November 2008



In this edition...

Top Stories
  American voters victoriously bust myths about animal rights movement
  Actor leads attack on Australia's chicken farms
  New diet actually reverses diabetes, heart disease
  A brief history of veganism

Health
  'Western' diet causes a third of heart attacks - study
  Brain link to mother's high fat diet and offspring's obesity
  Why is mercury-laden tuna still legal?
  Molecule in red meat, milk linked to cancer progression

Environment
  Why don't environmentalists say it: 'Greener lifestyle means eating less meat'?
  Greenpeace claims endangered fish found on supermarket shelves
  Meatless pizza in a brave new world

Lifestyles and Trends
  The creative vegan
  Activists link religion and animal rights
  The new vegetarianism: Introducing the flexitarian
  Veggie experiences: Finding myself on the farm

Animal Issues and Advocacy
  A remembrance: David Foster Wallace considered the lobsters
  10 Questions for PETA's Ingrid Newkirk
  Wayne Pacelle, HSUS: The barnyard strategist
  Hopeful signs in Tanzania: Animal welfare bill passed

Books, Films and Perspectives
  India's vegetarian entree takes cookbook 'Oscar'
  Organic veggie diet a winner

Of Note - Recipes, Vacations, Obama-mania and More!
 

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(Excerpts are included from current news stories. Click on the "Full story" link to read the full article.)
  Top Stories    


American voters victoriously bust myths about animal rights movement
Full story: Trading Markets, U.S.

Dog-lovers nationwide cheered as Barack Obama declared that he will be bringing a puppy to the White House. But the real victory for animals came at the polls themselves. In California and Massachusetts, voters passed ballot propositions that could have far-reaching consequences for animal protection in America. The biggest victory came in California, where 63 per cent of voters passed into law Proposition 2, which effectively bans the caged confinement of veal calves, gestating pigs and egg-laying hens. . . But the new laws' biggest impact could be to break down some of the myths associated with the animal protection movement [all over the world]. Most significantly, voters burst the myth that the animal protection movement can't achieve real change. On [election] night, America's voters sidelined [factory farm] lobbyists. The National Pork Producers Council responded with shock: Its president, Bryan Black, was quoted in Pork Magazine worrying that California could be a "bellwether" for similar initiatives in other states. For the sake of the animals, let's hope he's right.

Trading Markets, U.S. - November 8
Related:
Change can happen - by Ingrid Newkirk, PETA
Quote: We have broken through a significant barrier [with the election of Barack Obama], but we cannot stop there. We must now break down the barrier that prevents us from caring about all the "others" who are "not like us," regardless of race, regardless of gender - and regardless of species. And for those who think that we will never be able to achieve the dream of liberation from oppression, not just for human beings but for all beings, I have just three words for you: Yes. We. Can. - The Monitor, TX, U.S. (November 7)
Factory farms under fire
Quote:“If most people knew the reality of how abused farm animals are, they would be outraged,” said Paul Shapiro, senior director of a Humane Society of the United States campaign to protect livestock on factory farms. - Kansas City Star, KS, U.S. (October 30)
Putting animal cruelty on the ballot - interview with Wayne Pacelle of HSUS
Time Magazine, U.S. (November 4)


Actor leads attack on Australia's chicken farms
Full story: The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia

Animal welfare group Voiceless says labels can mislead, with so-called "free-range" and "corn-fed" chicken still mostly factory farmed, cramped into small spaces and pumped with antibiotics. Actor Hugo Weaving, an ambassador for Voiceless, has called for more detailed packaging so consumers can make informed choices. "There should be proper labelling on all animal products," he said. "If you are going to have a chicken industry, at least the law should be protecting animals from suffering. The legislation is not good enough." A Voiceless report, From Nest To Nugget: An Expose Of Australia's Chicken Factories, will be released [November 24]. Weaving urged the public to take more responsibility for their choices. He said he had become a vegetarian when his children were young because of the discord he felt existed between his respect for animals and his eating habits.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - November 23

New diet actually reverses diabetes, heart disease
Full story: Fox News 26, TX, U.S. (video)

A cardiologist in Houston has come up with a special diet that reverses diabetes and heart disease. "Under the diet, Dr. Baxter Montgomery encourages patients to eat plant-based foods, minimally processed foods, and to eat whole foods, as close to their natural state as possible. "Dr. Montgomery also steers his patients away from meat, which he calls "animal flesh." He says our digestive systems aren't actually meant to digest meats and it puts an extra burden on the body." [This short must-see video has interviews with patients and Dr. Montgomery.]

