.
Thank you Tarry for sharing the http://www.cowspiracy.com link, it is worth watching by all.
An alternative perspective regarding the nutrition and disease part of your view is persuasively argued by Nina Teicholz in her book The Big Fat Surprise. It is worth a look. She wouldn't differ regarding the economcis and impact on the planet.
ChicagoMatt ~ Actually, I disagree. The more the merrier. If both work, both share the cooking duties. If they have kids, the kids help cook too. After all, how else are they going to develop good lifelong habits?
What you do is designate what days you have free to cook and do all the work for the week on those days. Cook at least two good meals so you can alternate throughout the week. Discuss what you want the following week during dinner and assign each other shopping tasks so that everything is ready by friday.
Saturday afternoon everyone gets a prep job before they go out or watch TV. Sunday, everything is cooked and sunday evening the dish of choice is served. That evening, all the rest of the food is packaged and refrigerated for the week. That way, when everyone comes home its just a simple matter of dishing out the food and warming in a microwave--leaving mom and dad free to relax, play with the kids, or take them to sport practice as they see fit during the week. Meantime, everyone eats right. Besides eating healthy, food prep and cooking is also good exercise.