I love this op-ed from NY Times. Finally someone who echoes my intent. Meat-eaters today are self-righteous, defensive gluttons with little remorse. I believe if you are going to eat meat, you should be able to kill and butcher it too, and I don't think many of my friends can do that. Eating out is a total drag these days and I do it only when I fee obligated, I simply cannot watch someone eat meat from a bone, smell it wafting over my plate as I lift a spoonful of veggies to my mouth or be around it in any capacity.
This piece hits the point home the fallacy of free-range. If you really care about the fate of animals on this planet than you wouldn't eat them. Period.
This author can count on one hand the number of vegan friends he has. It is a sad state of affairs when people are breaking their backs trying to get around their guilt, all so they can eat a piece of bloody flesh.
Adopt a turkey for the holidays! If your family doesn't thank you, well maybe they don't deserve it. But the turkeys thank you and that should be most important. Change it up a bit, buck tradition. This year, for Thanksgiving, my in-laws asked me to bring the vegan pot-pie I made last year, and it is so nice to be able to share healthy, delicious vegan meals that a whole family loves.
Showing posts with label meat consumption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meat consumption. Show all posts
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Larry King grills the Burger industry
Last night on Larry King Live (LKL), the suspender-wearing journalist probed deep into the burger industry. Read the transcript here. Deaths from e-coli, especially in children, are on the rise and it's big beef's fault! Nearly everyone on the panel said that they don't eat burgers, with the exception of one woman who was obviously paid big bucks by big beef to extoll the virtues of an animal protein diet. In a nut shell, her argument went something like this: "It's so much easier to gulp down a burger than to actually think about eating sensibly"
Even Anthony Bourdain, self-professed carnivore, looks unfavorbaly on factory farming. I have a new-found love for Bourdain after a recent episode where he swore he would not take part in the slaughtering of animals for his tv show since he's been dating a vegetarian!
So what's the final word? Everyone, except for the paid-lobby lady, agrees that there needs to be a major overhaul in the meat industry in the US. that means more testing. 90% of our meat comes from factory farms, so if you think you are safe, read the label. Lucky for me, as a raw vegan, there are no worries, except for the run-off from factory farms infecting crops like spinach. Eat organic, know where your food comes from. If you must eat meat, raise a cow at a local farm, but please think twice about our beautiful cow-eyed friends before eating them!
Even Anthony Bourdain, self-professed carnivore, looks unfavorbaly on factory farming. I have a new-found love for Bourdain after a recent episode where he swore he would not take part in the slaughtering of animals for his tv show since he's been dating a vegetarian!
So what's the final word? Everyone, except for the paid-lobby lady, agrees that there needs to be a major overhaul in the meat industry in the US. that means more testing. 90% of our meat comes from factory farms, so if you think you are safe, read the label. Lucky for me, as a raw vegan, there are no worries, except for the run-off from factory farms infecting crops like spinach. Eat organic, know where your food comes from. If you must eat meat, raise a cow at a local farm, but please think twice about our beautiful cow-eyed friends before eating them!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
4th of July musings
I'm not a fan of July 4th and I'll tell you why. Barbecues, people, barbecues. I can't recall a smell more offensive than that of a rotting, raw corpse upon which someone has smothered a greasy, red sauce and intends to call dinner hours later. Living in a tiny shot-gun apartment doesn't make it any easier. Anticipating all my neighbors grilling meats, especially those using that chemical fire-starter, has me shuddering with rage already. My weekend, inevitably, is either spent gagging on the odor or shut inside my hot apartment with doors and windows sealed tightly as waves of rotting meat stench roll by my windows, seeping in cracks and making me miserable. If people can't smoke cigarettes inside, than maybe they shouldn't cook meat outside. I think, and this is a big one, that I'd rather smoke a cigarette then be exposed to toxic meat smell. Walking home every day, I can pin-point the restaurants that contribute the most carcinogens to the environment and I wonder if normal people have any idea how offensive this stuff really is!
Even though I'm escaping out of the city this year, I recall last summer, where the same thing happened at an open camp ground. We could hardly find anywhere to settle down to eat our delicious, raw vegan picnic due to the mass-hysteria of barbecuing on July 4th.
Some people say, aw suck it up. I say, next time someone lights a toxic can of ass under your window, you can suck it up, buster. Cheers, and happy fourth to those individuals who find a quiet, undisturbed, unscented spot upon which to eat their nature's bounty.
