Meat, milk from cloned animals OK'd - The Boston Globe

"A long-awaited study by US scientists has concluded that meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring are safe to eat and drink and should be allowed to enter the food supply without any special labeling.

The finding is a strong signal that the Food and Drug Administration will endorse the use of cloning technology for cattle, goats, and pigs when it publishes a key safety assessment intended to clear the way for formal approval of the products. That assessment is expected this week."

Official: Vegetarians are smarter

Mr Spock, being from the planet Vulcan might have stated these words: "Vegetarians are Logical". Now he can say 'Vegetarians are Smarter'.

A scientific study by a Southampton University team in the British Medical Journal reports that the average vegetarian tend to have five IQ points more than the average person.

However, the report seems to indicate it isn't the exclusion of meat that makes one smarter because "there was no difference in IQ score between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarian but who reported eating fish or chicken."

This suggests to me that intelligent people tend to eat healthier and because of this they are more likely to gravitate towards a vegetarian diet. And because Brits tend to become vegetarian more out of ethics than health (the exact polar opposite to their American counterparts in my estimation), maybe there is a correlation between intelligence and empathy. I guess we'll have to wait for that study.

BBC - High IQ link to being vegetarian

Forget the Cheerleader. Save a cow, save the World.

No superpowers required; just go Vegetarian
A United Nations report is now saying what I've been saying all along: meat eating hurts the planet more than anything else.

A United Nations report has identified the world's rapidly growing herds of cattle as the greatest threat to the climate, forests and wildlife. And they are blamed for a host of other environmental crimes, from acid rain to the introduction of alien species, from producing deserts to creating dead zones in the oceans, from poisoning rivers and drinking water to destroying coral reefs.

The 400-page report by the Food and Agricultural Organisation, entitled Livestock's Long Shadow, also surveys the damage done by sheep, chickens, pigs and goats. But in almost every case, the world's 1.5 billion cattle are most to blame. Livestock are responsible for 18 per cent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together...

The Independent - Cow 'emissions' more damaging to planet than CO2 from cars

Give out vegan-friendly sweets this Halloween

"Vegans have no need to be scared on Halloween. Even though some candies have hidden animal products, there's still a variety of tasty treats to please even the pickiest of trick-or-treaters.

You could be trying to raise a vegan child or just want to hand out treats that don't betray your beliefs.

There is a surprising amount of vegan candy available produced by vegan and mainstream companies.

Some vegan food companies, such as Sun Flour Baking Company (www.sunflourbaking.com), offer vegan-friendly Halloween gift baskets of goodies.

Parents who want to keep their children vegan on this candy-filled holiday should be prepared.

Look for a vegan-vegetarian-friendly Halloween event to attend or make a game of sorting candy post-trick-or-treating. If your children are old enough to read, tell them to look for animal products such as gelatin, casein, honey, lard and pepsin in the ingredients list of the candies they collected.

Put all the candy with animal products in a special trade-in pile and have a variety of vegan candy to swap for the nonvegan candy.

Peta Kids (www.petakids.com) offers this list of vegan candy to use as a guide:

Airheads taffy, Atkins peanut butter bars, Blow Pops, Brach's Cinnamon Hard Candy, Charms lollipops, Chick-o-Sticks, Cracker Jack, Cry Babies, Dem Bones, Dots, Dum-Dums, Fireballs, Goldenberg's Peanut Chews, Hubba Bubba bubblegum, Jolly Ranchers (lollipops and hard candy), Jujubees, Jujyfruits, Lemonheads, Mambas, Mary Janes (regular and peanut butter kisses), Now and Later, Pez, Ring Pop lollipops, Smarties (U.S. Brand), Sour Patch Kids, Starburst (jelly beans and hard candy), Super Bubble, Swedish Fish, Sweet Tarts, Tropical Source mini chocolate bags, Twizzlers and Zotz."

US recalls ground beef over E.coli worries

"A US meat processing firm is recalling some 2,360 kilograms of ground beef possibly tainted by E. coli bacteria, health officials said, just weeks after several people died from contaminated fresh spinach."

