December 2008

GREETINGS

Yes, we have held another successful Pre-Thanksgiving Feast! Several last-minute volunteers (to our great relief) filled all our needs. We fed 128 guests, including many repeaters who have made our PreThanksgiving Feast an annual tradition and also quite a few new faces – and welcome to those of you receiving this issue of our newsletter because you signed up for further contact with us. We made about $400 after paying our expenses, so MARV is in the black and in good financial shape for the coming year. And it looked to me like a good time was had by all.

Thank you to all who gave their time and energy to make this possible: Mary Brennan, Barb Eisenberg, Wanda Embar, Jean Groshek, Barb, RJ, and Jared Gruenwald, Cindy Juds, Pat Courtney, MaryBeth Koenig, Kathleen Mohr, Pat O’Neill, Dustin Paluch, Bill and Jan Seybold, Ron and Judy Strampe, Monica Thomas, and Amy Stanley. And an extra special Thank You to Jody Johnson, our amazing food/ kitchen coordinator and David Paluch who manages all our printed materials, flyers, signage, tickets, and handouts. We could not have done it without all of you.

On a semi-related note, I/we were mentioned in a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Food section article on Nov. 19. Food editor Nancy Stohs wrote an article about doing Thanksgiving for her family that now includes vegetarians, and interviewed me on the phone and quoted me in her article, which was quite favorable to vegetarianism, and mentioned MARV. Yes!

Have very happy holidays.

M.A.R.V. ACTIVITIES

Sunday, Dec. 7, 5 PM, regular potluck at the Friends’ Meeting House, 3324 N. Gordon Pl. in Riverwest (from Humboldt Blvd., go east on Auer a few short blocks to the parking lot). Theme will be holiday treats (but we need food as well!).

Subsequent regular potlucks will be on Jan. 4, Feb. 1, March 1, April 5, and May 3.

Other veg-friendly meetings

The macrobiotic potluck will be hosted by Alan Owens at 5310 W. Loomis Rd. on Dec. 14 at 5 PM. Phone 414-421-1725.

The Urban Ecology Center’s vegetarian potluck will be on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 6:30 PM at 1500 E. Park Pl. – bring plate and fork as well as your meatless dish. Phone is 414-964-8505.

To find out about Vegan Meetup’s possible December events, check the Vegan Meetup website.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“Some food safety experts are perplexed as to how melamine was allowed to seep into China’s food supplies after melamine-tainted pet-food exports from China were blamed last year for sickening [pets] in the U.S… ‘A year ago, everybody should have been in a complete panic about it and done something then,’ said Marion Nestle…”

New York Times, Nov. 1

NEWS

The Chinese melamine food contamination scandal continued to spread and make news over the past month. It became clear that the toxic substance, used to artificially boost apparent protein content of food when that is tested, had gotten into China’s animal feed supplies. It showed up in Hong Kong in eggs imported from China, and various countries including the U.S. are testing all kinds of products including animal and fish feeds as well as foods consumed directly by humans like dairy products but also candies and cookies. Traces of the chemical were found in U.S. infant formula, probably related to the fact that China exports all kinds of food ingredients to the rest of the world. Tons of tainted animal feed were destroyed by Chinese officials, while further lawsuits there were begun by families whose children died or were injured by melamine-laced formula. The FDA has become aware that U.S. chickens and hogs have been fed with melamine-tainted wheat gluten imported from China, but no meat has been recalled – in case one needed another reason not to eat meat…

In a different intersection of pet and human food, there was a report of 79 humans who ate dry pet food made in a Pennsylvania factory being sickened by salmonella in it.

There was yet another manure spill, this time in Illinois, from a factory sow farm. No wonder, therefore, that an Iowa City man went to court to stop construction of two huge hog operations next to his land, citing concerns about manure runoff and property values. Why would a Fond du Lac dairy question the need for an environmental impact statement that Wisconsin’s DNR is requiring before allowing them to build an 8,000 cow “farm”?

Then there is mad cow disease, and its deer cousin, chronic wasting disease. A deer herd on a Portage County hunting preserve had to be destroyed this month due to the latter. And at the same time that meat lobbyists were holding a conference claiming that mad cow disease is not really a risk, other farmers were worrying aloud to Wisconsin State Farmer that new rules designed to prevent brains and spinal cords of older cows from entering the food supply could result in too many farmers burying or abandoning carcasses on their land.

In follow-up on previously reported news about abuses at factory-farm “organic” dairies, the USDA had published a rule to clarify requirements for pasturing of organic cows. California is not waiting, however; on election day a proposition was passed that will phase out the use in that state of such “modern methods of production” as keeping hens, pigs, and veal calves in pens too small for them to stand up, turn around, and stretch.

Alas, Wisconsin State Farmer reported that red meat production in the U.S. was at a record high in September. On the other hand, that big kosher meatpacker in Iowa that was in trouble over its labor practices has filed for bankruptcy.

In water news, California is facing such a continuing drought that the state is planning to reduce water deliveries next year to farmers as well as cities, and people are resorting to water dousers to find places to dig wells.

On a different note, ABC News issued a report on foods that are likeliest to cause pain and suffering. Not all were animal foods: tomatoes, potatoes, and citrus fruits can sometimes cause food sensitivities or allergies; the sugar in soda can cause inflammation and tooth decay; and chocolate and wine can be problems for some people sensitive to them. But bacon, eggs, cheese, and processed meats made the list as well.

Meanwhile, of course, plant foods are still good for you.