Even though I'm escaping out of the city this year, I recall last summer, where the same thing happened at an open camp ground. We could hardly find anywhere to settle down to eat our delicious, raw vegan picnic due to the mass-hysteria of barbecuing on July 4th.
Some people say, aw suck it up. I say, next time someone lights a toxic can of ass under your window, you can suck it up, buster. Cheers, and happy fourth to those individuals who find a quiet, undisturbed, unscented spot upon which to eat their nature's bounty.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
The Organic Myth
Farming isn't something so alien to me. Even though I'm a city girl, currently working on my own container garden, I can still recall the days when I was forced out of bed at an early hour before school, to help my Dad in the small, but manageable garden that would feed our family of five for the better part of the year, squishing potato bugs for a penny each, and yanking threatening weeds before they overtook our precious harvest. Across the street was a larger plot of land used by a local farmer, where he usually planted corn, pumpkins or beans that were regularly visited by a giant winged John Deere contraption, set on eliminating those very things we despised in our own garden.
Of course we borrowed corn from this field until our own were ready, and the difference in taste is still remarkable. The loving care we put into our own vegetables was so good you could taste it. Literally.
Listening to my friend recently opine how she only eats organic meat and only organic all the time, made me realize how ignorant most of the world is regarding the organic food boom. Organics take time, commitment and loving care and attention, so how do super-stores like Wal-mart and even Whole Foods for that matter, stock their shelves? I'm not saying I don't shop at Whole Foods, of course I do, it's conveniently nearly next door to my home and that is another issue for another time, but when compared with local produce bought at farmer's markets, produce bought at any of these super-stores pales in comparison. Why? Because when companies like Chiquita or Green Giant start producing organic foods your mind has to ask questions about its origins. Surely no human hand is systematically squishing bugs between their fingers for quality control, right?
To maintain quality, these huge companies have successfully lobbied to the USDA to incorporate some type of pesticide control for their quote unquote organic crops.Food companies have standards, which explain why all tomatoes are nearly the exact same size, and anyone who has experience with their own farm knows that is simply not the case. What happens to all these 'ugly ducklings'? Independent farmers struggle with keeping up with industry standards set up by these mega-giant producers.
The USDA has made it virtually impossible for small locally-based farms to certify their product organic, yet these small farms produce a far more healthy version than the type of stuff that is available to the mass market. The reason the USDA allows these lax restrictions is that as a business, they are in trouble. More people are trying to control what they put in their bodies. The government provides stipends to the large companies, but not the small independents who deserve it and the cost of certifying one vegetable far exceeds the profits some small farms might make all year. Fed up yet?
Well the meat industry is far dirtier and sordid. Even though your chicken might be free-range or organic, the term carries very little value in the real world. Big Beef, Chicken and Pork have manipulated this market to meet their ideals. It literally angers me to hear people talking so ignorantly that they only eat free-range when they have no idea what it actually means. Free range does not automatically dictate an open pasture where chickens peck to their hearts content. It means the there is a door that leads to an area where they might be allowed to roam in a mud-soaked, vitamin deprived atmosphere. The more interest people have in eating guilt-free food, the more lobbies will be presented the the USDA to thwart your efforts. I applaud Whole Foods for bringing free-range to the public vocabulary, but unless you want Whole Foods to become as ubiquitous as Wal-mart, people better start challenging their food sources regularly. I remember when I was young, my family raised a cow at a neighboring farm, that we visited quite regularly. My parents should have known then that I was vegetarian, since I would look into our giant freezer and cry over my friend Bessie, lying in peices. That said, allowing a local farm to raise your beef is probably your best option, if you can eat it!
Your best bet is to talk to your locals. My favorite farmer last year was a very kind Amish man who talked to us for 20 minutes about his special lettuces, rare breeds and varieties. We walked away with enough to tide us over til the following week to see what else he came up with. We ended up visiting him all summer, always coming home with an heirloom vegetable or some other vegetable that literally inspired awe.
My partner and I can't wait until we start our weekend dates of biking to the nearest farmers market, sampling the produce and asking questions to the caretakers of the beautiful bounty, excited about our choices, plannning the weekly menu, all without a shred of guilt at supporting unethical foods from unethical sources.
Of course we borrowed corn from this field until our own were ready, and the difference in taste is still remarkable. The loving care we put into our own vegetables was so good you could taste it. Literally.