Fox News 26, TX, U.S. (video) - November 13

A brief history of veganism
Full story: Time Magazine, U.S.

Veganism is an extreme form of vegetarianism, and though the term was coined in 1944, the concept of flesh-avoidance can be traced back to ancient Indian and eastern Mediterranean societies. Vegetarianism is first mentioned by the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras of Samos around 500 BCE. In addition to his theorem about right triangles, Pythagoras promoted benevolence among all species, including humans. Followers of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism also advocated vegetarianism, believing that humans should not inflict pain on other animals.

Time Magazine, U.S. - October 30
 
  Health    

'Western' diet causes a third of heart attacks - study
Full story: Reuters

Diets heavy in fried foods, salty snacks and meat account for about 35 per cent of heart attacks globally, researchers reported. Their study of 52 countries showed that people who ate a "Western" diet based on meat, eggs and junk food were more likely to have heart attacks, while those who ate more fruits and vegetables had a lower risk. The study supports previous findings that show junk food and animal fats can cause heart disease, and especially heart attacks. Dr. Salim Yusuf at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, and colleagues questioned more than 16,000 patients, 5,700 of whom had just suffered a first heart attack.

Reuters - October 20

Brain link to mother's high fat diet and offspring's obesity
Full story: NutraIngredients, Europe

A high fat diet during pregnancy may bring about changes in the offsring's brain that makes them more prone to over-eating and obesity throughout their lives, according to a new rat study that may help explain the rise in childhood obesity. The researchers hypothesize that because the mother must prepare her embryos to survive on her diet, they need to be born with the brain mechanisms that allow them to eat and metabolize it. [Editor's note: We deplore the use of animals in any research - surely there was an alternative.]

NutraIngredients, Europe - November 12

Why is mercury-laden tuna still legal?
Full story: Mother Jones

First, Deborah Landvik-Fellner's hair started falling out. Then her speech began to slur and her memory grew unreliable. Her heart started fluttering, and her hands shook. One day she collapsed for no apparent reason. Landvik-Fellner, then 45, went to one doctor, then another, and another. None could figure out what was wrong. Finally, [mercury poisoning was identified as the cause]. . . For some 12 years, she'd been eating a can of albacore tuna every day. She'd never realized that most tuna sold in the United States is contaminated with the toxic heavy metal. . . "People come in complaining of slurred speech, clumsiness, and vision problems. It is usually related to fish," [a doctor] says. The U.S. FDA helped industry suppress the bad news about mercury. Still want fish for dinner?

Mother Jones - September/October

Molecule in red meat, milk linked to cancer progression
Full story: Meat & Poultry

Consumption of red meat and milk products may contribute to the increased risk of cancerous tumors, according to research conducted at the University of California at San Diego's School of Medicine. The researchers' findings suggest inflammation resulting from a molecule introduced through consumption of the foods may promote tumor growth and were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Meat & Poultry - November 14

More on health:
Saturated fats, intestinal cancer linked
WebMD (November 13)
Soy-rich diet improves arteries in stroke patients
Reuters (September 24)
Eating red meat, dairy helps provide fertile ground for food poison germ
Yahoo News! (October 29)
New study shows fruit reduces risk of esophageal cancer
Natural News (November 4)
Research: One in four thousand humans are carriers of mad cow-like disease
News-Medical.net (October 21)

 
  Environment    

Why don't environmentalists say it: 'Greener lifestyle means eating less meat'?
Full story: Vancouver Sun, BC, Canada

Want to lead a greener life? We all know the mantra: Drive a fuel-efficient car, insulate your house, change your light bulbs, reuse those grocery bags. Okay, how about this: Eat less meat? It's a message we hardly ever hear. Yet according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, livestock production is responsible for significantly more greenhouse gas emissions worldwide than transportation. That's why Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Nobel-Prize-winning body that collates and interprets climate change data for the world's governments, is now asking people in the developed world to reduce their meat intake by a meal or more each week. But if eating less meat is that critical to the planet's future, why do environmental groups say nothing - or next to nothing - about it?

Vancouver Sun, BC, Canada - October 25
Related:
Why is the 'eat less meat' message such a hard sell?
Vancouver Sun (October 31)
The problem with locavores
American Prospect (October 22)



Greenpeace claims endangered fish found on supermarket shelves
Full story: City News, Toronto, Canada

As part of a national campaign, Greenpeace is urging Canadians to stop buying certain types of fish sold at the country's largest grocer that are either threatened or fished in a way that could lead to their extinction. Police arrested two activists after they climbed the roof of a Loblaws store in [Toronto's] east end and unfurled several giant banners. "We are asking Loblaws and other retailers to take the pressure off threatened fisheries now by purchasing their seafood only from sustainably managed fisheries. If they don't, there soon won't be any fish left to sell," [said a spokesperson].

