September 2009

GREETINGS

Now that we have a date and site for our PreThanksgiving Feast, it’s time to sign up volunteers to make it happen. We made a start at the August potluck, but still need people for the following jobs: making table decorations (ahead of time); distributing literature (ahead of time); one more person for set-up (3:30 PM to 5 – after that you relax and eat); 3 people for early kitchen crew (4:30 to 6:30 PM); 2 more people for late kitchen crew (5:30 PM to 7:30); and people for dishwashing (6 PM to 8) and clean-up (6:30 PM to 8).

Remember that all volunteers get special tickets which entitle them to go through the food line whenever they want (and their duties permit).

As always, this event can only take place if we all pitch in to make it happen. And it’s not just our annual fundraiser but a really good time: good food, good conversation, and the good work of enabling us to carry the word about eating plants instead of animals to people who need to hear it. So plan to join the fun by helping do what needs doing. Come to the September potluck, or phone Louise and Chuck at 414-962-2703 or Jody and David at 414-764-7262, or contact us at chuckgyver@aceweb.com.

Speaking of spreading the word, no one has yet come up with any World Vegetarian Day observance that we might do. We have one month, as of this writing, to come up with something if we’re going to. This is a topic to add to our discussion at the September potluck. Hope to see you there!

M.A.R.V. ACTIVITIES

Sunday, Sept. 6, 5 PM, regular potluck at the Friends’ Meeting House, 3224 N. Gordon Pl. in Riverwest (from Humboldt Blvd., to east on Auer a few short blocks to the parking lot). Discussion topic: Frugal Organic – Oxymoron?

Subsequent regular potlucks will be on Oct. 6 and Nov. 1.

Saturday, Nov. 21, PreThanksgiving Feast

Other veg-friendly-potlucks

The September macrobiotic potluck will be on Sept. 13 at 5 PM at Roberta Forman’s place, 500 W. Bender Rd., #67, in Glendale. Phone 967-2580.

The Urban Ecology Center’s vegetarian potluck will be on Thursday, Sept. 17 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 September events, check the Vegan Meetup website.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“It is not right that a man should make his stomach the grave of animals.”

-- Sultan Akbar, lived 1542 to 1605 AD, Mughal ruler of much of India from 1556 to 1605. A Muslim ruler in vegetarian-leaning India, Akbar doubled his empire’s size, established a regime in which everyone had a stake, laid the basis for his dynasty’s power for 100 years to come, enjoyed religious dialogue – and became a vegetarian.

NEWS

Animal foods – and the raising of animals for food – are still bad.

An Iowa family is at loggerheads with their neighbor over the manure from the neighbor’s goats, which are too near their well and stink so badly that they can’t go outside. And in Michigan, state officials confirmed that manure run-off from a cattle farm killed perhaps 200,000 fish in the nearby Black River.

On a different note, government scientists looking for mercury contamination in 291 streams all over the US found such contamination in every single fish they tested. A quarter of the fish had levels higher than acceptable for people who eat fish regularly. The largest source of the mercury is coal-fired power plants.

Organic farmers and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders have joined the chorus asking Agriculture Secretary Vilsack to crack down on the factory-farm dairy feedlots run by Aurora and Horizon/Dean Foods, which claim to be organic but flout the organic rules. It’s good news for dairy eaters (and animals), on the other hand, that yogurt-makers Yoplait and Dannon have both agreed to stop using milk products from animals treated with rBGH. Now the Humane Farming Association is asking people to urge Good Humor/Breyers and Dreyer’s Ice Cream to join that boycott (see below). Related to such concerns is a warning from Prevention magazine that a “free-range” label on eggs is meaningless, and that if you want to eat eggs from humanely raised hens, look for ones labeled “pasture raised” or “Certified Humane Raised and Handled.”

Speaking of things to drink, water issues are still making news. New York State is phasing out state agency spending on bottled water; Nestle has admitted that its Pure Life bottled water is actually just tap water; and Congressmen Henry Waxman and Bart Stupak have demanded that water bottlers release information on the sources and quality of their water. In California, now in its third year of drought, the government is seeking ways to thoroughly overhaul how water is distributed; the problem, of course, is that no one is willing to give any water up. Meanwhile, on the Missouri-Arkansas border, a federal plan to improve trout habitat in two lakes (to benefit fishers) could reduce hydroelectric production capacity in two dams, increasing area electric costs.

In other news, the new swine flu is still around, waiting for winter, and so is the bird flu, which quarantined a Minnesota turkey flock recently.

On the other hand, it is good news that the Washington Post, a mainstream and prestigious newspaper, ran an article on things to do to reduce one’s carbon footprint, in which reducing meat consumption was highlighted as one of the best strategies a person could adopt. And the magazine of the environmental group Friends of the Earth ran an article on the nasty greenhouse emissions from factory farms and recommended eating less meat (and grass-pastured meat if/when you do eat it) as something readers could easily do to decrease their carbon footprint.

On a completely different note, in case anyone has picked up on the internet rumor that baby carrots are preserved with bleach, it is not so. What does happen is that baby carrots, like much other prewashed and bagged produce, is rinsed (not preserved) in chlorine water in the attempt to kill dangerous bacteria. If you don’t like that idea, buy local produce that’s not pre-washed and bagged; farmers’ markets are especially useful here. So is growing your own vegetables – a tactic that has boomed this year as people look for ways to cut their grocery bills. And Vegetarian Times reported on a new trend out West: in Oregon, California, and New Mexico, people who have fruit trees on their property are connecting with each other for the purpose of sharing their harvests, which often produce overabundance all at once.

