December 16, 2012
Start the new year off right :)
Reposted from Mercy from Animals
December 10, 2012
Plant-Based Foods Predicted to Take Center Stage in 2013
Given the well-documented decline in US meat consumption and overall reduction in demand for meat, it is no surprise that several publications that analyze food trends are predicting the increased consumption of vegetarian and vegan products as a top food trend for 2013.In its "Top Ten Food Trend Predictions for 2013," Supermarket News magazine predicts the rise of "new proteins," stating that "a major shift is anticipated in the nation's protein food supply away from meat-based proteins and shifting to meatless proteins." The meatless proteins specifically named include tofu, nut butters, legumes, and beans. The magazine also predicts "an increase in awareness and consumption of vegetarian and vegan meals" and anticipates that baby boomers will be more mindful of healthy eating due to high rates of cancer and heart disease in their age demographic, recognizing that "people who tend to eat low-fat diets rich in fruits and vegetables tend to have a decreased risk of cancer and heart disease."
Restaurant Magazine also predicts that 2013 will be a big year for plant-based eating. Its top trend for the year ahead is that vegetables will "take their star turn." According to the magazine, "As more diners discover the joys of occasional meatless meals, the flirtation with vegetarian fare evolves into flexitarian fascination with actual vegetables. ... Vegetables at the center of the plate are welcomed by diners--who continue to seek fresh, local, healthful fare--as well as operators squeezed by rising costs for proteins."
Yet another significant trend predictor, major food consulting and strategy firm Sterling-Rice Group, foresees in its top 10 food trends of the year ahead that veggies, "[n]o longer prepared as just a side or salad," will "take over the plate" and "get their chance to star as the main dish." It also predicts as a top trend that "[f]rom gluten-free to vegan, more and more restaurants will offer all-inclusive menus and services to accommodate all eaters" and there will be "no diner left behind."
As more and more people learn about the horrific treatment of animals on factory farms and the health benefits of eating less meat, they are choosing plant-based meals. For tips on joining the trend toward veg eating, visit ChooseVeg.com.
Photo courtesy of Sylvia Elzafon.
December 9, 2012
Reposted from Huffingtonpost.com
A Vegan Diet (Hugely) Helpful Against Cancer
Kathy Freston
Posted: 12/09/2012 11:00 am
If you're anything like me, the "C" word leaves you trembling. But today there is very good news to report: Research suggests you can improve your odds of never getting cancer and/or improve your chances of recovering from it. Not with a drug or surgery, although those methods might be quite effective. This is all about the power on your plate, and it's seriously powerful.
A 2012 analysis of all the best studies done to date concluded vegetarians have significantly lower cancer rates. For example, the largest forward-looking study on diet and cancer ever performed concluded that "the incidence of all cancers combined is lower among vegetarians."
That's good news, yes. But what if we're looking for great news? If vegetarians fare so much better than meat-eaters, what about vegans? Is that an even better way to eat? We didn't know for sure until now.
A new study just out of Loma Linda University funded by the National Cancer Institute reported that vegans have lower rates of cancer than both meat-eaters and vegetarians. Vegan women, for example, had 34 percent lower rates of female-specific cancers such as breast, cervical, and ovarian cancer. And this was compared to a group of healthy omnivores who ate substantially less meat than the general population (two servings a week or more), as well as after controlling for non-dietary factors such as smoking, alcohol, and a family history of cancer.
Why do vegans have such lower cancer risk? This is fascinating stuff: An elegant series of experiments was performed in which people were placed on different diets and their blood was then dripped on human cancer cells growing in a petri dish to see whose diet kicked more cancer butt. Women placed on plant-based diets for just two weeks, for example, were found to suppress the growth of three different types of breast cancer (see images of the cancer clearance). The same blood coursing through these womens' bodies gained the power to significantly slow down and stop breast cancer cell growth thanks to just two weeks of eating a healthy plant-based diet! (Two weeks! Imagine what's going on in your body after a year!) Similar results were found for men against prostate cancer (as well as against prostate enlargement).
How may a simple dietary change make one's bloodstream so inhospitable to cancer in just a matter of days? The dramatic improvement in cancer defenses after two weeks of eating healthier is thought to be due to changes in the level of a cancer-promoting growth hormone in the body called IGF-1. Animal protein intake increases the levels of IGF-1 in our body, but within two weeks of switching to a plant-based diet, IGF-1 levels in the bloodstream drop sufficiently to help slow the growth of cancer cells.
How plant-based do we need to eat? Studies comparing levels of IGF-1 in meat-eaters vs. vegetarians vs. vegans suggest that we should lean toward eliminating animal products from our diets altogether. This is supported by the new study in which the thousands of American vegans studied not only had lower rates of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, but significantly lower cancer risk as well.