City News, Toronto, Canada - November 6
Related:
Europe casts a net for dying fish
Quote: Saskia Richartz, a campaigner on ocean policy with Greenpeace, has expressed doubts that deep-sea fishing can be both ecologically sustainable and financially viable. "Given the longevity and low reproductive rate of deep-sea fish, fishing for deep-sea fish is like hunting for elephants as if they were rabbits," she said. - IPS (October 28)
Thousands join bluefin tuna boycott
Environmental News Network/WWF (November 20)
Tried the Slimehead? Delicious!
How renaming fish is hastening their extinction - The Tyee, BC, Canada (October 20)


Meatless pizza in a brave new world
Full story: Elmira Independent, ON, Canada

Nothing says happy eating like pizza night, unless of course somebody comes up with the bright idea of ordering the vegetarian offering. The mere suggestion that somebody should forgo a 12-ounce steak (medium rare, thank you) for environmental reasons, undermines the very freedom of choice (not to mention consumer and food product gluttony) we've built our western societies upon. . . Once the seemingly alarmist, eat-less-meat claims are investigated, one can't help but realize that kicking the meat habit, or at the very least, eating less of it, is a sensible solution for a number of reasons. But a Meat Lover's pizza without the meat just ain't the same.

Elmira Independent, ON, Canada - October 20
Related:
The meat doesn't make the man
Universtity of McGill Daily, Montreal, Canada (October 27)

 
  Lifestyles and Trends    

The creative vegan
Full story: News & Observer, NC, U.S.

There's almost no end to the list of skills Dilip Barman possesses. He is a teacher, a computer scientist, a photographer, a competitive organic rose gardener and a cooking instructor. Barman, 46, also is president of the Triangle Vegetarian Society. Since the fall of 2005, Barman, who is a vegan, has undertaken an interesting challenge: to never cook the same dinner for his wife, Sangeeta. As Barman wrote on his Web site: "We weren't together every night, but since fall 2005, we've shared most dinners. I think I can keep up the unique creations through spring 2006 - maybe beyond!" Well, it's September 2008 and Barman hasn't run out of vegan inspiration yet.

News & Observer, NC, U.S. - September 7

Activists link religion and animal rights
Full story: Halifax Chronicle-Herald, NS, Canada

It is impossible to eat meat without violence. An animal, after all, has to be killed before it can be consumed. And that means Jessica Smith, a Hindu, doesn't eat meat. "It's as ancient as the faith," says Smith, who helped start a vegetarian food bank. In fact, it's an impulse as ancient as most faiths. The Hebrew Bible, known as the Old Testament to Christians and considered a holy book in Islam, for instance, instructs man to care for creation - including animals. So it is not surprising that animal welfare groups are drawing a connection between religious teachings and animal rights.

Halifax Chronicle-Herald, NS, Canada - October 25

The new vegetarianism: Introducing the flexitarian
Full story: Telegraph, UK

'I've been a vegetarian ever since I was about 11 years old, when I went to a farm and saw where all the meat came from," says 27-year-old mother-of-two Polly Eason. "Nowadays, I just eat organic, free-range meat once or twice a week." Did you spot the contradiction? Polly is one of a growing number of vegetarians who occasionally eat meat . . . she's a flexitarian. Today, it is believed that as much as 45 per cent of consumers are actively reducing the amount of meat they eat. Families who now "go flexitarian" a couple of times a week have come together with pragmatic veggies to create a new breed of health-conscious consumers.

Telegraph, UK - November 17
Related:
Part-time vegetarians
Advocates call it flexitarianism, but critics say being a little bit vegetarian is like being a little bit pregnant. - Newsweek Magazine, U.S. (September 29)


Veggie experiences: Finding myself on the farm
Full story: E/The Environmental Magazine

The summer before senior year in college is anxiety ridden. Questions like "What am I doing with my life?," or the more common, less dramatic, "Where can I get an internship?" cloud a student's head as thoughts of the real world take over. I was fortunate to find an unlikely job that I loved: Working at an organic farm. . . As a vegan for nearly four years, I wanted to be around people who enjoyed eating and preparing good food and could participate in the environmental, political and ethical discussions I relished. . . Farmers' markets are, in a sense, a microcosm for the way in which our society needs to shift: A place where people talk to and respect their neighbors, where community-based business is supported, where health consciousness is established and where quality over quantity is at the forefront.