An AARP Magazine article looked at tactics to help the body heal from injury or illness, and nutrition was one of its focuses. Tips included getting whole-food carbohydrates for energy, from nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains; getting extra protein to repair injured tissues – with the note that plant-based proteins like beans and nuts may be preferable to animal proteins; and eating at least five servings of deeply-colored fruits and vegetables each day, to get vitamin C and the various carotenoids among other vitamins and minerals.

A Healthwise article on keeping the brain fit included dietary advice. One tip was to reduce intake of foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol (= animal foods), and to bake or grill food rather than fry to reduce fat in general. Another was to increase protective foods such as dark-skinned fruits and vegetables (spinach, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, beets, prunes, raisins, blueberries, strawberries, oranges, and red grapes were mentioned). Nuts were also mentioned as beneficial, and (inevitably) certain fish high in omega-3 fatty acids – vegetarians can eat flax seeds and their oil, hemp seed oil, walnuts, and dark green leafy veggies instead.

Speaking of red grapes, a new scientific study on resveretrol, the substance in red grape juice and red wine that is known to be healthful, suggested that resveretrol may work by activating a substance that restores chromosomal integrity which becomes compromised as people age.

The clear benefits of eating fruits and vegetables (as well as rising prices for food) have persuaded European Union regulators to scrap rules which banned the sale of produce that was ugly and misshapen but otherwise edible.

Prevention magazine ran a lengthy article on home remedies for a variety of aches and ailments – which were interestingly vegetarian. Ginger, for example, was named as a cure for nausea. A teaspoon or two of sugar can stop the hiccups. A sore throat cure is to gargle twice daily with a solution of 6 pressed garlic cloves mixed with warm water. For cough suppression, a square or two of dark chocolate was recommended. The juice of half a lemon squeezed into a cup along with its empty shell, plus boiling water and a teaspoon of honey should help prevent or at least ease and shorten a cold. Bad breath might be treated by gargling with a small cup of lemon juice and then eating unsweetened yogurt or soygurt with active cultures. Olive oil can soften and help heal chapped lips. And cherries were suggested for alleviating insomnia.

A different Prevention article featured foods full of monounsaturated fatty acids, believed to help prevent the growth of unhealthy belly fat. Again, they were all vegetarian: foods rich in MUFAs that the article mentioned were olives, nuts and seeds, oils, avocado, and even dark chocolate.

A variety of produce is now seasonal. One fruit mentioned was the persimmon, loaded with vitamins A and C and also fiber. Another is of course the cranberry, a veritable superfood due to its high proanthocyanidin antioxidant content, and also useful to prevent and heal urinary tract infections and kidney stones; it has uses as a blood purifier as well. Sweet potatoes are of course full of beta-carotene (the vitamin A precursor) and vitamin C. Wild rice is high in protein, fiber, and lysine, as well as potassium, phosphorus, and B vitamins thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin. It takes longer to cook than other rices (and should be rinsed before cooking), but is worth it for the nutty flavor. And mushrooms are rich in protein, minerals, fiber, and B vitamins.

DIALOG

An open letter to President-Elect Obama:

As you prepare to take office during a most serious and still escalating economic crisis, your attention is naturally directed at supporting the economy; it is as they relate to that concern that energy issues and building a new greener infrastructure arise. Nonetheless, of equal or even greater concern in the long run lie a nexus of issues on which our nation desperately needs leadership and new direction – the change you promised in your campaign.

This issue involves one of the largest single uses of energy that our nation makes, as well as one of the largest uses of fresh water, plus one of our country’s worst sources of greenhouse gasses, water pollution and, in some areas, air pollution and dropping housing values; it is also a prime contributor to ill health in the form of heart disease and some cancers and being a contributing factor in type two diabetes. It should be good news that a single national effort could alleviate so many problems. It is not so good news that the problem in question is noticeably difficult to address, because it is the eating of meat and dairy foods.

Since I understand that you and your family eat these foods yourselves, I can easily imagine that it would be difficult for you to recognize this as problematical. Nonetheless, even the UN Food and Ag Org. has reported on the scientific documentation of the energy and water involved in growing feed for food animals, plus shipping it to feedlots, plus the water that food animals consume and the frequent

manure spills from “factory farm” operations. And a great deal of nutritional research points to heavy animal-food consumption (as opposed to making meat a minor component of the diet) as unhealthy in various ways. In a world where some of us become ill due to eating too much meat, dairy, and sweets, while others suffer chronic hunger due to the inability to get the grain and beans that were fed to the animals, a new look at eating habits really is warranted.

Realistically, people used to eating animal foods can’t actually be expected to stop altogether, or overnight. But think what many gains for our nation could be made by a Surgeon General’s national campaign to educate our citizenry on the advantages of cutting their meat- and dairy-eating in half. As demand for meat and dairy would drop, all of the impacts of the current agribusiness supply practices would also decrease. We would be closer to energy independence, and further from running out of water to drink and grow crops for human consumption. If animal foods were replaced by whole grains, beans, peas, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits, people’s nutrition and health would actually improve. Agribusiness mega-corporations would whine, and cattlemen would have to find ways to return to using pasture instead of feedlots. But fortunately, you were not elected by lobby money from them.

One simple change you could make would be to take the task of advising Americans on what to eat away from the USDA, and give it to the Surgeon General instead. Then pick a Surgeon General who would be open to promoting this agenda, perhaps someone involved in the field of complementary therapy. The crises of our time give you both the need and the opportunity to guide the beginning of a change of this magnitude in this area. Think about it.