Saturday, January 6, 2018

VEGETARIAN/VEGAN NEWSLETTER #44, JANUARY 2018

OMNI

VEGETARIAN/VEGAN ACTION NEWSLETTER  #44,
WEDNESDAY (2ND WEDNESDAYS), January 10, 2018.
      Edited by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and Ecology

Forward to help advance vegetarianism and veganism.
To be removed from this mailing, drop me a line unsubscribe, but I hope you will continue to attend the Potluck!

     OMNI’s DECEMBER VEGETARIAN POTLUCK is Wednesday, JANUARY 10, 2018, at OMNI, Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology (2ND Wednesdays).  We start eating at 6:00.      All are welcome. 
      You may want to enjoy and discuss some old or new vegetarian or vegan recipes, to talk about healthier food, or you are concerned about cruelty to animals or global warming and climate catastrophe.  Whatever your interest it’s connected to food; whatever your motive, come share vegetarian and vegan food and your views with us in a friendly setting.  If you are new, get acquainted with OMNI’s director, Gladys Tiffany.  OMNI is located at 3274 Lee Avenue parallel to N. College southeast of the Village Inn and south of Liquor World.  More information: 935-4422; 442-4600. 
     Car directions to OMNI: Take College to Harold St (at Flying Burrito), turn east (right if you’re heading north). Go one block to Lee and turn left.  Go one block to Bertha and we’re the gray brick on the corner, 2nd house south of Liquor World, solar panels on roof! 


VV IS SPREADING, and OMNI’s Vegetarian Action and OMNI members are  reporting and advocating the good news.  We are advancing the better future.  This newsletter expresses the belief by the editor that Vegetarianism/Veganism VV is a powerful force for change when all of its principles are advocated:  VV sustains and improves health, the protection of animals, and the climate.  Who would diminish nutrition and compassion, or increase CO2?


CONTENTS OMNI Vegetarian Action Newsletter #44, Wed., January 10, 2018
Health, Nutrition
Storey: Dr. Greger--Up Plants!
Snyder: Cutting Cancer Risk
Masterson: Living Longer
News from VegNews: DiCaprio, Dairy, Russia
Holt-Gimenez: Food and Capitalism
New Vegan Food
McVegan Burgers
New Book: The Vegan Way
Trader Joe’s
7th-Day Adventists
Protection of Animals, Empathy, Compassion
October 2
Can Animals Suffer?
Alabaster: Cruelty of Industrial Farming
Be a Chicken in London—and Here?
PETA Ads Censored
PBS, NOVA, “Bird Brain” Skills and Empathy
New Book on Animal and Disability Liberation
Climate Catastrophe, Opposition to Carnism
Clayton: OMNI Climate Book Forum 1-7-18
FAO: Agricultural Emissions
Chasan: Meat Taxes?
Holt-Gimenez, Food, Capitalism, and Warming

Contents #43, Dec. 13, 2017

TEXTS

Health, Nutrition
Celia Storey.  “Dr. Greger Survives Deadly Smoothie.” NADG (12-11-17).  The author of How Not to Die and the new How Not to Die Cookbook was speaking in Arkansas last month.  His thesis: “the common mortal diseases are caused or encouraged by failing to eat enough nutrient-rich plants.”

Vic Snyder.  “Increase the Odds: Behavior Shifts Cut Cancer Risk.”  NADG (Dec. 30, 2017.  The remediable risks: smoking, excess body weight, alcohol consumption, processed and red meat consumption, low intake of fruits and vegetables, lack of exercise.

Mike Masterson.  “Living Longer.”  NADG (oops).  Reports the research of Dr. Josh Axe (draxe.com) on extending your life:  spend more time in nature; diet primarily of plants and fruit, moderate quantities; daily exercise especially racket sports, strength-training, moderate jogging; intermittent fasting; reading; attending church more than once a week.

Short world news items from the Jan. Feb. 2018 VegNews:
VV Leonardo DiCaprio invests in vegan food brand Beyond Meat because livestock contributes to carbon emissions.
US consumption of dairy products is declining, while plant-based milk industry enjoys “meteoric growth.”
Russia’s first sustainable, meat-free apartment complex is coming to St. Petersburg.
(VegNews is 99 percent a nutrition/health magazine.  –D)

Eric Holt-Gimenez.  A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism: Understanding the Political Economy of What We Eat.  Monthly Review P, 2017.   