Def Leppard Guitarist Rocks a Vegan Diet

Legendary rock band DEF LEPPARD is enjoying critical acclaim for its 12th studio album, 'Yeah!', and — in the midst of a whirlwind world tour — guitarist Phil Collen took time out of his busy schedule to record a public service announcement (PSA) for PETA in which he sings the praises of a vegetarian diet.

'Not only is a vegetarian lifestyle healthier, it's better for the animals and for the environment,' says Collen, who has been a vegetarian for more than 20 years. Visitors to PETA's Web site GoVeg.com can watch Collen's videotaped interview and enter a drawing to win a Fender guitar signed by Collen, which he has had with him on this current tour.

In an exclusive interview with GoVeg.com, Collen talks about how making the connection between living, breathing animals and the carved up bodies on his plate was what convinced him to forgo animal flesh once and for all.

'It started freaking me out eating dead body parts,' he says. 'The whole Jeffrey Dahmer fridge concept of things was weird. It started when I was a kid, but you know, you have that whole parent propaganda when they say, 'Oh no, you got to eat this, and it's OK,' and even when you go, 'Well, that chicken is kind of like...a dog,' and they go, 'Come on, eat, eat, eat your meat,' and I always felt kind of uncomfortable. And I think when I got to a certain age, when you start making choices for yourself, that's when I was like well, I am not going to do this anymore.'
"

Vegan Diet Bests ADA Plan at Diabetes Control

"The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a crusading group that has long ranked vegetarianism high on its agenda, has made a compelling case for a low-fat vegan diet to improve glycemic control.

Both a low-fat vegan diet and a diet following American Diabetes Association guidelines improved glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes, found a 22-week study partially funded by NIH and published in the August issue of Diabetes Care.

But the vegan diet was better, reported Neal D. Barnard, M.D., an adjunct associate professor of medicine at George Washington University, who is president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and colleagues.

The vegan diet -- consisting of fruits, vegetables and grains but no animal products and only limited added fats -- did a better job of lowering glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) levels, body weight, and LDL, reported Dr. Barnard."

Study: Low-fat, vegan diet might be best for type-2 diabetes

"People with type-2 diabetes might be able to lose more weight and deal better with the disease by following a low-fat, vegan diet - rather than commonly recommended low-carbohydrate diets - a study released Thursday found.

The study, conducted by the vegan organization Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and George Washington University, followed 99 people with type-2 diabetes for 22 weeks - half ate a vegan diet and half followed dietary guidelines from the American Diabetes Association.

Members of both groups lowered their weight, and improved blood glucose control and cholesterol levels.

But those who avoided meat and dairy had greater success, said Neal Barnard, president of PCRM, a nonprofit organization that focuses on preventive medicine and nutrition, and promotes vegetarian diets and alternatives to animal research."

Vegan cuisine is much more than 'rabbit food'

Interesting article, includes recipe for ravioli with vegan parmesan cheese:

"For the last 23 years my husband and I have evolved into a lifestyle free of animal products or by-products-a plant-based diet-which advocates health and compassion. We no longer allow meat, dairy or egg products or by-products into our diet. Our lifestyle has been labeled vegan. We are vegans!

And, for the last 23 years I have heard the same question, 'So...what do you eat?' Usually followed by 'rabbit food?'"

Why Vegan / Try Vegetarian

Some good points made in this article:

"For modern animal agriculture, the less the consumer knows about what’s happening before the meat hits the plate, the better."

Being a vegan is nothing of mythic proportions | The University Daily Kansan

Interesting article:

"I always get a strange look whenever I tell people I’m a vegan. Some people have an expression of disbelief upon hearing that a fellow homo sapien could be alive and standing without animal products in their diet. Some look in awe that I can sustain such a complex lifestyle. Others glare back in mocking disgust because they themselves need meat. Most non-vegans seem to have a great many misconceptions about vegans.

I will dispel some of these myths."

Click the link for more.