And of course, plant foods are still good for you. A Prevention article on living to a ripe old age reminded readers to eat plenty of fiber, which of course is found in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans.

Another item pointed out that it isn’t just milk that keeps bones strong, but also inulin, which is found in whole wheat, onions, asparagus, artichokes, and bananas, and phytate which is found in nuts and whole grains. The inulin boosts calcium absorption while the phytate prevents bone mineral destruction. Perhaps this helps explain the findings of a University of New South Wales study which found that Buddhist nuns who ate a vegan (i.e., no-dairy) diet had no greater bone brittleness than omnivorous women.

A NY Times Science and Health section item reported on a recent study of garlic, which concluded that fresh-cut garlic is better for heart health than garlic that had been left to dry for two days to allow its volatile chemicals to evaporate.

Another Prevention item on sources of dietary potassium, which can help the kidneys excrete surplus sodium, named baked potato, kidney beans, cooked corn, papaya, ground flaxseed, quinoa, black beans, tomato, walnuts, and raisins (as well as low-fat dairy).

Speaking of flaxseeds, Vegetarian Times did an article on their history and current research. As early as ancient Egypt, flax was used for fiber, and in ancient Greece flaxseeds were considered a remedy for inflammation and intestinal trouble. In the 21^st century, new research is finding that freshly ground flax-seeds do show promise as a treatment for constipation and irritable bowel syndrome, and may reduce cholesterol levels. There is some evidence that eating them may help combat breast and prostate cancer. And of course they are a vegan source of omega-3 fatty acids.

I consider it a breakthrough that a Prevention article on omega-3s stated outright (finally!!) that “they don’t originate in fish, as many believe. Rather, they are found in the green leaves of plants. Fish are full of omega-3s because they eat phytoplankton… and seaweed.” And omega3s are truly indispensable to our diets, protecting our brains from neurological disorders and helping our hearts to beat. The article in which this was explained focused on how American diets tend to be deficient in omega-3s and overabundant in omega-6 fatty acids, to the detriment of people’s health. Reccomendations included eating more greens, walnuts, and flaxseeds, and avoiding factory-farmed meats and farmed fish.

Another Prevention article that looked at a modern approach to staying healthy in middle age made some interesting points. One was that better vision can be retained by eating nutrients that fight age-related macular degeneration; these are vitamins C and E, zinc, and beta-carotene. Think dark leafy greens and nuts and seeds. Similarly, hearing can be preserved by eating plenty of antioxidant-containing foods: vegetables and fruits, especially bright colored ones.

Finally, Vegetarian Times ran an article on how to choose healthy breads at the store. Tips included being careful to get 100% whole grain, looking for greater heft/density, and looking for minimum sugar and salt.

CONNECTIONS

There is again an Eat Local Challenge in Milwaukee this month. Outpost in hosting it, with the Urban Ecology Center actively involved.

There are a number of reasons to pay attention to where your food comes from. When food is locally grown, it is likely to be fresher than if it spent several days being shipped to one’s state. This is good, because the fresher the food is, the tastier and more nutritious it’s likely to be. Eating what’s ripe and available in your area each week also gets you eating more seasonally, which is fun. Buying local helps decrease the carbon footprint of getting food from field to fridge. Avoiding huge processing plants minimizes the chances of bacterial contamination. Shopping locally keeps your food dollars right in your own home economy, and helps keep local small farmers in business. And it’s friendlier to actually buy from the grower, which is also fun.

This said, it’s probably not possible to buy only local food, unless you’re willing to give up coffee, tea, most wines, bananas, oranges (and other citrus), and chocolate. It is for this reason that very few people are suggesting even trying to go very long without buying anything at all that’s not from within 100 miles of home. But it still remains the case that trying to shop as locally as reasonably feasible is a good idea.

So now, in harvest season, Outpost is helping raise awareness of the issue. You can still get an Eat Local Challenge packet at the customer service desks in each of their stores; these include a scorecard with which you can track your local purchases and how much of your money stays in the local economy.

The Outpost Exchange directs you to www.outpostnaturalfoods.coop for details. And the Urban Ecology Center, which is focusing on local eating during the second week of September, directs you to www.eatlocalmilwaukee.org for more information.

As mentioned above, the Humane Farming Association asks people to write to two companies and ask them to stop buying from dairies that use bovine growth hormone (rBGH). The addresses to write to if you want to participate are:

1. Good Humor – Breyers Consumer Services,

920 Sylvan Avenue, 2^nd floor,Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632, www.icecreamusa.com

2. Dreyer’s Ice Cream Consumer Relations,

5929 College Avenue, Oakland, CA 94618

www.dreyers.com

ARE WE SMUG? (at least for now)

We have learned that Chuck’s and my grandson Aires Blue, going on 3 years old, is not eating meat. It’s not just that when he visits us we don’t give him any (not having any in the house). At home as well, where his parents are both big meat-eaters, he turns up his nose at it, and they let him just eat other things. It may be a factor that his mother does explain what animals the meats come from (“Chicken, that’s just like the pet chicken we had…”). Whether he gets the connection or just doesn’t like the stuff, we think it’s a fine development.