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May 2010GREETINGSMARV did indeed participate in the Urban Ecology Center’s Earth Day festivities on Apr. 24. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty miserable, so there were far fewer attendees than in previous years, but we nonetheless had good conversations with all kinds of people, and gave out a fair amount of literature. The Vegetarian Starter Kits were especially popular, although people were also interested in the handouts about livestock’s environmental impacts. Welcome to anyone who is reading this for the first time because you signed our “For Further Contact” sheet or because you took an April newsletter and are now checking out our website. Our next trick will be a Green Fair at Alverno College on May 1, where we will have a table and I will make a presentation on “Saving the World With Your Fork.” Apropos of last month’s tabling at the Domes, we did get taped and interviewed by some MATC students at that event. So if you watch MPTV (Channel 36), check out their presentation at about 2 PM on May 8 to see whether we make it onto the air or hit the cutting room floor. One other possible activity we may soon be involved in regards Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine, which is inviting members to get together and celebrate the group’s 25th anniversary. Several MARV people are also PCRM members, so we have contacted them asking for a list of all area PCRM folks, thinking that we might invite them all to come to a potluck or otherwise get together for a joint gathering.M.A.R.V. ACTIVITIESSunday, May 2, 5 PM, regular potluck at the Friends’ Meeting House, 3224 N. Gordon Pl. in Riverwest (from Humboldt Blvd., go east on Auer a few short blocks to the parking lot). Discussion on vegan pet-keeping Sat., May 1, 9 AM to 5 PM, Green Fair tabling at Alverno College Subsequent regular potlucks will be on June 6, July 11, Aug. 1, Sept. 5, Oct. 3, and Nov. 7.Other veg-friendly potlucks The May macrobiotic potluck will be hosted by Roberta Forman on Sun., May 16 at 5 PM at 500 W. Bender, #67. RSVP 414-967-2580. The Urban Ecology Center’s potluck will be on Thurs., May 20 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 May events, check the Vegan Meetup website.QUOTES OF THE MONTH“If you’re interested in protecting the planet, you have to look at what you’re eating. They say one 16-ounce steak takes the same amount of water to produce as six months of showers. So if you’re saving water by taking shorter showers but still eating meat, you’re really not being as effective as you could be.” “It’s hard to find a farm that lives up to the images on its packaging. Unless you go there and see how they treat their animals, I’d be skeptical.” -- Both quotes from actress, author, and environmentalist Alicia Silverstone, who recently went vegan.NEWSAs always, there are problems with animal foods. This time it was a cheese plant in Missouri whose spill of curds and dairy fat into a nearby creek caused a fish kill. Also, food safety violations at a Tennessee high school cafeteria included mold on cheese and turkey. The PCRM magazine reported on increased risks of type two diabetes from eating burgers, fried chicken, and animal protein in general. A different item reported on a new CDC finding that e. coli from chicken can cause urinary tract infections in people who eat them. And yet another study has found a correlation between eating red meat and developing colon cancer. A study reported in Archives of Neurology found that among the people they studied, those who ate the most high-fat dairy products, butter, red meat, and organ meat had the highest risk of Alzheimer’s, while those who ate the most fruit, nuts, dark leafy greens, and cabbage family crops had the lowest risk. In Kenya, pigs spread a type of tapeworm that can infect human brains and cause epilepsy; researchers are trying to teach farmers to tether their pigs in the attempt to control it. And in Canada, yet another case of mad cow disease was discovered in a cow that met the USDA’s current standard for import into the US. This prompted 75 groups representing millions of people to petition the USDA to strengthen its standards, pointing out that the USDA calculates on slaughter procedures to eliminate risks of transmitting the disease, yet there are multiple documented instances of recalls due to failures in those procedures. The fish scene is also responding to various stresses. The NY Times reported that in Florida, seafood served in restaurants is often not as local as it seems due to the deterioration of the local fisheries. But there is now a definite overabundance of evil invading Asian carp – the same ones that we’re trying desperately to keep out of the Great Lakes – so there are now efforts to make it attractive for people to eat. Sometimes you don’t know whether to cheer or scream. Lynn Henning received a Goldman Environmental Prize award for exposing the polluting practices of livestock factory farms, thus prompting state regulators to take action. (Good that she had some effect, bad that it was needed at all…) And apparently the Great American Meat Out has gotten the attention of the beef industry –but their response was to hold a fourth annual Meat-In Day at the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences… And the Sierra Club magazine, which