SuperVegan - Homepage

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's SuperVegan. New website:

"Welcome to SuperVegan, a shockingly ambitious website made by vegans for vegans. Check out our New York City restaurant guide and our vegan web directory, as well as all the latest vegan-interest news "

Vegan Diets Promote Weight Loss

"A review of a vegetarian diet shows it is highly effective for weight loss. Noticeably vegetarian populations tend to be slimmer than meat-eaters, and experience lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other life-threatening conditions linked to overweight and obesity.

The review, analyzing data from 87 other studies, shows the weight-loss effect does not rely on exercise or calorie counting, and its individuals lose weight at a rate of approximately 1 pound per week.

Susan E. Berkow, Ph.D says, 'Our research reveals that people can enjoy unlimited portions of high- fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to achieve or maintain a healthy body weight without feeling hungry.”

Berkow continues, 'There is evidence that a vegan diet causes an increased calorie burn after meals, meaning plant-based foods are being used more efficiently as fuel for the body, as opposed to being stored as fat.'

Dieticians believe insulin sensitivity is increased by a vegan diet, allowing nutrients to more rapidly enter the cells of the body to be converted to heat rather than to fat.

Researchers found that the body weight of both male and female vegetarians is, on average, 3 percent to 20 percent lower than that of meat-eaters."

McDonald's goes 'vegan' in Bangalore

"Bangalore, March. 21 (PTI): It may come as a surprise to many that McDonald's, the company known worldwide for its meat burgers and milkshakes, celebrated 'Meatout', an annual affair by advocates of vegetarianism, at select outlets here and Thane by offering a 'Vegan Meal' for two days this week.

It was made possible thanks to the efforts of 'vegan' advocates from Bangalore-based activist group DIYA (Do It Yourself Activists).

'Vegan' is a lifestyle choice in which no animal products are consumed and no animals are harmed.

Mcdonald's Vegan Meal promotion in the country consisted of a regular iced tea and medium fries which could be used to complete a meal of one of the many McDonald's India vegan dishes including 'McVeggie McAloo Tikki' and 'Cripsy Chinese', which comes on a bun and are also egg and milk tree, a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) release said.

PETA points out that chicken and fish 'suffer incredibly' in meat production.

'Health experts agree that going vegetarian is the single best thing we can do for ourselves and our families. The consumption of meat and diary products has been conclusively linked with heart disease, obesity, arthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's, asthma and impotence,' the release said.

On average, vegetarians and vegans live six to 10 years longer than meat-eaters, the statement claimed.

McDonald's India is not the only company to offer products labelled as 'vegan' in India. Popular chain Cafe Coffee Day offers a 'vegan shake' sans milk or other animal products. Lush India marks many of its soaps with a green 'V' indicating they contain no animal-derived ingredients."

An ethical diet: The joy of being vegan

"When the 33-year-old animal rights campaigner adopted the more extreme version of vegetarianism in 1988, her new-found beliefs met with perplexed looks. She said: 'When I said I was a vegan people would look at me as if I had just said, 'I'm from the planet Mars'.'

The transformation of veganism from oddball movement to the fringe of the mainstream has taken 60 years. Its progress to the mainstream is likely to be much quicker."

Oddball movement? Oh well.

Vegan Porn: Time for a contest! Got your oranges ready?

An orange rind art contest? Sure, why not:

"post your best orange-related artwork in the comments and we'll send a copy of Vegan Freak to the best entry that's in there by March 17th"

Turkey confirms new bird flu cases among poultry

Reuters AlertNet - Turkey confirms new bird flu cases among poultry: "Turkey confirmed on Friday three new cases of the H5 strain of bird flu among poultry in an area to the west of Istanbul and said culling of birds was under way.

The Agriculture Ministry said samples from the infected ducks and chickens had been sent to Britain for further tests to ascertain whether they had the H5N1 form of the virus, which is dangerous to humans.

Four children died of the H5N1 strain in eastern Turkey in January, the first human fatalities outside east Asia. Eight other Turkish people who tested positive for H5N1 have since recovered, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) data."

Vegan diet holds lessons for others

newsobserver.com | Lifestyles: "Ever eat a cheeseless pizza or dunk a cookie into a glass of soymilk? For about one out of every 100 people, avoiding all animal products -- meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy products -- is second nature.

