Interesting and Horrifying Tidbits
November 19th, 2009
Today I got some emails I wanted to share with you.
1. Did you know that November is “Go Vegan” month?
I, honestly, was not exactly sure what vegan meant. I hear “vegan”, “vegetarian”, raw diet”, etc. Because of this information, I learned a lot more about being vegan. I was aware of Georges Laraque, the NHL player, who went vegan this summer to bring awareness to animal rights and issues. I also knew that Portia De Rossi and Ellen Degeneres also became vegan earlier this year. Until now I never really investigated it. If you would like to learn more here is one website you can check out. Vegan month.
2. November is also, National Pet Diabetes Awareness Month.
Today 50 percent of our pets are overweight or obese, which certainly can predispose them to developing diabetes. Both dogs and cats develop the same two types of diabetes seen in humans. The greater majority of dogs develop Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus where the body simply does not produce any insulin.
Most cats, on the other hand, develop Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus. In cats the disease is due either to not producing enough insulin or an inability to utilize the insulin that is produced in the body — the same as Type 2 diabetes in humans.
Treating and caring for a diabetic pet takes a huge commitment in both time and dollars. Initial symptoms of diabetes are excessive thirst and urination, possible sudden weight loss and frequent urinary tract infections. Lack of energy and listlessness also are on the list.
Be sure you take your pet to the vet at least once a year for a full physical. Make sure it is, and stays, healthy!
3. Here are some pictures a friend of mine took of some Javelina.. also known as Collared Peccary. They are so cute I had to share them with you. He had 14 of these critters come out from under his house a few weeks ago, with a couple of new born babies!!!
If you would like to learn more about these interesting animals just check out this link.
4. This came from Judy Landers, one of my board members:
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we are working urgently to help stop the intense suffering of turkeys. Their situation is grave. The abuse they endure on factory farms is difficult to even imagine. Farm Sanctuary’s public awareness campaign to expose the hidden horrors of commercial turkey production, combined with our efforts to rescue and provide refuge to the victims of this cruel industry, are having an impact – opening hearts and minds and creating real change. But we need your help to expand our reach even further. Please help END the abuse.
5. ALSO…This Sunday night 60 Minutes will feature an unprecedented exposé on the factory farming of pigs in Australia which has been underpinned by an investigation conducted by Animals Australia. You can learn more from this link.
6.Denmark is a big shame
The sea is stained in red and it’s not because of the climate effects of nature. It’s because of the cruelty that the human beings (civilised human) kill hundreds of the famous and intelligent Calderon dolphins. This happens every year in Faroe Island in Denmark. In this slaughter the main participants are young teens.
WHY? To show that they are adults and mature….
In this big celebration, nothing is missing for the fun. Everyone is participating in one way or the other, killing or looking at the cruelty “supporting like a spectator”. Is it necessary to mention that the Calderon dolphin, like all the other species of dolphins, is near extinction and they get close to men to play and interact in a way of PURE friendship . They don’t die instantly; they are cut 1, 2 or 3 times with thick hooks. And at that time the dolphins produce a grim cry extremely compatible with the cry of a new born child. But he suffers and there’s no compassion till this sweet being slowly dies in its own blood.
Important data and Outstanding style you got on your blog! I want to say thanks for sharing your thoughts and time in to the stuff you publish! Thumbs up
We began our jouney of discovery about vegetarianism and veganism when your production crew worked on Alex Arndt’s new video “My Innocence Begins Today” The entire production crew went vegan for the entire shoot. We also found an amazing chef here in Arizona, Jason Wyrick, he is the editor of the Vegan Culinary Experience (www.veganculinaryexperience.com) We are currently developing a cooking show for him.
Meat/Dairy centered diets are linked to many types of cancer, as well as heart ailments, diabetes, obesity, gallbladder disease, hypertension, and more deadly diseases and disorders.
Meat contains approximately 14 times more pesticides than plant foods; dairy products contain 5� times more pesticides than plant foods. 15 million pounds of antibiotics are used in animal production every year- These drugs end up in your milk and meat.
95-99% of toxic chemical residues in the American diet come from animal sources.
By reducing your consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs by 50%, you reduce your risk of a heart attack by 45%. By following a pure vegetarian diet (no animal products at all) you reduce your risk by 90%.
Meat and dairy products raise the acid level in human blood, causing calcium to be excreted from the bones to restore the body’s natural pH balance. This calcium depletion results in osteoporosis. Contrary to the common belief that dairy products are necessary to prevent osteoporosis, dairy consumption actually increases the likeliness of this crippling disease.
About 30% of all pork products are contaminated with toxoplasmosis, a disease which is caused by parasites. It can be passed on to consumers.
The vegetarian diet is more likely to meet the government recommendations for fat, carbohydrate, and protein than a nonvegetarian diet. The government as well as many other organizations tell us to reduce our fat intake (especially saturated fat) and also to eat more grains, fruits, and vegetables. This is easy for a vegetarian!
