June 2009

GREETINGS

At our last potluck, we decided to investigate the Grant Park Wil-O-Way building as a site for this year’s Pre-Thanksgiving Feast. It is a sister facility to the one we used the last couple of years and which everyone liked, but in South Milwaukee instead of Wauwatosa. However, a look-see revealed that the place is not kept clean, and that the electrical system (which we need for our Nescos) is inadequate. We are therefore considering returning to South Shore Park Pavilion if we can get in and afford it, or else going back to the Underwood Wil-O-Way. We do like to move the site around the Milwaukee metropolitan area so that people in different parts of town can find the Feast site convenient in different years. Stay tuned.

On another topic altogether, let me take this opportunity to clear up any possible confusion about potluck food themes. As you may have noticed, we usually have either a discussion topic or a cuisine theme at each potluck (and sometimes both). When there is a cuisine theme, however, it is always only just a suggestion, never mandatory – and we never want anyone to think that they should only come if they stick to the theme! While it can be fun to see what different dishes people can come up with within a particular cuisine, the important thing is always just to have a good shared vegetarian meal together. So abandon your inhibitions, and join us at the potlucks! And do note that in any case, choices for a June dish are wide open, since we will be doing our usual “non-dairy month” sampling of non-dairy ice cream substitutes.

M.A.R.V. ACTVITIES

Sunday, June 7, 5 PM, regular potluck at the Friends’ Meeting House, 3224 N. Gordon Pl. in Riverwest (from Humboldt Ave., go east on Auer a few short blocks to the parking lot). We will sample non-dairy “ice creams.”

Subsequent regular potlucks will be on July 5, Aug. 2, Sept. 6?, Oct. 4, and Nov. 1.

Other veg-friendly potlucks

The June macrobiotic potluck will be on Sunday, June 14 at 5 PM at Pat O’Neill’s house, 2431 N. Bartlett. Phone 414-964-9759.

The Urban Ecology Center’s veg potluck will be on Thursday, June 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 June events, check the Vegan Meetup website.

QUOTES OF THE MONTH

“The cow is a climate bomb.” -- Thilo Bode, of the German consumer protection organization Foodwatch.

“”Re…swine flu…this pathogen, and many others (like avian influenza) originated from animals being raised…for food. As the world moves toward raising the majority of animals in the unnatural setting of factory farms, such pathogens will arise. What will it take…to question our addiction to meat and tolerance of factory farming? The meat industry is environmentally devastating, incredibly inhumane, and now potentially the end to us all.” – Edward Machtinger, NY Times letter to the editor

NEWS

The new swine flu outbreak made lots of news during the past month, but it does not seen to be terribly severe after all. It turned out that it had probably been rampant in Mexico for months before it came to worldwide attention but went unnoticed because most cases were relatively mild. This has also proven to be the case as its worldwide spread was tracked over the last few weeks. The outbreak is now pretty much dying down as flu season reaches its natural conclusion; whether this particular flu strain will reappear next Fall, and whether it will be more dangerous when it does, is not known at this time.

As pointed out by the letter-writer quoted above, the current swine flu (not to mention a majority of the great epidemic diseases that have plagued humankind) take their origins from raising animals for food – but these are not the only unfortunate consequences of that practice. The newsletter of Earthjustice, a group that takes legal steps to preserve the environment, reported on a lawsuit against the EPA that challenged a Bush administration rule which would make it easier for factory farms to pollute air with their noxious fumes without having to report it. And due to continuing concerns about mad cow disease, the FDA is implementing a new and more rigorous ban on using animal carcasses as part of animal feed, despite much wailing and grumbling from farmers and ranchers. Perhaps such small steps in the US help explain why Smithfield Foods is moving into eastern Europe, bringing its nasty and disruptive factory farming operations to places like Romania and Poland, and why China (where meat is looked on as proof of being well off) is also welcoming multinational factory-farming meat corporations – an environmental disaster in the making as well as a potential health disaster for the Chinese. For of course meat is bad for people who eat it as well as for the environment: the latest news in this area is a report from Columbia University Medical Center which linked a history of diabetes and elevated cholesterol levels with faster decline in the mental functioning of Alzheimer’s patients. And salmonella food poisoning concerns have now reached the point where frozen heat-and-eat foods are now carrying wanings that they must be heated to a high enough temperature for long enough to really kill the germs which it must now be assumed are in them. And unfortunately, avoiding meat is no longer a solution: this month it was 10-ounce bags of Kleen-Pak spinach that were recalled due to salmonella contamination. Yes, you can still safely eat spinach – if you grow your own or buy it fresh and unbagged, and wash it your-self.

Other food issues include continuing concerns about honeybees – and even if as a vegan you don’t eat honey, honeybees are still vital pollinators of many vegetable crops, and they are still in decline from disease, insecticides, and industrial farming, in Europe as well as the US. The only bright spot in this picture is small-time beekeepers with organic operations: their bees are still doing fine. And then there is ongoing news about water shortfalls, especially in California where winter snows have been below normal for several years now, putting that state’s whole agriculture industry in jeopardy. (If this leads to more bioregional vegetable production, it might not be a bad thing…) On yet another note, I read a recent new book, The Jungle Effect, which looked at indigenous diets from places that are “cold spots” for particular diseases; although its findings about common threads among such diets did not go so far as full vegetarianism, it definitely found that in such diets animal foods are only naturally raised and are used only in small quantities to complement cuisines that consist primarily of vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.