Listening to my friend recently opine how she only eats organic meat and only organic all the time, made me realize how ignorant most of the world is regarding the organic food boom. Organics take time, commitment and loving care and attention, so how do super-stores like Wal-mart and even Whole Foods for that matter, stock their shelves? I'm not saying I don't shop at Whole Foods, of course I do, it's conveniently nearly next door to my home and that is another issue for another time, but when compared with local produce bought at farmer's markets, produce bought at any of these super-stores pales in comparison. Why? Because when companies like Chiquita or Green Giant start producing organic foods your mind has to ask questions about its origins. Surely no human hand is systematically squishing bugs between their fingers for quality control, right?
To maintain quality, these huge companies have successfully lobbied to the USDA to incorporate some type of pesticide control for their quote unquote organic crops.Food companies have standards, which explain why all tomatoes are nearly the exact same size, and anyone who has experience with their own farm knows that is simply not the case. What happens to all these 'ugly ducklings'? Independent farmers struggle with keeping up with industry standards set up by these mega-giant producers.
The USDA has made it virtually impossible for small locally-based farms to certify their product organic, yet these small farms produce a far more healthy version than the type of stuff that is available to the mass market. The reason the USDA allows these lax restrictions is that as a business, they are in trouble. More people are trying to control what they put in their bodies. The government provides stipends to the large companies, but not the small independents who deserve it and the cost of certifying one vegetable far exceeds the profits some small farms might make all year. Fed up yet?
Well the meat industry is far dirtier and sordid. Even though your chicken might be free-range or organic, the term carries very little value in the real world. Big Beef, Chicken and Pork have manipulated this market to meet their ideals. It literally angers me to hear people talking so ignorantly that they only eat free-range when they have no idea what it actually means. Free range does not automatically dictate an open pasture where chickens peck to their hearts content. It means the there is a door that leads to an area where they might be allowed to roam in a mud-soaked, vitamin deprived atmosphere. The more interest people have in eating guilt-free food, the more lobbies will be presented the the USDA to thwart your efforts. I applaud Whole Foods for bringing free-range to the public vocabulary, but unless you want Whole Foods to become as ubiquitous as Wal-mart, people better start challenging their food sources regularly. I remember when I was young, my family raised a cow at a neighboring farm, that we visited quite regularly. My parents should have known then that I was vegetarian, since I would look into our giant freezer and cry over my friend Bessie, lying in peices. That said, allowing a local farm to raise your beef is probably your best option, if you can eat it!
Your best bet is to talk to your locals. My favorite farmer last year was a very kind Amish man who talked to us for 20 minutes about his special lettuces, rare breeds and varieties. We walked away with enough to tide us over til the following week to see what else he came up with. We ended up visiting him all summer, always coming home with an heirloom vegetable or some other vegetable that literally inspired awe.
My partner and I can't wait until we start our weekend dates of biking to the nearest farmers market, sampling the produce and asking questions to the caretakers of the beautiful bounty, excited about our choices, plannning the weekly menu, all without a shred of guilt at supporting unethical foods from unethical sources.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Rumor has it
Word on the street is that the Fair Food Farm Stand in Reading Terminal Market will be moving to the former home of Rick's Steaks! Yay, more visibility to veggies. Front and Center.
Rick's is moving to the basement at the Bellevue, and I'm more than happy to get that stench out of the market. While I'm happy that the farm stand is moving to a far-more visible spot in the market, I hope that they still have stuff left for my lazy bones when I get there at 3 in the afternoon.
Look for it happening soon.
Rick's is moving to the basement at the Bellevue, and I'm more than happy to get that stench out of the market. While I'm happy that the farm stand is moving to a far-more visible spot in the market, I hope that they still have stuff left for my lazy bones when I get there at 3 in the afternoon.
Look for it happening soon.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Heard on the radio
The secret is out of the bag. Vegetarianism helps the planet!
On NPR today, just in time for the glutinous holidays, an impressive chunk of time was devoted to a show about vegetarianism, health and global warming. The segment was called, Healthy Planet, Healthy People, and focused on how what is good for the planet is actually good for us too. They discuss how going vegetarian is the easiest thing you can do to counteract global warming. At least on privately-funded radio we can still seek the truth. I hope they do this every Sunday.