On a meatless diet, you are less likely to get a bacterial infection such as E. coli, Camphylobacter, and Salmonella.
Of the 20 million tons of plant protein given to raise cows only 2 million tons of protein are used. That means 18 tons of plant protein are wasted! The 20 million tons of plant protein could have reduced 90% of the world’s yearly protein deficit for humans.
Plants yield 10 times more protein per acre than meat.
A man who eats meat has a 50% greater chance of dying from a heart attack. A man who does not eat meat only has a 15% chance of dying from a heart attack.
Women who eat eggs 3 times or more a week have a risk 3 times higher of developing ovarian cancer than those women who consume eggs less than once a week.
There’s facts like these that go ON AND ON AND ON AND ON………..
Just off the top of my head:
What hasn’t been linked to cancer, seems like there’s a “report” every other day linking something new to cancer. Fact is they don’t know shit about cancer and that’s why people keep dying of it every day.
Soy has been linked to all kinds of shit, and that’s one of you vegetarians big ticket items.
REPORTS DON’T MAKE ME BELIEVE EITHER SIDE. IT’S MOSTLY PROPAGANDA.
They use a ton of pesticides on vegetables/farms as well.
You’re referring to crappy supermarket meat, not the nice organic grass fed expensive type meats they sell at Whole Foods, just like they sell the nice organic non-sprayed veggies there for 3x as much.
“By reducing your consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs by 50%, you reduce your risk of a heart attack by 45%. By following a pure vegetarian diet (no animal products at all) you reduce your risk by 90%. ”
Please provide some proof to back this up, it sounds absurd. How does excercise and eating right play into that? Again, you can very easily “eat right” as a carnivore.
“About 30% of all pork products are contaminated with toxoplasmosis, a disease which is caused by parasites. It can be passed on to consumers. ”
Can’t help thinking this sounds ridiculous as well, link please?
I’ve been drinking about a gallon of milk every week for my entire life pretty much, at least my entire adult life, and I’ve never broken a bone.
Oh and also, animals taste good, pig tastes good, bacon tastes good…although I prefer turkey bacon, check out the oscar meyer brand, delicious.
I could go ON AND ON AND ON AND ON as well…
It’s all good Sam,
I am not trying to get you to stop, live and let live… and ENJOY!
Just trying to keep the playing field level.
Good talk see you out there.
3 percent of Americans are vegatarian and under 1 percent Vegan.. I would say you guys are winning!!!!!!!!!!!! Meat eaters are the Yankees of the dietary world! Enjoy the championships! lolol But I did enjoy the sparing… Good luck in all you do SAM!
That’s a pretty grand, sweeping statement, “All the science and studies show vegetarian/vegan is a much better lifestyle, diet etc,” and it’s also completely ridiculous. C’mon dude, EVERY SINGLE STUDY shows that? What studies? You can make a “study” show whatever result you want, this shit is all political anyway. Fact is you need protein to survive, and animals are the best and easiest way to get it.
What supplements do you take? Protein powders, vitamins, etc? C’mon be honest 🙂 …
I love meat, though I don’t eat too much of it and I also eat right, lots of veggies, organic when I can afford it, and I exercise daily. Being a vegetarian ain’t got nothing to do w/being in good shape. You can still eat like shit if you’re a veggie and you can still sit around and not exercise. And please don’t associate meat eaters in general w/McDonald’s, I wouldn’t be caught dead eating there, or any fast food at all.
It’s the man not the diet.
All the science and studies show vegetarian/vegan is a much better lifestyle, diet etc etc. People don’t want to stop eating meat so they won’t. I am 43, look 28 and date a 25 yr old. Everyone asks how I do it, I tell them I became a vegetarian at 20 and started excercising at 15… End of discussion, because no one will do it, they don’t want to giv up their comfort foods and don’t place health or the planet over their 2 second need to eat a McDonalds’ hamburger that then leads to the deforestation of the Amazon and also leads to clogged artieries and expensive medical coverage for the 2 second pleasure of eating a rotting carcass.. Whatever, live and let live, I don’t push my beliefs – I offer advice when asked only… Bon Appetit!!!! ;-))
Vegan can refer to more than just diet it can be a lifestyle, such as vegan clothing
Being Vegan isn’t necessarily about how cows are treated – its about avoiding all the health problems associated with eating dairy 🙂 Let’s face it, cheese and milk are delicious and have been part of the human diet for a long time, but in these modern times most dairy products are filled with all kinds of chemical and hormone by-products. That stuff is just not good for your body, and has been linked to all kinds of health problems. As for the argument that its “natural,” well apparently in nature we are the only animals in nature who inject dairy as adults 😉
some more info here. this is a government study links between dairy & cancer:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18065592
Let’s just agree there are different opinions and people have different makeups. What affects one person might have a different impact on someone else.