This makes sense when you consider the research done by Drs. Dean Ornish and Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn; they found that a vegan diet caused more than 500 genes to change in only three months, turning on genes that prevent disease and turning off genes that cause breast cancer, heart disease, prostate cancer, and other illnesses. This is empowering news, given that most people think they are a victim of their genes, helpless to stave off some of the most dreaded diseases. We aren't helpless at all; in fact, the power is largely in our hands. It's on our forks, actually.
November 8, 2012
From the Farm Sanctuary website
This year join celebrity spokesperson Shannon Elizabeth and sponsor a turkey for your compassionate holiday tradition! Since 1986, Farm Sanctuary’s Adopt a Turkey Project has encouraged people to save a turkey at Thanksgiving through sponsorships that help us rescue animals and provide care for them at our sanctuaries, as well as educate and advocate for turkeys and other farm animals everywhere. Now is your chance to join us in saving even more lives this year.
For a one-time donation gift of just $30, anyone can sponso/r a turkey who lives at one of our three shelters. As a turkey sponsor, you will receive a special Adopt a Turkey certificate with a color photo of and fun details about your new friend.
Turkey sponsorships also make perfect gifts, so make an even greater impact this holiday season by sharing the love with others. For a gift of $210, you can sponsor the whole flock and have adoption certificates sent to family and friends!
We are pleased to present these photos of beloved turkeys at Farm Sanctuary who not only need your sponsorship support this Thanksgiving but also your help showing others just how deserving of life farm animals really are. We are privileged to have these beautiful birds in our care, and we know you’ll love making a difference for them, too!
We are pleased to present these photos of beloved turkeys at Farm Sanctuary who not only need your sponsorship support this Thanksgiving but also your help showing others just how deserving of life farm animals really are. We are privileged to have these beautiful birds in our care, and we know you’ll love making a difference for them, too!
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/giving/adopt-a-turkey
October 9, 2012
Re-posted from the PCRM website
Help 100 Chimpanzees Being “Retired” to Texas Laboratory
The National Institutes of Health recently announced it will “retire” 110 chimpanzees from experiments. But 100 of them will be sent to Texas Biomed, a laboratory that was fined more than $25,000 for violating the Animal Welfare Act. Only 10 will go to Chimp Haven, the federal chimpanzee sanctuary.“I’m thrilled to see this kind of movement toward the end of chimpanzee experiments, but sending only 10 of the 110 chimpanzees to a sanctuary is unfair,” said John Pippin, M.D., PCRM’s director of academic affairs. “Scientists, legislators, and government agencies should work together to stop condemning any chimpanzee to a lifetime of laboratory captivity or invasive experiments. Technological advances have given us far better ways to improve human health.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also moving away from chimpanzee experiments. The agency said it no longer conducts chimpanzee experiments, according to a letter the agency wrote to PCRM.
“Consistent with the findings of the IOM panel, CDC no longer conducts chimpanzee research,” wrote Tanja Popovic, M.D., Ph.D., CDC deputy associate director for science, to Dr. Pippin.
Last year, an Institute of Medicine committee charged with examining the necessity of chimpanzee experimentation could not find a single area of health research for which chimpanzees are essential. At its first hearing, Dr. Pippin was asked by the Institute of Medicine panel to testify on the use of human cells and other high-tech alternatives to replace chimpanzees in medical research.
Congress is also considering protections for chimpanzees. The Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act now has the bipartisan support of more than 190 members of Congress and would end invasive and harmful experiments on chimpanzees, permanently end breeding of chimpanzees for invasive research, and release federally owned chimpanzees to sanctuaries.
Ending chimpanzee experiments will save a quarter of a billion taxpayer dollars over the next decade. The United States is the last country in the world that permits large-scale confinement of chimpanzees in laboratories and their use in invasive research.
To ask Congress to pass the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act, visit PCRM.org/GAPCSA.
October 9, 2012
Re-posted from Mercy for Animals Website
MFA Spreads Compassion on World Farm Animals Day
In recognition of World Farm Animals Day, Mercy For Animals exposed hundreds of college students from coast to coast to the plight of animals on factory farms and the impact of their food choices. Celebrated every year on October 2nd in honor of Gandhi's birthday, World Farm Animals Day memorializes and advocates for the billions of animals raised and killed for food every year.
MFA staff and volunteers held various outreach events that reached over 2,000 people with pro-vegetarian leaflets and hundreds more at our Paid-Per-View stations, where we paid people $1 to watch 4 minutes of Farm to Fridge--our hard-hitting documentary revealing the inherent suffering and violence animals face on modern day farms. Most viewers reported that they were shocked and horrified by what they saw and wanted to know what they could do to help. Each participant received a copy of MFA's free Vegetarian Starter Kit, packed with loads of vegan tips and recipes.
If you are interested in planning a Paid-Per-View event in your area, check out our step-by-step instructions for how to do it.