They're vegan (VEE-gun) -- vegetarians who go a few steps farther than the rest. In fact, most vegans also steer clear of honey, and some avoid refined sugar (much of it is whitened with bone char).

What motivates people to go to such extremes?

Vegans are typically motivated by convictions about ecology, world hunger and animal rights. Any use of animals that exploits them or contributes to suffering is off-limits, and that extends to clothing and cosmetics, too. Vegans don't wear leather, wool or silk and they avoid makeup, shampoo and other household products made with animal ingredients or tested on animals.

Health reasons may be motivating factors, too, though they usually aren't the driving force.

Vegans (and vegetarians) are less likely than nonvegetarians to be overweight, and they have lower rates of coronary artery disease. They have lower blood cholesterol levels and lower rates of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer."

Austria Detects Bird Flu in Poultry; Virus Spreads in Nigeria

The deadly HN51 bird flu virus was found for the first time in poultry in the European Union, after a dead swan infected by the disease was taken to an animal shelter housing three ducks and two chickens.

The infected ducks and chickens aren't from a farm, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety spokesman Oskar Wawschinek said today in an interview. Final test results on the birds are expected next week from an EU laboratory. In Nigeria, the virus may cause a ``regional disaster'' as infections widened and local authorities struggled to enforce disease control measures, the Food and Agriculture Organization said today.

``There is ample evidence that the Nigerian bird flu situation is difficult and worrisome,'' said Joseph Domenech, FAO's chief veterinary officer, in the e-mailed statement. Nigeria may need to start a vaccination program, Domenech said.

The World Health Organization is tracking the spread of the H5N1 virus in the event it evolves to spread easily from person to person, sparking a pandemic such as the 1918 outbreak that killed 50 million people worldwide. GlaxoSmithKline Plc said it's already sold out this year's production of the antiviral drug Relenza, and more than 60 countries have ordered Roche Holding AG's Tamiflu drug, also used to treat bird flu in humans.

The spread of the virus in birds creates more opportunity for human infection as people come into contact with poultry during slaughtering, plucking feathers, butchering or preparation for cooking. At least 92 of the 170 people known to have been infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus since late 2003 have died, mainly in Asia, according to the WHO.

Pandemics

A pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus emerges and starts spreading as easily as seasonal flu, by coughing and sneezing, according to the Geneva-based WHO. Because the virus is new, humans will have no pre-existing immunity, making it likely that people who contract pandemic flu will become more seriously ill than when infected by seasonal flu, WHO said on its Web site.

So far, there isn't any evidence that H5N1 is evolving to become become more easily transmissible to humans as the disease spreads in Europe, Africa and Asia, WHO said this week. The most recent pandemic in 1968, known as Hong Kong flu, killed 1 million people worldwide.

Animal diseases are mutating to infect humans at an ``unsustainable'' rate, with more than one new pathogen capable of causing infectious diseases reported per year over the past quarter-century, a British scientist said.

Over the past 25 years, a total of 38 new pathogen species including viruses, bacteria, fungi and other organisms associated with infectious diseases in humans have been reported, Professor Mark Woolhouse, Chair of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, said this week at a meeting of scientists in St. Louis, Missouri.

Hungary

Those making the ``species jump'' from animals to humans include bird flu, variant Creutzfeld Jakob disease, derived from mad cow disease, and human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV), Woolhouse said.

The Hungarian government has appropriated 5.8 billion forint ($27.4 million) to respond to the bird flu threat, including compensation for chicken farmers for potential losses, government spokesman Andras Batiz said yesterday.

Batiz said that by early March, Hungary will have the permit in place to distribute 20,000 doses of the bird flu vaccine that is being developed in Hungary. While Hungary's government has pronounced the vaccine effective against the H5N1 virus, it has yet to be fully tested.

``We have precisely enough -- that is, 20,000 doses -- available to us in Hungary, so that if the situation comes up where bird flu spreads to domestic poultry, that the surgeon general can decide to vaccinate people who breed or who work immediately with those birds,'' Batiz said.

Germany

Germany's most recent confirmed H5N1 cases, involving 18 swans, three geese and a Eurasian buzzard, have brought the country's tally above 100 and prompted authorities to place the coastline of the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, on the Baltic Sea, under observation.

