The FDA is eerily close to approving genetically modified salmon for human consumption. These “AquAdvantage” fish, as the company that created them calls them, are Atlantic salmon that are genetically altered to contain a growth hormone gene from a Chinook salmon as well as a genetic “on-switch” from the ocean pout, a distant relative of the …
Jun
30
Jun
25
What The Heck Is… Saturated Fat?
Continuing the discussion on fats… Unlike trans fats, saturated fats are naturally occurring fats. They are only found in animal products (meat, dairy, and eggs)*. Even though saturated fats are natural, the problem with them is that when they enter your body, they tend to do the same thing they did when they were in a …
Jun
11
Get Involved!
There are two bills going through Congress right now that can help reduce farm animal suffering and promote compassion. 1) Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act (HR 4733) Battery cages, gestation crates, and veal crates are considered the most inhumane confinement systems in the agriculture industry. Hens in battery cages have less than the space …
Jun
03
What The Heck Is… Trans Fat?
Fat is probably one of the most misunderstood dietary nutrients, stemming from a widely held but misguided belief that fat should take much of the blame for our obesity epidemic. In the 1980s, with the release of the FDA’s nutritional guidelines warning against foods high in fat, a slew of low fat diets and foods …
May
26
This Is Your Milk On Drugs
I thought that by now nearly everyone had heard about hormones in milk. Yet, people continue to buy conventional milk! I’m baffled. Maybe more explanation will finally wake people up about this?! Bovine Growth Hormone Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH), or Bovine Somatotropin (BST), is a protein hormone that cattle naturally produce. Back in 1937, it …
May
11
The NEW Four Food Groups
Most of us grew up with the USDA’s old “basic four” food groups, first introduced in 1956: 1) Protein: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, nuts 2) Dairy: milk, cheese, yogurt 3) Grains: bread, cereal, rice, pasta 4) Fruits & Vegetables In 1992, the USDA created the Food Pyramid Guide as a visual aid: The Food …
May
06
Lies
This article is from CNN.com, by Jonathan Safran Foer Beyond the unhealthy influence that our demand for factory-farmed meat has in the area of food-borne illness and communicable diseases, we could cite many other influences on public health, most obviously the now-widely recognized relationship between the nation’s major killers — heart disease, No. 1; cancer, …
Apr
19
Cows On Drugs
Since I’ve been in San Antonio for a week, I’ve been eating gobs of Mexican food instead of cooking, so there is no Meatless Monday this week. Instead, I have an excellent article from The New York Times, written by a former commissioner of the USDA, about why we need to stop feeding our livestock antibiotics …
Apr
06
Filth
Think about it: 10 billion animals per year. Do you really think that the USDA has enough inspectors to supervise the humane and safe slaughter of 10 billion animals per year? Of course the USDA tolerates abuse and contaminated meat! Imagine the kind of person who has a job that entails witnessing the slaughter of …
Mar
31
HFCS vs. Sugar
In the wake of a publicity campaign by The Corn Refiners Association to try to de-vilify high-fructose corn syrup, Princeton University researchers released the results of their latest study: high-fructose corn syrup causes considerably more weight gain than sugar. High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is found in nearly every processed food because it is cheaper than sugar, thanks to …