Thanks, Chris. I was just about to point out those very things.
Honestly, it never fails. You can’t bring up vegetarianism or veganism in an internet forum without someone sticking his/her head in to spew vitriol. You might not want to argue with them, but they want to argue with you. When they’re not slinging insults, they’re quoting sources that are anything but credible. All too often, they’re even laughable. I mean, Larry Hagman? Really?
It’s as laughable as when people cite the wisdom of Robert Atkins, whose own heart attack was attributed to his own unhealthy diet (the same diet he prescribed in his books). Genius.
No matter what these belligerent types say, it’s easy to find plenty of healthy vegans and vegetarians–and many of them are athletes. Someone who’s been getting a good amount of coverage in recent years, for example, is UFC champion Mac Danzig. There’s an informative interview with him here: http://www.mensfitness.com/fitness/288
I could go on, but the truth is there are certain types of people (like Rick) who just want to argue. In the end, all they want is the last word. Even if that last word is a lie.
As for this conversation, I’m done. I only wish I’d opted out of following the discussion earlier. I would’ve had no hate mail awaiting me. (Thanks but no thanks, Rick!)
Since there appears to be a lot of misinformation based on personal prejudice being shared above, here are a couple links worth exploring.
1) From the American Dietetic Association’s 2009 annual position paper on vegetarian diets:
“It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.”
Full report can be found here: http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_10464_ENU_HTML.htm
2) Here is a (far from complete) list of vegans from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vegans
One could hardly call a top athlete like Carl Lewis unhealthy or sickly.
Here’s Larry Hagman on eating bacon, butter, etc.
http://www.schwarzbeinprinciple.com/pgs/dr_schw/hagman.html
Vegetarianism is the outcome of Ahimsa, my personal philosophy. The former also cured me of years of anemia, and together with herbal remedies and aromatherapy, has kept me free from the flu, the cold and other annoying forms for sickness for a very long time. This is not meant to disparage the talent or need for practitioners of the art of medicine. There is room for the many different branches of medicine. Whatever gets you thru the day….
The bottom line is that we each one of us chose what works for me or you, without casting aspersions on the other. Some scientists disparage meat eating, others encourage it, for our good health. Each one is paid by a source with an agenda.
Kind of like the “global warming” hysteria. You can accept a politician cum wealthy businessman’s credo expressed in a movie “An inconvenient truth”. or a documentary that rejects histrionics in “The Great Global Warming Swindle”, both can be seen on Google Video.
To paraphrase an old adage: to have one’s own preference is human, to respect the choice of others – devine.
WOW, sorry I mentioned bacon. The facts are the facts, Rick is right! We were born meat eaters (why else so much meat roaming around the planet). Yes, all the vegans, vegetarians I have met or seen look sickly.
Your body produces cholesterol. Why would you try to reduce something the body needs and makes on it’s own? Why?
You really need to read Dr. Gregory Ellis. He is a PhD. from Temple University. Actually, Shad should read it, maybe he can learn something instead of keeping his head buried in the sand.
Regardless, both of my parents are on meds for high blood pressure, and my mom is a retired LPN. Also, I did a stress test in 1987 when they found an arrythmic ascemia. All I did was follow a bodybuider’s diet and lift weights…no cardio, nothing. The cardiologist who performed the stress test told me that, in the 25 years he was in practice, my heart was one of the top 5 healthiest hearts he had EVER seen.
It has little to do with my genetics, and very much how I take care of myself, and I reiterate, I was a vegetarian for three years and it was the worst three years of my life. I do not recommend it.
And back to Shad, you’re going to dispute a doctor who did thorough research and wrote a book on the dangers of soy? That’s ridiculous.
I’ll bet you started drinking sodas again that contain HFCS because the ads paid for by the corn growers association say it’s as good for you as table sugar!
Rick, your head is another matter indeed. It’s full of outright lies fueled by spite and desperation. Maybe all that cholesterol is making you cranky. You think you’re being outrageous, but it’s always only a matter of time before someone as uninformed as you shows up to flame an otherwise sane conversation. Your belligerence deserves no more of a response than this.
we are meat eaters, have always been meat eaters, otherwise we would not need the canine teeth we have up front. The vegan protein sources are incomplete. I have yet to see a healthy looking vegan or vegetarian.
Cholesterol HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HEART DISEASE! Blood pressure is most likely stress related. I’ve been a bodybuilder for 30 years. I was a vegetarian for three years while in my teens. It was the worst thing I ever did. I felt awful the entire time.