Capitalism drives our global food system. Everyone who wants to end hunger, who wants to eat good, clean, healthy food, needs to understand capitalism. This book will help do that.   In his latest book, Eric Holt-Giménez takes on the social, environmental, and economic crises of the capitalist mode of food production. . . .A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism introduces the reader to the history of our food system and to the basics of capitalism. In straightforward prose, Holt-Giménez explains the political economics of why—even as local, organic, and gourmet food have spread around the world—billions go hungry in the midst of abundance; why obesity is a global epidemic; and why land-grabbing, global warming, and environmental pollution are increasing.
Holt-Giménez offers emblematic accounts—and critiques—of past and present-day struggles to change the food system, from “voting with your fork,” to land occupations. We learn about the potential and the pitfalls of organic and community-supported agriculture, certified fair trade, microfinance, land trusts, agrarian reform, cooperatives, and food aid. We also learn about the convergence of growing social movements using the food system to challenge capitalism. How did racism, classism, and patriarchy become structural components of our food system? Why is a rational agriculture incompatible with the global food regime? Can transforming our food system transform capitalism? These are questions that can only be addressed by first understanding how capitalism works.

Jackie Day, Speaker at Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore
Natural Products Expo East Was Packed With New VEGAN Food!
I was asked to fly to Baltimore to speak at Natural Products Expo East as a vegan "influencer."  The topic? Promoting Your Plants*How To Successfully Market Plant-Based Products to Consumers*  Industry insiders want to know the BEST way to market vegan food, because, ya know - that's what all the big companies are buying these days: successful VEGAN companies! They know times are changin'!  Everyone's going vegan!  ou can read about the new vegan products (including a new vegan PIZZA burrito!) on the My Vegan Journal blog. And stay tuned for new vegan food at Expo West in March - it will have even MORE!
The New McVEGAN!
McDonald's sells McVEGAN Burgers!
I have NO interest in eating at McDonald's, but I'm SUPER happy for those who do!  The 100% vegan burger did SO well in the "test" city in Finland that they've decided to roll it out throughout the country, and in Sweden, too!  “The test in Finland blew all the expectations out of the water” ~ Staffan Ekstam, Head of Food Strategy at McDonald’s in Sweden.  I think it's only a matter of time before we see McVegan Burgers in the U.S., too!


"EMPOWERING!" ~ Academy Award-Winning Director James Cameron
THE VEGAN WAY keeps getting GREAT reviews!  Even Academy Award-Winning Director James Cameron is singing its praises!  "The Vegan Way gives readers easy steps - and incentive - to protect the environment and improve their own wellness, through the food they eat, and the products they buy. It's empowering! We love this book!”   – Academy Award-winning director James Cameron and Suzy Amis-Cameron
SO grateful for this! And thank you to everyone who has sent thank you notes to me - and left thoughtful reviews - after reading the book! I really appreciate it!

There's lots of VEGAN food at Trader Joe's for the Holidays!
New Vegan Food for the Holidays at Trader Joe's!  So much yummy stuff!  There's even a new jackfruit curry and vegan whipped cream, too!  Here's the scoop!  As I mention in my book, The Vegan Way, Trader Joe's really is a treasure trove for great vegan food!  They even sell nutritional yeast & vegan butter!
And if you ask nicely, they'll print out a list of their vegan products for you right in the store!

 

(Vegetarianism) Seventh-day Adventists and Health

March 23, 2012   http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2012/03/23/march-23-2012-seventh-day-adventists-and-health/10575/    “Diet seems to be especially important to Adventists’ good health and long life expectancy. Nearly 30 percent of Seventh-day Adventists practice some form of vegetarianism compared to only about three percent for the US population as a whole. In fact, at many Adventist institutions, such as the Loma Linda Health Center, only vegetarian meals are served.”


Protection of Animals, Empathy, Compassion
WORLD DAY FOR FARMED ANIMALS, OCTOBER 2 (GANDHI’S BIRTHDAY).  Will you be the first here to teach the link between farmed animals and Gandhi’s teachings (or Schweitzer’s, et al.)?  The question is not whether animals can reason (they can) or talk (they can), but can they SUFFER (they can).  

Nick Alabaster.  “Is There Life Before Death?”  Fayetteville Free Weekly (Sept. 29, 2016).   Denounces the cruelty of industrial meat system and praises vegetarian-vegan diet.  