Included in the segment are interviews with vegetarians and their personal experience as to why they chose that path. Even though animal cruelty is a big motivator for some of us, sometimes health and science are also factors. It's interesting to hear other points of view and a wide range of topics all converging around my favorite subject: Vegetarianism. The show also offers advice to those who are interested in changing their eating habits, so I recommend it to newbies. I must add my two cents, however. They recommend taking it slow, like cut out bacon this month, sausage the next, and so on 'til you're meat free. I recommend cold tofurky. I understand maybe eliminating red meat, then chicken and fish, and perhaps that might be an option for you, but try to nip that bad habit in the bud and just end your relationship with the burger. Meat will probably end up grossing you out before you know it anyway.
Think about what you eat this Thursday on Thanksgiving, and bring a veg option to dinner, just in case. Remember, Mother Earth will thank you.
On NPR today, just in time for the glutinous holidays, an impressive chunk of time was devoted to a show about vegetarianism, health and global warming. The segment was called, Healthy Planet, Healthy People, and focused on how what is good for the planet is actually good for us too. They discuss how going vegetarian is the easiest thing you can do to counteract global warming. At least on privately-funded radio we can still seek the truth. I hope they do this every Sunday.
Included in the segment are interviews with vegetarians and their personal experience as to why they chose that path. Even though animal cruelty is a big motivator for some of us, sometimes health and science are also factors. It's interesting to hear other points of view and a wide range of topics all converging around my favorite subject: Vegetarianism. The show also offers advice to those who are interested in changing their eating habits, so I recommend it to newbies. I must add my two cents, however. They recommend taking it slow, like cut out bacon this month, sausage the next, and so on 'til you're meat free. I recommend cold tofurky. I understand maybe eliminating red meat, then chicken and fish, and perhaps that might be an option for you, but try to nip that bad habit in the bud and just end your relationship with the burger. Meat will probably end up grossing you out before you know it anyway.
Think about what you eat this Thursday on Thanksgiving, and bring a veg option to dinner, just in case. Remember, Mother Earth will thank you.
Monday, September 8, 2008
another reason to be veg
On CNN today, there was a report on luncheon meats and sodium nitrates. Apparently, processed meats, including hot dogs, contain cancer-causing sodium nitrates. Yumm-O!
This mostly affects children, school lunches are loaded with such debilitating foods, and unhealthy single men who never grew up. Health officials advise you to take your kids off processed meats, as they have a direct link to cancer. Thanks Mom! Oh how I wished I was raised vegetarian, knowing these toxins may lurk somewhere deep within.
A spokesman for the American Meat Association makes the counter-claim that pomegranates contain mega-doses of nitrates, but health official re butt by adding that it is when nitrates are combined with meat that it becomes a problem. Besides, Have you ever seen, "Thank you for Not Smoking?" Those spokespeople will say anything to get paid and keep their company flourishing.
I couldn't find the direct link to the story I just saw run on CNN, but here's an article from 2005. This is not new news. Come on people. Stop eating that Baloney!
This mostly affects children, school lunches are loaded with such debilitating foods, and unhealthy single men who never grew up. Health officials advise you to take your kids off processed meats, as they have a direct link to cancer. Thanks Mom! Oh how I wished I was raised vegetarian, knowing these toxins may lurk somewhere deep within.
A spokesman for the American Meat Association makes the counter-claim that pomegranates contain mega-doses of nitrates, but health official re butt by adding that it is when nitrates are combined with meat that it becomes a problem. Besides, Have you ever seen, "Thank you for Not Smoking?" Those spokespeople will say anything to get paid and keep their company flourishing.
I couldn't find the direct link to the story I just saw run on CNN, but here's an article from 2005. This is not new news. Come on people. Stop eating that Baloney!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
staycations
So the new term out there, thanks to our dwindling economy, is "staycation." Like what to do in your very own town or locale to entertain yourself and family, without breaking the bank. Silly me, coming from Philly (home of the cheesesteak) and hearing it out of the mouth of a Philadelphian for the first time, thought it meant "steakation." Like, "come to Philly and eat a steak." Thankfully, it has not gotten that far yet, but when will marketers in Philly start using that term, which I inadvertently coined, to get the rotund meat-eaters into the city to eat a big, awful heart-burn inducing cheesesteak on their next steakation to Philly. Can't wait for that billboard. hmm?