Soy on the other hand, is a natural disaster. Not good for you outside of miso and soy sauce. Even the Chinese limit their use to no more than 18 grams per day.
http://www.quantumbalancing.com/news/soy%20dangers.htm
http://www.westonaprice.org/mythstruths/mtvegetarianism.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awA2fsa94MI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDheg8fD9GA
Bacon is not good for you even if you do not see “Babe”.
seriously, can anyone watch “Babe” and ever eat Bacon again?
BTW, veganism is perhaps the WORST, least healthy diet for humans.
Bacon is perfectly fine for you. The entire fat/saturated fat thing is a scam. So is the cholesterol myth. There is not correlation between saturated fat, high cholesterol, and heart disease. It’s a fabrication of the medical community to sell you drugs. A better gauge of heart disease is blood pressure.
My cholesterol is 270, but my lipid panels are good, my resting heart rate is 72 and my blood pressure is 100/60. Nothing wrong with my heart. My head is another matter.
Growing up it was very rare to hear about anyone stricken with cancer. Today each one of us knows at least a few people struggling with it, or who are in recovery. TB was once thought to be almost eradicated, today it is back with a vengeance and an exponentially greater problem than swine flu.
Agribusiness is about profit. Their profits are going through the roof. Do you know what cattle are fed to afford you cheap meat? Check out the free screening of “The Earthlings” on http://www.earthlings.com/ . Knowing the answer will add a few, happy and healthy years to your life.
Happy Thanxgiving!
I’ve been vegetarian for 14 years now.
but you can just go to whole foods and buy their dairy, they only buy from farms where the animals are treated well and no growth hormones are used and they’re grass fed and free range and all that stuff.
animals taste good and they’re good for you.
i always find it funny that vegetarians claim hatred of eating meat and all that but then they go and buy all these fake meat products…
Earthling is a really remarkable documentary. Incredibly hard to watch, to be sure. But also incredibly eye-opening.
http://www.earthlings.com/
Thank you for being a good soul and for how much you care about our animals Donna!
Yes it’s about how the animals are definitely treated. I mean really…people (with all their “social networking” intentions and alleged skills with others) are not often times very nice to one another. there is alot of anger with many people and who best to take it all out on than on the very innocent animals at farms, labs and elsewhere. It is sickening.
The main reason for my near (at this point) total veganism is how the animals are treated which in most cases is horrendous in the meat industry.
When I see that brides are getting pics done in the “meat packing” area of NY I think..UGH!!!!!!!
Going Vegan or as close to it as possible is what I think everyone should do. Eating animals or killing them live for food is ..in my opinion…a sacrilege.
If any one does not like my comments..All I have to say is TOUGH
I became a full-blown vegetarian after watching “The Animals Film” (1981), narrated by Julie Christie. By today’s standards it’s quite tame. To those who want to know what and how ends up on one’s plate(s) I suggest watching “The Earthlings”, narrated by Joaquin Phoenix (available on Google Video). It just may add a few years to your life. Caveat: watch it on an empty stomach, with thumb on the remote’s OFF button. My respect and admiration for those who invested and worked on these productions will never fade.
Don’t you wish documentaries came back? If you want to know just how powerful they can be check any one of Adam Curtis’s made-for-the-BBC docus. Also available on Google Video. Should you elect to do so, check out Curtis’s interview and POV on the role of the Internet vis a vis his craft.
I know of level headed folks going vegan these days….these are raw veggie eaters who try to eat organic, but this is not practical on most family incomes, yet…Frankensteer, King Korn and Food Inc had some influenced their changes in diet.
It’s not about the cow being milked. It’s how the cow is treated while it is living. If you have never read and seen the stories regarding the treatment of the animals we eat, you should check it out. Not all animals are treated this way, but MOST. I’ve learned a lot putting this show together. That is why I did it. To educate people, and myself, about animal issues.
being vegan is silly, IMHO. Being a vegetarian is one thing, but not eating cheese and milk? that’s crazy. All because they believe a cow doesn’t like it when you milk them. how do they know, have they ever talked to a cow and asked?
I just wanted to add, pets taking Vetsulin may have to change insulin.
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/newsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm188752.htm
I would highly suggest to any one who has a diabetic pet, dog or cat, to invest in a Alpha Trak Blood Glucose Monitoring System from Abbott Labs designed for pets. I have had 3 diabetic pets in my life, 2 dogs and 1 cat. It has only been with this last dog that I knew this option existed. For some reason Vets are not forthcoming with this info. Bottom line, it is a life saver.. literally.
You’ve been the executive producer of Animal Connection for over four years — and you never knew what being vegan meant?! That’s a tad odd, but the vegans among us forgive you. 😉
I never knew the specifics. I know people who have been vegetarian all their lives and never really knew what being vegan was. That was a surprise!
Going vegan, yes. They gear toward the perfect month….when everyone is eatin way too much meat and the plight of turkeys being raised for the holiday is horrifying.
Yeah, I have tried to go Vegan, but cheese is mt weakness so it’s still just vegetarian for me lol 😉