E/The Environmental Magazine - November 9
 
  Animal Issues and Advocacy    


A remembrance: David Foster Wallace considered the lobsters
Full story: American Chronicle

Readers around the world are mourning the loss of David Foster Wallace. Hailed by The Boston Globe as "probably the most important novelist of his generation," his brilliant essays graced publications such as The New Yorker and GQ. But I will remember David Foster Wallace for his lobsters. In August 2004, Gourmet magazine published "Consider the Lobster," Wallace's nearly 8,000-word dispatch on the Maine Lobster Festival. Rather than focus on the expected - the food or the crowds or even PETA's obligatory protest - Wallace turned his attention to the lobsters themselves, desperately trying to escape the pot. "Is it all right to boil a sentient creature alive just for our gustatory pleasure?" he asked.

American Chronicle - October 8

10 Questions for PETA's Ingrid Newkirk
Full story: Time Magazine

[Time interviewed Ingrid Newkirk, head of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.] Q: Is there a simple, everyday way people can help animals? A: Absolutely. Give your dog or cat respect, patience, understanding and love. And if you just change to one vegetarian day a week, that's a wonderful step that will save animal lives. It means you have chosen something kind instead of something cruel. Q: Do you have any fun fighting for animal rights, or is it all seriousness and horror? A: We would have all jumped off a ledge by now if we hadn't had some fun along the way. I think people who don't know PETA often miss the fact that we're poking fun at ourselves while we're trying to get people to open their eyes. [Watch the video (scroll down).]

Time Magazine - October 23
From the archives:
The PETA principal - a profile of Ingrid Newkirk
Quote: Her most ardent supporters, were they able to express themselves, would surely be animals themselves. Newkirk is the loudest voice the animal kingdom has ever known. If Dr. Dolittle talked to them, then Newkirk talks for them. - Financial Times, U.S. - free registration required (November 7)


Wayne Pacelle, HSUS: The barnyard strategist
Full story: New York Times

Not long ago, I stood outside a closed-down slaughterhouse in Chino, Calif., with Wayne Pacelle, the first vegan to become president of the Humane Society of the United States. The trucks that once arrived at all hours of the morning and night, loaded with cows, were long gone. The slaughter chute that once moved about 500 cattle a day into the "kill box" sat motionless. It was an animal rights advocate's dream: Pacelle and his organization had shuttered this $100 million plant, with the help of an undercover investigator wearing a hidden video camera. . . Pacelle says he can see the potential to influence millions of animal lovers by pushing them to expand their concerns, moving beyond the cuddly dogs and cats - and the baby seals and dolphins - that capture Americans' attention to include the billions of less-visible and far-less- romanticized pigs, cows and chickens raised for food every year.

New York Times - October 26

Hopeful signs in Tanzania: Animal welfare bill passed
Full story: AllAfrica/Arusha Times, Tanzania

Being either a cow, goat, donkey, dog, cat or chicken in Arusha is a horrifying life. The animals are left to roam freely in Arusha's dusty roads and streets to fend for themselves, and yet they have owners. Chickens, although they are a delicacy in most homes and restaurants, are the most cruelly treated especially when bundled on wheel barrows or transported on bicycles upside down heading to be slaughtered in "Nyama Choma" places. The situation, however, will soon work out in favour of the animals and birds as the National Assembly has passed the Animal Welfare Act, 2008 Bill that safeguards the rights and welfare of animals, especially domestic ones.

AllAfrica/Arusha Times, Tanzania - November 8
 
  Books, Films and Perspectives    

India's vegetarian entree takes cookbook 'Oscar'
Full story: Economic Times, India

Frankfurt's magnificent 19th century Alte Opera building is the setting. The evocative strains of Mozart's symphonies rise dramatically above the well-heeled hubbub. It's the day for the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, already acknowledged as the "Oscars" of foodwriting, the only international event of its kind. But the new category in the limelight this year is the "Best of the Best," singling out just 96 titles from among the 2,000,000 food and wine books brought out by 5,000 publishers since the awards were instituted 12 years ago. In other words, the Nobel prizes of culinary writing. Among the laureates [is] lone Indian awardee Rashmi Uday Singh. She's almost speechless with pride that Around the World in 80 Plates featuring recipes from renowned international chefs is judged the "Best of the Best" among vegetarian books. "I wrote this book for love and this universe responded with love," says Singh, her head still swimming with the sounds and sights of that magnificent ceremony.

