First, allow me to re-iterate some of the facts from my Earth Day 2010 post: The livestock industry is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire world’s transportation industry combined. Researchers at the University of Chicago found that going vegan is more effective in countering climate change than switching from a standard American car …
Nov
02
You Are What THEY Eat
We all know the old saying, “You are what you eat.” And it’s true. What we eat literally becomes a part of us. What we eat doesn’t just go in our gut, but it ends up in our blood, our veins, our muscle tissue, our fat deposits, our brain, our hair and fingernails, our organs, …
Jul
14
Be Careful What You Fish For
Anyone who made it through Biology 101 knows that fish have nerves and brains that sense pain, just like all other animals. Scientists tell us that fish nervous systems closely resemble our own, even including neurotransmitters like endorphins that relieve suffering – of course, the only reason for a nervous system to produce pain killers …
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 …
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 …
Mar
09
Why Are Vegetarians So Depressing?
by Martha Flumenbaum, from The Huffington Post Animal agriculture is a bigger cause of global warming than cars. You’d be better off driving a Hummer than eating a steak. Eating too much meat can cause heart disease and cancer. Factory farms cause pollution and the people who live near them are getting asthma. Animals on …
Jan
05
Intro To GMOs
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are living organisms whose DNA has been altered by genetic engineering. Foreign genes have been inserted into the genome of these organisms. GMOs have widespread applications, such as biological and medical research, production of pharmaceutical drugs, experimental medicine, and (yep) food. Today the broadest, and most controversial, use of GMOs is …
Jun
09
Who's Hogging Our Antibiotics?
A new ad campaign in DC’s metro trains informs the public about the nontheraputic use of antibiotics in our CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations). The ads say that 70% of human antibiotics are fed to livestock, promoting antibiotic-resistant bacterial mutations that can be dangerous to humans. Antibiotic-resistant infections cost the U.S. health care system at …
May
15
Feeding Our Food (Part 2)
Let me just remind you where we left off: discussing the meal that is served up in CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations), where most of our farm animals are raised. That meal, in case you’ve forgotten, consists of corn, soy, antibiotics, hormones, meat from other animals (including diseased animals), bits of feathers, hair, skin, hooves, …
