Vegetarian Star

Al Gore recently spoke to a group of 800 college and high school students at Cal State Monterey Bay in the final series of installments in the Panetta Institute for Public Policy lecture series.

As expected, he commented on the recent Gulf Coast oil spill, but added that coal-fire plants produce similar environmental damage on a regular basis, putting three times as many pollutants into the air.

“Oil you can see,” Gore said. “CO2 is invisible, odorless and tasteless – invisible to the economy because it has no price tag on it.”

One student asked the former Vice President if he has stopped eating meat after learning of the environmental impact of the livestock industry.

His response was “no,” but that he had cut back.

It would be interesting to know how some meat reducers are performing their stunts.

Sure, many say that are eating less meat, but does that mean that are following Meatless Mondays?

Or only eating meat on the weekends?

We need more details on how the flexitarians plan their diets, so others can learn by example!

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Lea Michele "Women's Health"

Lea Michele is on the cover of the June 2010 issue of Women’s Health.

The Glee actress says she used to curl up with a block of cheese for a good time, until she learned more about the deleterious effects of dairy on people and animals.

“My idea of heaven used to be relaxing at home with a cheese plate and champagne… I’m a foodie, but I think it’s much more fun to find things on the menu that are good for me,’ Michele says.

Reading the best selling book Skinny Bitch gave her what she called a slap “in the face.”

The vegan diet book contains an entire chapter titled, “The Dairy Disaster.”

Having Italian heritage on one side of her family, leaving cheese off the pasta and sauce dishes wasn’t the easiest transition.

“Coming from an Italian family, you can imagine [they] couldn’t understand. But they respected my decision.”

And she has learned to veganize some of her mother’s favorite recipes.

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Colorado representative Jared Polis revealed his suggestions to put more vegetarian and non-dairy options in school lunches could cost around $50 million a year, but insists the benefits would outweigh the costs in health care savings.

Polis was in Denver, Colorado recently promoting his bill, The Healthy School Meals Act.

“One of the things I’ve always been dismayed by is the nutritional value of the meals schools serve,” Polis said.

He also emphasized the importance of offering non dairy options to the 10-20% of children who are lactose intolerant.

Although the National School Lunch Program requires schools to always offer cow’s milk, a 2004 reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act and National School Lunch Act allowed schools to offer non dairy alternatives as long as they were equal to nutrition in milk.

However, the USDA does not cover any additional price difference, and as a result, schools aren’t able to offer alternatives like soy or rice milk.

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Jillian Michaels told Monster and Critics she often goes easy on the butter when making baked goods, substituting it for plant based alternatives like vegetable oil.

“My brownies had, you know, applesauce, yogurt and olive oil and like unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder instead of, you know, white sugar, white flour, tons and tons of butter,” Michaels said.

Although non dairy and vegan butters exist, there are plenty of non oil substitutes to use in baked recipes, which can cut even more fat from the finished product.

Fruit spreads, fruit purees and even baby food can add moisture to brownies.

A registered dietitian at Calorie Count recommends for every 1/2 cup of fruit puree, add 1-4 tablespoons of olive and cut back on sugar.

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Rachael Ray spoke with Joy Behar about the lack of access to quality food on The Joy Behar Show on HLN.

Ray explained how she’s trying to get more kids educated about growing their own food and starting community and school gardens.

“It not only makes them healthier, it keeps them more alert in school. You end up with brighter, more well balanced graduates,” Ray said.

She also gave KFC’s new Double Down sandwich, an artery clogging, factory farmed meat of a meal with two fillets of chicken, two pieces of bacon and two slices of Monterrey Jack and Pepper Jack cheese, the thumbs down, calling it the “double bypass.”

“I just don’t see a need for it,” Ray says. “It’s like handing people a gun.”

For those interested in the animal-free version of the Double Down, it has been created, featuring Gardein faux chicken breasts, Lightlife Smart Bacon and Follow Your Heart vegan cheese.

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Animal Factory by David Kirby

It’s amazing the impact a little education can have on your decisions.

After spending three years researching animal agriculture for his book, Animal Factory, David Kirby eats a lot less meat, as he explained to the Washington Post.

“Before I started working on the book, I would go to the supermarket and buy meat. I was completely ignorant about where my food came from. I knew that it wasn’t Farmer Joe down the road. But I never put together the idea that if it weren’t from there, it wouldn’t be from a real farm somewhere. I pictured mechanization. But I didn’t picture what was really going on.”

Read the entire interview with Kirby at the Washington Post.

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Some of the cast members of Glee told Mother Nature Network how they stay green.

Glee has its share of singing vegetarians, so it’s no surprise that Jenna Ushkowitz‘s tip was to “eat less meat.”

A few facts from the Natural Resources Defense Council:

From 1995 to 1998, 1,000 spills or pollution incidents occurred at livestock feedlots in 10 states and 200 manure-related fish kills resulted in the death of 13 million fish.

Ammonia, a toxic form of nitrogen released in gas form during waste disposal, can be carried more than 300 miles through the air before being dumped back onto the ground or into the water, where it causes algal blooms and fish kills.

Ammonia, a toxic form of nitrogen released in gas form during waste disposal, can be carried more than 300 miles through the air before being dumped back onto the ground or into the water, where it causes algal blooms and fish kills.

Yeah, factory farms and meat give you nothing good to sing about, that’s for sure.

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Basketball legend John Salley recently went to Congress to throw his support for the Healthy School Meals Act, H.R. 4870.

The bill, that would offer more plant based proteins and non dairy beverages in schools, currently has 51 co-sponsors in Congress, according to Afro.

Salley is eager to see these items on the menus, even if meat is still served besides them.

“It’s important for folks to know that I’m not against meat, I’m for fruits and vegetables, just like I’m not against war, I’m for peace,” Salley said.

Currently, in some schools, it may be better to send a child to McDonald’s for lunch.

A USA Today investigation found that many fast food giants like Jack in the Box require more rigorous testing for pathogens in meat used in their restaurants, testing it up to 5-10 times more than the USDA does for school lunches.

Or try packing some cat chow in the lunchbox.

Chicken normally only acceptable for pet food was also routinely accepted by USDA standards.

Just another reason to forgo the “mystery” meat, where unknown substances don’t just refer to animal parts.

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