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Mad Cowboy
Howard Lyman, the former cattle-rancher turned vegetarian who is probably best known for getting Oprah to say she'll never eat another burger, was on Coast to Coast Saturday night, http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2008/05/18.html, discussing the USDA's new bill, The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act and Mad Cow disease in America. Mad Cow and avian bird flu loom as some of the biggest threats to mankind and unbeknownst to us, our government is turning a blind eye to the situation and keeping their fingers crossed. Makes you feel safe, right?Haven't eaten meat in a decade and think you're in the clear? Hungry yet? Mad Cow can incubate in your system for years! By now, most of us know that animals prepared for human consumption are more than likely injected with hormones, coated with chemicals., mishandled, deprived of necessary sunlight and pastures and possibly diseased. Lymnam's interview goes into much much more and I urge you to take a listen.
As a seasoned vegan I know damn well what happens to cows in slaughterhouses and on dairy farms and that's one of the biggest reasons why I don't eat meat. For Howard Lymnan, a fourth-generation cattle rancher who got a tumor after pouring chemicals on the backs of cows, he is vegetarian for the plain reason that humans in general have to much protein, cholesterol and fat in their diet, coupled with the insider knowledge of what, exactly, goes into our food supply. Coast to Coast is on late at night, but that didn't stop me from staying up into the wee hours entranced by his tales of truth and horror.
The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act was put in effect in order to place stricter penalties on those who try to discourage others from the consumption of animal products. Because Animal Rights activists serve as bigger threats than other terrorists? uhhmm ...But even if you speak the truth?
Can't get Coast to Coast? then check out the Lymans' website: www.madcowboy.com
As a seasoned vegan I know damn well what happens to cows in slaughterhouses and on dairy farms and that's one of the biggest reasons why I don't eat meat. For Howard Lymnan, a fourth-generation cattle rancher who got a tumor after pouring chemicals on the backs of cows, he is vegetarian for the plain reason that humans in general have to much protein, cholesterol and fat in their diet, coupled with the insider knowledge of what, exactly, goes into our food supply. Coast to Coast is on late at night, but that didn't stop me from staying up into the wee hours entranced by his tales of truth and horror.
The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act was put in effect in order to place stricter penalties on those who try to discourage others from the consumption of animal products. Because Animal Rights activists serve as bigger threats than other terrorists? uhhmm ...But even if you speak the truth?
Can't get Coast to Coast? then check out the Lymans' website: www.madcowboy.com
Friday, April 18, 2008
another nod to vegansim
I'm telling you, word is getting out. People are becoming conscious and it's not going away any time soon. Do I think people will still be eating meat in 100 years? While I'd like to think not, the opposite is more likely true.
Discovery News put out article saying that if people want to be green they should cut out beef and dairy. http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/04/18/green-planet-diet.html Yay! another step forward. I've been tracking announcements in the media like this for a while and it's refreshing and wonderful to see major news venues recognizing the effects of animal consumption.
It is easy being green after all.
Discovery News put out article saying that if people want to be green they should cut out beef and dairy. http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/04/18/green-planet-diet.html Yay! another step forward. I've been tracking announcements in the media like this for a while and it's refreshing and wonderful to see major news venues recognizing the effects of animal consumption.
It is easy being green after all.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
emissions, meat consumption and Americans
Finally people in the (somewhat) mainstream media are no longer afraid to go against Big Beef. Yesterday on NPR, a program aired addressing how meat consumption and carbon emissions are directly linked. Listen here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89676010 Most informed vegans are well aware of this fact, but the average American lives in utter denial.
An interesting factoid for you: Americans consume 40-50% more meat than the average German! Germans are notorious for meat-eating, yet Berlin has a high concentration of vegan restaurants. Americans, who were once on the cutting edge of all things savvy, is falling very far behind. Americans are not accountable for what they put in their bodies, preferring a plastic wrapped pink sirloin from the refrigerator in the grocery store in favor of buying local, supporting farmers and therefore increasing our burden on the environment.
Finally someone besides the lowly vegan speaks and is heard!
An interesting factoid for you: Americans consume 40-50% more meat than the average German! Germans are notorious for meat-eating, yet Berlin has a high concentration of vegan restaurants. Americans, who were once on the cutting edge of all things savvy, is falling very far behind. Americans are not accountable for what they put in their bodies, preferring a plastic wrapped pink sirloin from the refrigerator in the grocery store in favor of buying local, supporting farmers and therefore increasing our burden on the environment.
Finally someone besides the lowly vegan speaks and is heard!
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