The FAO has allocated $1 million to support surveillance in 20 African nations, including Nigeria and Egypt, where infections in birds have been reported.

An Indonesian woman who died Feb. 20 tested positive for the H5N1 strain in a local laboratory check, Ilham Patu, a doctor coordinating bird flu efforts at Jakarta's Sulianti Saroso Hospital said today.

Malaysia is investigating how 40 chickens became infected and died last week in the state of Selangor, Kamaruddin Md Isa, head of the disease control unit at the Veterinary Services Department, said today. The outbreak of the disease is Malaysia's first in over a year.

Fighting Cocks

Illegally imported fighting cocks are ``a possibility, as well as wild migratory birds,'' Kamaruddin said. The result of the probe may be known within a week, he said. Cock fighting is common in Southeast Asia as gamblers bet on the winner.

At least five Asian countries including China banned imports of birds following the recent outbreaks in India and Malaysia. Iran banned exports of red meat to check against a ``steep'' climb in red meat and fish prices as customers shun poultry products because of concern over bird flu.

India killed more than 223,000 fowl as officials try to prevent the spread of the deadly H5N1 virus to people in the world's second-most populous nation.

The government will provide livestock insurance plans covering 620,000 animals nationwide following the recent culls, Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi today. India had 489 million poultry as of 2003, when the latest livestock census data was released.

Vegan Farms

Love for animals turns Liz Hurley vegetarian!

Love for animals turns Liz Hurley vegetarian!

Washington: British beauty Elizabeth Hurley has become a vegetarian after falling in love with the animals on her farm.

The actress has a working farm in the English countryside that she hopes to retire to when her acting and modelling careers come to an end.

And she admits living alongside nature is having an effect on her.

"There's sheep and cows and chickens and rabbits. It has put me off eating meat because these creatures are so sweet. I know every lamb and have given them names like David, Flora and Angela," she was quoted by Contactmusic,as saying.

"You're not meant to get too attached because it is a working farm and they are meant to go for meat.

But there is a little lamb that I bottle feed and I don't want him to be eaten at all," she added.

MLK Day: Vegan Soul Food

DCist: MLK Day: Vegan Soul Food: "Dexter and Coretta King believe that promoting animal rights is just the next 'logical extension' of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s philosophy of non-violence. "

Animal scares create demand for vegetarian ingredients

Corporations are beginning to shift over to vegetarian ingredients in their products, to ward off any potential 'diseases in certain animal species.'

Food safety fears have led to the emergence a new market in vegetarian supplement ingredients, and industry insiders predicting that as many as half of all ingredients could be non-animal derived in the next ten years.

Scares such as BSE in cattle and avian ‘flu in poultry have prompted consumers and marketers to cast about for supplements containing no animal derivatives, and that means ingredient companies are having to reconsider the carriers they use or develop synthetic variants or seek out vegetarian sources for many of their products...

The Vegan Family Cookbook

If you like to tinker with recipes as much as I do, this is the perfect cookbook. The recipes are well laid out with plenty of space to add notes. Most of the recipes are simple enough to experment with. It's organized by category: Snacks and dips, Soups, Salads and dressings, Vegetables, Side dishes, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Beverages, Breads, Desserts, and more. There's a lot of variety and some great ideas, including a fake cheese sauce for those just making the transition to veganism. One of the best vegan cookbooks I've found. You can buy it here.

Logan students satisfy vegan cravings

High school student create vegan alternative to school lunch:

"After six months of heavy lobbying, Rupani and her club mates convinced school administrators that healthy food not only belonged in the lunch line, but that students would buy it if given the chance. Now, they are proving their point.

Since school resumed this month after winter vacation, Rupani and other club members

JAMES LOGAN HIGH SCHOOL student Nathaniel Nguyen stocks a cart with water, fruit juice and vegan foods such as soup, salads and nuts. (Bea Ahbeck - Staff)
have hawked soy milk, fresh fruit and vegan burgers from a small stand they call the Smart Cart, strategically positioned outside the school cafeteria in Colt Courtyard."