“Why Did the Chicken Ride the Tube?”  PETA Global (Autumn 2017).  London Peta members rode the trains dressed as chickens to teach compassion and launching PETA’s pro-vegan ad series in 25 stations across London.  Do this here: contact PETA.org/VSK

“Does This Calf Look Sad to You?”  PETA Global (Autumn 2017).
Censorship of PETA ads in NYC and DC.  While DC restaurants promoted “eat more meat,” PETA was denied “eat no meat” ads on the metro.  But PETA is running ads elsewhere—and with ACLU is suing the DC Transit Authority.

www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/bird-brain.html
Call somebody a “bird brain,” and you're not delivering them a compliment. But as NOVA shows, birds turn out to have advanced problem-solving skills that we usually assume are unique to humans. Watch astonishing tests of avian aptitude: parrots that can plan for the future, jackdaws that can “read” human faces, and ...  (And they demonstrate empathy.  –D)
www.pbs.org/video/bird-brain-xgnj3x/
Dec 20, 2017 - Watch as birds solve puzzles and challenge our basic notions of intelligence.
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/bird-brains.html
Jul 16, 2008 - Clues to the origins of human language are turning up in the brains of birds.
www.pbs.org/video/bird-brain-preview-vnpu1p/
Watch as birds solve puzzles and challenge our basic notions of intelligence.

How a Vegan’s Experience with Disability Is Helping Her Heal the Divide Between Two MovementsSunaura Taylor’s new book finds solidarity with blind dogs and abused chickens.    BY TROY VETTESE   From In These Times.
Beasts of Burden.  The New Press, 2017[DB1] . A beautifully written, deeply provocative inquiry into the intersection of animal and disability liberation—and the debut of an important new social critic ... “Sunaura Taylor has written an amazing book that acts both as an intervention into widely held beliefs about disability and animals and an invitation to reimagine ourselvesps://thenewpress.com/books/beasts-of-burden.



Climate Catastrophe, Opposition to Carnism
On Sunday, January 7, 1:30, FPL, OMNI’s Climate Book Forum will discuss The ELEPHANT IN THE CORNFIELD by Chris Clayton. https://www.amazon.com/Elephant-Cornfield-Politics-Agriculture-Climate-ebook/dp/B017GFVFZA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512479131&sr=8-1&keywords=elephant+in+the+cornfield

Apparently it is only available on Kindle, $5.99, but also samples of the book can be downloaded for free on your Kindle or iPad. 
This book is especially apt to follow Jeanne Neath’s  excellent presentation on The Subsistence Perspective, about changing our expectations of what a normal life is, from one of thoughtless consumerism to a recognition of and transition to a life of subsistence, with our demands on nature in harmony with what can be sustained without poisoning the environment…or our spirits. Chris Clayton is a reporter who has studied the attempts to legislate action to reduce negative impacts from agriculture and incentivize conservation practices. 

FAO: Agriculture emissions reduction critical in climate battle    Thomson Reuters Foundation (12/28).  UN WIRE, UN Foundation, 12-29-17

Emily Chasan.  “Meat Next on Tax List to Curb Gas Emissions, Investors Say.”  NADG (Dec. 12, 2017.  “Greenhouse gas emissions from livestock are about 14.5 percent of the world’s total,” and global meat consumption is increasing significantly.   (A small back-page but important report.  –D)


A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism: Understanding the Political Economy of What We Eat by Eric Holt-Giménez
Capitalism drives our global food system. Everyone who wants to end hunger, who wants to eat good, clean, healthy food, needs to understand capitalism. This book will help do that.
In his latest book, Eric Holt-Giménez takes on the social, environmental, and economic crises of the capitalist mode of food production. Drawing from classical and modern analyses, A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism introduces the reader to the history of our food system and to the basics of capitalism. In straightforward prose, Holt-Giménez explains the political economics of why—even as local, organic, and gourmet food have spread around the world—billions go hungry in the midst of abundance; why obesity is a global epidemic; and why land-grabbing, global warming, and environmental pollution are increasing.   Further commentary: go to https://monthlyreview.org/product/a_foodies_guide_to_capitalism/

CONTENTS OMNI Vegetarian Action Newsletter #43, Wed , December 13, 2017   http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2017/12/omni-vegetarianvegan-newsletter-43.html
Health, Nutrition
Ruth Frances, Cookbooks
PBS, Dr. Greger’s Books
Taxing Meat for Health
PETA Magazine (Fall 2017)
New Apps
Vegan at ONF Last Month

Protecting Animals, Empathy, Compassion
PETA Magazine
NWA Christian Vegan Group
PETA at UAF
Farm Sanctuary

Climate Catastrophe from Carnism
OMNI Climate Book Forum on Agriculture
Taxing Meat for Climate
Tyson Foods and Exxon

Contents of Vegetarian/Vegan Action #42, November 2017



END VEGETARIAN/VEGAN NEWSLETTER #44, JAN. 2018



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