And of course, plant foods are still good for you. A new study found that vegetarians have higher salicylic acid levels in their blood than non-vegetarians, which would help their bodies reduce the inflammation that can be a factor in many diseases including cancer, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. So it is of interest that the CDC along with the Produce for Better Health Foundation is trying again to create guidelines that will help Americans eat more fruits and vegetables – an important task, since most do not eat nearly enough. Even relatively small changes can make a difference: researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health calculated that just going meatless one day a week can reduce saturated fat intake by 15% and produce significant health gains; Prevention suggested eating legumes instead of meat, and using savory foods like mushrooms, sweet ptotates, tomatoes, and walnuts, as well as aged cheeses, to satisfy cravings for rich flavors during one’s meatless days.

Besides the general health benefits of fruits and vegetables, many particular foods have particular uses. A Prevention article pointed out that eating garlic reduces the risk of heart disease, that dark chocolate can help ease persistent coughing, and that fresh cranberries, apples, aged cheeses, and grapefruit seed extract can all help fight cavities. Another item pointed out that stone fruits such as peaches, plums, apricots, and nectarines are good sources of health-giving antioxidents. The Center for Science in the Public Interest ranked vegetables’ nutrient content, and gave kale its top rating, with other leafy greens, canned pumpkin, sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, and red bell peppers close behind.

Another article discussed 5 nutrients that many people fail to get enough of, as well as foods that supply them. Vitamin E can be found in sunflower seeds, wheat germ, vegetable oil, red bell pepper, and canned white beans; potassium can be supplied by baked potato with its skin, edamame, cooked spinach, cooked, lentils, and bananas; calcium can be found in tofu and dark green leafies as well as dairy foods (and fortified soymilk and orange juice); vitamin A comes from orange-fleshed produce like sweet potato, winter squashes including pumpkin, carrots, cantaloupe, and apricots (fresh or dried); and magnesium can be found in black beans, Brazil nuts, okra, brown rice, and almonds.

A Swedish study found that people who drink 3 to 5 cups of caffeinated coffee daily gained some protection against developing dementia; they suggested that coffee’s magnesium, anti-oxidents, and caffeine might be protective factors.

Then there are the monounsaturated fatty acids that help people lose weight (when eaten moderately) and flatten their bellies, and which are prominent in olives, nuts and seeds, avocados, vegetable oils, and dark chocolate. Avocados were also featured in the Whole Foods magazine, not only for their mufas but also for their potassium, fiber, folate, and vitamin K.

Asparagus is still in season as I write, and is a most health-giving (as well as delicious) dark green leafy, full of folate, as well as calcium, potassium, and vitamin C. And strawberries are just coming into season, with their vitamin C and beta-carotene and other antioxidents. Other early-summer produce includes scallions, radishes, tender young lettuces, spinach, and peas.

CONNECTIONS

The North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS) runs a huge Vegetarian Summerfest each year. The 2009 one will be on July 8-12, at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, PA. It features dozens of known and knowledgeable speakers, vegan meals, networking and entertainment. If you’re interested, come to the June potluck where there will be flyers/ registration forms, or phone me (Louise) at 414-962-2703 and I’ll send you one, or phone NAVS at 518-568-7970, or email vegfest@telenet.net.

The Vegetarian Resource Group looked at the largest restaurant chains in the US, and identified 9 that seemed to them the most veg-friendly. You can see the list by going to http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2008issue4/whos_veggie_friendly.html, and you can suggest a restaurant chain to them by going to www.vrg.org.

One of the best ways to eat locally, if you’re not growing your own or using a CSA (or if you want additional produce beyond what you get in those ways) is to buy at your local Farmers’ Market. You can even ask the sellers whether their stuff is organic – they generally will tell you. There are so many Farmer’s Markets in our area now that the Outpost Exchange (from which I usually copy the information) is no longer listing them all. This is a good thing. Nor does it leave you completely on your own, for you can search for farmers markets at www.localharvest.org.

ENTERTAINMENT

Vegetarian Times asked its readers for vegetarian jokes, and printed several in its May/June issue. I figured I’d pass them on. After all, no matter how much things matter, it still isn’t good to be serious all the time. Enjoy:

A couple sits down in a diner. The husband orders a burger, and his wife orders a veggie-burger.

The waitress yells to the cook, “Two burgers, one regular and one de-calf.”

Q: Why does vegan cheese taste so bad?

A: Because it isn’t tested on mice.

Q: Why did the tofu cross the road?

A: To prove that it wasn’t chicken.

Do you realize that vegetarians can solve the energy crisis? They produce enough gas to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels forever…

If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?

Q: What do you call a vegetarian who goes back to eating meat?

A: Someone who lost their veginity.

Q: How many vegans does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Two: one to change the bulb, and the other to check for animal ingredients.