interviewed Alicia Silverstone and thus furnished our quotes of the month, followed that by asking various “professional carnivores” to name their favorite meat substitutes –they did each have one. Go figure. Issues in the food world include the continuing saga of raw milk in Wisconsin; the state legislature has made it legal to buy raw milk directly from the farmer on the farm as long as warnings are posted. Raw milk enthusiasts claim that raw milk is much healthier than pasteurized homogenized milk, yet it remains a potential source of illness. Unfortunately, foods you can get sick from have come to include leafy greens, potatoes, tomatoes, sprouts, and berries, as well as eggs, tuna, oysters, ice cream, cheese, and of course meat and raw milk. Industrialized processing of any food is not a healthy thing! On a different note, the FDA has been urged to set limits for levels of salt allowed in prepared foods; part of the problem is that no food company wants to be first to decrease salt voluntarily for fear of losing market share. And meanwhile, New York is one of several states now considering an excise tax on sweetened beverages. Happily, plant foods are still good for you. A Prevention magazine article on condiment cures recommended: organic ketchup (with its vitamins A, C, E, and lycopene) to lower heart disease risk; dark-colored honey like buckwheat for a good dose of antioxidents; horse-radish to help the liver detoxify carcinogens and possibly to suppress growth of existing tumors; olive oil to boost longterm memory; cinnamon to help stabilize blood sugar; hot sauce to decrease appetite; sauerkraut for its probiotics to aid digestion; and black pepper which may interrupt the processes of tumor formation. And a different article on home remedies from the kitchen mentioned that yogurt (or soy yogurt) not only contains good probiotics, but also helps defend against gum disease, while olive oil not only is a healthy substitute for butter but also helps prevent age-related macular degeneration, and dark chocolate not only helps the heart and tastes good but also helps protect the skin from sun damage. I found a Delicious Living magazine during a trip to New York, which had some interesting items. One pointed out that coconut oil can be used in cooking and baking and its medium-chain fatty acids are easy for the body to burn as energy, so unlike the longer-chain fatty acids in animal foods they’re good for the heart. Another was that folate (found in foliage: dark green leafy vegetables) helps maintain hearing as one grows older. And a beginner’s guide to seasonal eating was all about which plant foods ripen when: Spring features artichokes, arugula, watercress, asparagus, dandelion and other greens, lettuce, and spinach, which help lighten up, detoxify, and support the liver. Summer is about hydration and cooling, and includes berries, eggplant, avocadoes, figs, fennel, green beans, tomatoes, peaches, apricots, plums, peppers, and melons. Fall is for storing energy and building immunity with produce like apples, pears, Brussels sprouts, winter squash, persimmons, garlic, carrots, kale, chard, broccoli and cauliflower. And winter is for resting and conserving energy, a time to eat potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, kale, cabbages, rutabagas, parsnips, turnips, sunchokes, and beets. Healthwise printed yet another article on the antioxident and phytonutrient benefits to be had from coffee, which research now suggests may help prevent colon and liver cancer, curb cardiovascular disease, boost brain function, and protect against gall and kidney stones and gout. The Outpost Exchange’s Pantry Raid column praised mustard (including the wild stuff that volunteers in my garden); the seeds are full of omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, fiber, iron, manganese, niacin, phosphorus, protein, selenium, and zinc. Condiments can be good for you! Speaking of omega-3 fatty acids, there has been confusion regarding whether plant sources are as good as fish and fish oil; finally I have an answer. Most of the research has been done on cardiovascular benefits of fish oil, which contain EPA and DHA that are not found in plant sources (which contain mostly ALA). However, just as we need to eat 8 “essential” amino acids from which our bodies synthesize all the rest of the proteins, so similarly if we eat the ALA, our bodies use it to synthesize the rest of the omega-3s. You just have to eat enough of the plant sources: ground flax seed, flax seed oil, hemp seed oil, dark green leafies, walnuts and brazil nuts. Finally, the AARP magazine recommended spices for the mind: turmeric to stave off Alzheimer’s, saffron to beat depression, ginger to prevent migraines, garlic against brain cancer, and cinnamon to improve focus.DIALOG
The Humane Farming Association is asking people to contact their
federal legislators about several bills now in Congress. Ask them to co-sponsor
the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (which will help curb
overuse of antibiotics by factory farms, and thus help discourage factory
farming): HR 1549 and S619. Also ask them to co-sponsor the Prevention of Equine
Cruelty Act, HR503 and S727, which will impede horsemeat trade. And ask
Representatives to co-sponsor the Prevention of Farm Cruelty Act, HR4733.
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