Economic Times, India - October 22

Organic veggie diet a winner
Full story: Windsor Star, ON

Inspired by a documentary about eating only McDonald's for 30 days, Jenna Norwood decided to go for the opposite and only eat raw, organic food for a month. The result? A weight loss of 15 pounds, improved vision, higher energy levels, and a documentary called Supercharge Me! 30 Days Raw, which has won several awards at independent films festivals with a wide release expected in January. She decided to continue with her new regime after the 30 days and lost another 15 pounds. "Things happened beyond my expectations. I had been a vegetarian for 26 years but I was an unhealthy vegetarian, eating a lot of junk and processed foods and always eating on the run," Norwood said. "This led to an absolute, complete change for me."

Windsor Star, ON - November 11
 
  Of Note - Recipes, Vacations, Obama-mania and More!    

Happy Thanksgiving to our American readers - and everyone else too!
All can truly give thanks when Thanksgiving and the festive season are celebrated without creating suffering for fellow creatures. There are so many wonderful dishes for all to enjoy. Just check out the menu below from the Triangle Vegetarian Society's Thanksgiving Feast 2008. It's enough to make you want to move to North Carolina! Recently the Wall Street Journal compared some turkey substitutes. Plus we've listed some sources for special menus and recipes. If you want to celebrate with traditional French-Canadian fare, type "French-Canadian" into the search box of our own VegE-News recipes. Thanks to a reader request, you can also now easily browse through all of our recipes. And, last but not least, check out Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-A-Turkey Project. That handsome dude "Oak" in the gallery of adoptees has been adopted by our family!
Amazing menu from Triangle Vegetarian Society
Ten sites for thanksgiving recipes
Festive menu from Vegan.com
VegE-News recipes
Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Wall Street Journal article rates faux turkey
Adopt-A-Turkey

Holiday greeting cards
You can also find seasonal recipes on our VegE-News note cards - the winter scene cards make lovely holiday greeting cards with an added treat. Each has a tasty vegan recipe on the back. Recipes include: Festive Eggless Nog, Pistachio Stuffed Mushrooms, Squash & Apple Soup, New Year's Eve Leek, Cashew & Black Olive Penne, Festive Cranberry & Pear Salad, Apple Pear Sauce.
VegE-News note cards

Vegging in Mexico - in style
Luxury and respect for the environment go hand in hand at Balamku Inn on the Beach, located in an unspoiled part of the Mayan Riviera. We've heard the breakfasts - vegan on request - are amazing! Veggie meals are also available at the restaurants in nearby Mahahual.
Balamku Inn on the Beach

Obama-mania and food policy
Obama-mania seems to be a world-wide phenomenon. Certainly, there is promise for a kinder, gentler - not to mention more enlightened - view from the White House. The video below caught Obama responding to a question from Nikki Benoit, of Florida Voices for Animals, on food policy (you may need to turn your volume up.) We were impressed that he chose to call on someone wearing a Vegan Outreach T-shirt. Also below is a repeat of HSUS's endorsement and a link to Michael Pollan's open letter to the "Farmer in Chief" along with Vegan.com's response.
President-elect Obama on food policy
Humane Society endorses its first presidential candidate
Open letter from Michael Pollan - New York Times (October 12)
Vegan.com response to open letter
Vegan Outreach

'One world, one conscience'
One Voice is launching the One World, One Conscience movement. Their website says: "I’m listening to my conscience and I object to the economic violence generated by meat production. I am moving onto civil action by reducing or removing meat consumption from my diet. I am therefore launching “the butterfly effect” to provide solutions to global warming, serious environmental problems, the lack and pollution of water, deforestation, hunger in the world and animal suffering." You can read more at the link below. If you haven't already, you can also sign the "Animals Matter to Me" petition. Almost 1.8 million people around the world have signed, but the goal is ten million!
One Voice
"Animals Matter to Me" petition

Major media coverage - a good sign
The articles in this and past editions on animal issues from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, The Sydney Morning Herald, and other major outlets around the world is encouraging indeed!

A note for veggie organizations and members
If you are a vegetarian organization that would like to discuss having your own customized version of VegE-News, let us know. We are pleased to produce customized versions of VegE-News for the Australian Vegetarian Society, Vegetarians of Alberta, Toronto Vegetarian Association, and Winnipeg Vegetarian Association with their logo, a link to their website and local events listed. If you are a member of one of those organizations, but not receiving the customized version, just drop us an email to be switched to the specific list. Your comments are always welcome!
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