If you missed yesterday’s chat with Marilu and Dr. Neal Barnard (founder and president of Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine), don’t panic!

Read the chat transcript here.

Stop by next Tuesday, March 9 at 10 PM Eastern/7 PM Pacific for another chat with Marilu and Dr. Barnard. These chats are a collaboration between Marilu.com and PCRM’s 21-day Vegan Kickstart program.

Not everyone eats turkey at Thanksgiving. If you prefer to celebrate by saving a turkey, consider Farm Sanctuary’s Adopt-A-Turkey Project which offers a compassionate alternative for Thanksgiving.

Since 1986, Farm Sanctuary has rescued more than 1,000 turkeys, placed hundreds into loving homes through our annual Turkey Express adoption event, educated millions of people about their plight, and provided resources for a cruelty-free holiday. For a one-time $25 donation, anyone can sponsor turkeys residing at Farm Sanctuary.

Photo courtesy of Farm Sanctuary

Seafood is part of the Total Health Makeover® for those who choose to eat animal protein. But not all seafood is good for you. How do you know what’s good for you, and what’s really not so healthy? (Don’t trust the person trying to make the sale…)

Monterey Bay Aquarium keeps this information updated and available for everyone. We love that they’ve dedicated themselves to gathering this information and publishing it.

Download pocket guides here – they’re available by region of the US.

Or get a mobile application – iPhone users can download this application, or if you have another phone with internet service, just go to mobile.seafoodwatch.org.

Every three minutes, another woman learns she has breast cancer.

There are several strategies that can help reduce your risk of breast cancer. And there’s no good reason to NOT do these things.

• Get moving. Regular physical activity (at least 30 minutes on most days) has been shown to be protective against breast cancer.
• Get the girls checked regularly by a professional. Do your own monthly self examinations, too. Women between ages 20 and 39 should have a clinical breast exam performed by a health care professional at least every three years; women 40 years of age or older should have annual breast exams and talk with their doctor about mammograms.
• Talk to your doctor. If you have a family history of breast cancer, your doctor may want you to start mammograms (or other screenings) earlier.
• Supplement wisely. Folic acid, vitamin D, and antioxidants all may help decrease risk. Stay informed about supplements, and always tell your doctor everything you’re taking.
• Reduce exposure to xenoestrogens. These chemicals with estrogen-like activity are found in common pesticides and industrial pollutants, and as hormone residues in meat, poultry, and dairy products. Meat-free and dairy-free menus are best. If you eat animal protein, be sure to get hormone-free varieties.
• Avoid exposure to radiation, especially chest x-rays. Yes, sometimes they’re necessary. Ask if there are alternatives, especially for children and young adults.

Farm Sanctuary spoke up, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is listening. In 2007, Farm Sanctuary formally petitioned the federal regulatory body to consider the treatment and living conditions of farm animals when creating rules allowing producers to label their meat and poultry products as “natural.” It took two years, but the agency has now officially acknowledged the petition and is requesting public comments on this issue.

Tell the USDA That Factory Farming Isn’t “Natural” – From now until November 13, you can contact the agency and let it know that allowing producers to label food products from animals raised in intensive confinement as “natural” is misleading and deceptive.

Don’t let the USDA condone animal cruelty in this way. Speak up today! (Don’t wait until November – speak up now!)

More info about Farm Sanctuary’s Truth in Labeling campaign
More info about contacting the USDA

Another reason to be RIPE AND JUICY!

Two themes consistently emerging from cancer research: Vegetables and fruits help reduce risk, while animal products and other fatty foods are frequently found to increase risk.

When the terms “fiber” and “fat” are used, it is easy to forget the foods from which they come. When you hear about the dangers of fat, think meat- and dairy-based diets, aided and abetted by oily foods. Fiber is found in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans. There is no fiber in any product from an animal.

A vegetarian menu is a powerful and pleasurable way to achieve good health. The vegetarian eating pattern is based on a wide variety of foods that are satisfying, delicious, and healthful.

 

~ from Healthy Eating for Life, published by The Cancer Project, Dr. Neal Barnard, founder

Get the booklet free.

The livestock industry is responsible for about 50 percent of the antibiotics used in the United States. (source: United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization report, “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” 2006) Many scientists believe that routine use of antibiotics may lead to increasingly resistant bacteria – and that means more illnesses we’re not able to contain or control.

The antibiotics are given to animals in two ways – routinely, in their feed, and also when they fall ill. There is no question that a sick animal deserves appropriate care. But keeping animals in confinement (as they are on feedlots) creates an environment that is disease-friendly. The only way to control disease in a feedlot is to put antibiotics into the animal feed, without regard to the actual health of an individual animal.

Whether you’re concerned about treatment of animals, or the quality of the food you’re eating (yes, those antibiotics do pass through to your plate), or disease control for people – routine antibiotics are not a good idea.

The water cost associated with the livestock industry is staggering.

According to a 2002 study by David and Marcia Pimentel of Cornell University, Western agricultural irrigation accounts for 85 percent of the fresh water we consume (the other 15 percent is for drinking, washing, food prep, etc). They also found that it takes 100 times more water to produce an ounce of animal protein than it takes to produce an ounce of plant protein.

Did you know that 64 percent of the world’s population is expected to live in a water-stressed environment by 2025? That’s 5 billion people who won’t have enough water if we don’t manage our resources better. (source: United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization report, “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” 2006) Eating more plant protein makes more fresh water available for drinking.

Eat plants! Go plant protein!

According to a 2002 study by David and Marcia Pimentel, researchers at Cornell University, it takes 20 times more energy to produce the protein in beef than it takes to produce a similar amount of protein from plants. In other words, we consume 95 percent less energy every time we choose to get our protein from plants instead of beef.

Go green! Eat plant protein!

• Eating red meat stresses the liver, kidneys, and digestive system, depletes calcium, and leaves uric acid deposits in our joints.
• When comparing people who eat red meat regularly to people who rarely eat it, those who eat it are three times more likely to suffer from heart disease and breast cancer, and are four times more likely to develop colon and prostate cancer.
• The diet of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, chimpanzees, is 97% vegetarian. (Would you feed the chimps at the zoo what you’ve eaten today?)
• The structure of our skin, teeth, stomach, bowels, and the length of our digestive system are all typical of vegetarian animals.
• Eating animal products significantly contributes to our number one killer: heart disease. It kills more people in the United States each year that the combined total of US combat deaths in WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and Korea.