For more information about how you can help make every day World Farm Animals Day, visit ChooseVeg.com for tips on adopting a healthy and compassionate vegan diet.
MFA staff and volunteers held various outreach events that reached over 2,000 people with pro-vegetarian leaflets and hundreds more at our Paid-Per-View stations, where we paid people $1 to watch 4 minutes of Farm to Fridge--our hard-hitting documentary revealing the inherent suffering and violence animals face on modern day farms. Most viewers reported that they were shocked and horrified by what they saw and wanted to know what they could do to help. Each participant received a copy of MFA's free Vegetarian Starter Kit, packed with loads of vegan tips and recipes. If you are interested in planning a Paid-Per-View event in your area, check out our step-by-step instructions for how to do it.For more information about how you can help make every day World Farm Animals Day, visit ChooseVeg.com for tips on adopting a healthy and compassionate vegan diet.August 2012
Mercy for Animals Walmart Cruelty Tour
People of Fort Myers Oppose Walmart's Horrific Cruelty to Pigs
Although the tail end of the hurricane continued to move through Fort Myers during our demonstration there, a great group of volunteers still showed up to help out. We were set up along a very busy street with lots of car traffic in both directions. A woman who was about to shop at Walmart approached us for more information. We handed her a leaflet and spoke with her for a couple of minutes. After learning that pork sold at Walmart stores comes from factory farms that routinely abuse pigs, she told us she would be boycotting the store.
May 3, 2011
May 2 to 8 is "Puppy Mill Action Week." Thousands of mother dogs are suffering in puppy mills, spending their lives in cramped wire cages, often with barely enough food and water to stay alive.
Please keep these mothers in mind as Mother's Day approaches.
Each day this week, you can take action against this cruel industry. Start by joining singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat in remembering the dogs suffering in puppy mills—sign the pledge to help stop puppy mill cruelty! Go to http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/tips/puppy_mill_action_week.html.
May 1, 2011
Check out Mercy for Animals they are awesome!
Please....don't eat veal. This article was borrowed from the Humane Society Website. Think before you support Factory Farming.
The Humane Society of the United States praised the Vermont attorney general for charging two former slaughter plant operators with felony and misdemeanor criminal animal cruelty in connection to The HSUS' investigation of a dairy calf slaughter plant last October.
According to Vermont's attorney general, Christopher Gaudette has been charged with one count of felony aggravated cruelty and two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. Frank Perretta has been charged with one count of misdemeanor animal cruelty, and arrest warrants have been issued for both defendants.
"The abuse of the animals at Bushway was appalling, and justice had to be done," stated Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. "We are grateful to Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell for filing charges against the individuals responsible for this unconscionable abuse."
The charges stem from The HSUS' undercover investigation that revealed dairy calves only a few days old — many with their umbilical cords still hanging from their bodies — unable to stand or walk on their own. The footage documented that newborn calves too weak to stand were kicked, slapped and repeatedly shocked with electric prods and subjected to other mistreatment. Christopher Gaudette was caught pouring water on one calf to increase the intensity of the shocking device.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture suspended operations at the plant last October.
Facts
When dairy cows give birth to male calves, the calves are often sold to veal factory farms where they are unable to turn around or stretch their limbs, or they are slaughtered for "bob veal" within a week of being born.
About 700,000 veal calves are slaughtered in the United States annually, approximately 15 percent of whom are bob veal calves.
Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine and Michigan have passed laws phasing out the use of restrictive veal crate confinement systems, but still allow transport and slaughter of calves at any age.
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This news was copied from the Humane Society's website...when buying eggs please purchase "organic cage-free eggs". It's a little change that makes a big difference!
July 06, 2010
Breaking: Gov. Schwarzenegger Signs Landmark Egg Bill
I just got the very exciting news from California that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed A.B. 1437, a bill backed by The HSUS that requires that starting in 2015 all shell (whole) eggs sold in California must come from hens who were able to stand up, lie down, turn around, and fully extend their limbs without touching one another or the sides of an enclosure. In other words: California will become a cage-free state.
Proposition 2, approved by voters in November 2008, phases out the extreme confinement of laying hens in cages by 2015. A.B. 1437 applies the standards contained within Prop 2 to the sale of shell eggs. With 40 million consumers in California, it would be hard to overestimate the potential of this bill to change the way laying hens are treated throughout the United States.
This victory comes just days after The HSUS brokered a deal with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and the state’s largest agriculture groups to impose a moratorium on new battery cage facilities in Ohio, the nation’s second largest egg production state.
Change for animals subjected to intensive confinement is coming, and the victories this week are plain evidence of that.
On the California legislation, many thanks go to bill author Assemblyman Jared Huffman, to all of the other lawmakers who supported the legislation, to Gov. Schwarzenegger, and, most importantly, to the thousands of HSUS supporters who took action and urged elected officials to support this bill.
