Vegetarian Star

"Eating Animals" Jonathan Safran Foer

You always aced any literature test in high school by reading the Cliffs Notes.

That was, until your Honors English teacher decided to write test questions that specifically couldn’t be answered from the yellow book.

Some people!

If you haven’t read Jonathan Safran Foer‘s book about animals and factory farms, Eating Animals, perhaps you’d like to at least look over 10 main arguments he makes in his book for not consuming animals.

The summarized arguments on issues such as pollution, infected animals and human rights of employees may give you the push to give up eating animals entirely or provide arguments to people who ask why you choose vegetarianism.

Factory farmed animals contribute to antibiotic resistance:
“In the United States, about 3 million pounds of antibiotics are given to humans each year, but a whopping 17.8 million pounds are fed to livestock—at least that is what the industry claims. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has shown that the industry underreported its antibiotic use by at least 40 percent…. Study after study has shown that antimicrobial resistance follows quickly on the heels of the introduction of new drugs on factory farms.” (p 140)

Cruel treatment of animals before they’re even slaughtered:
“Animals are bled, skinned, and dismembered while conscious. It happens all the time, and the industry and the government know it. Several plants cited for bleeding or skinning or dismembering live animals have defended their actions as common in the industry and asked, perhaps rightly, why they were being singled out.” (p 230)

Need to study more before the big “test?”

Visit Sojourners for the other eight key points discussed in Foer’s book.

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Ellen Pompeo‘s daughter is already seven months old with 2 teeth!

Since baby Stella is taking to solid foods, Pompeo is being extra careful about what to feed her, even for foods as simple as cereal.

“I haven’t given her Cheerios yet but if she does, she would have organic oats instead,” Pompeo, the Grey’s Anatomy actress who, although enjoys veggie burgers, had a failed attempt at going vegetarian, told People.

If a child finds a box of Lucky Charms at the end of the rainbow, it’s not so fortunate after all.

Cereals marketed to children often have 85% more sugar, 65% less fiber and 60% more sodium that cereals marketed to adults.

Grist has profiled several organic cereals, some of which are marketed for children, and put them to the test.

Enviro Kidz came out a winner across several of their varieties, which are sweetened with cane juice instead of sugar.

Matter of fact, Enviro Kidz came out on top for the adults…

Must be those cute lemurs on the box that make you feel warm and cuddly at six in the morning before a work day.

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Horse are injured and die during races, and the movies are no exception.

A horse was injured on the set of filming the HBO movie, Luck, and was forced to be euthanized because its injuries were deemed to be inoperable according to veterinarians working on the set.

During a race, the horse stumbled and fell on its shoulder, causing a severe fracture.

The movie Luck is about the horse racing industry.

“The pilot is about a bunch of intersecting lives in the world of the horse racing track,” David Milch, creator and executive producer of the show recently told Daily Variety.

Unfortunately, the horse’s death is an unfortunate reality in the world of the horse racing track too.

A study discussed in the New York Times revealed that from about 2003-2005, there were over 3,000 horse deaths related to the racing industry, according to statistics from the Congressional subcommittee by the Association of Racing Commissioners International.

“This was an unfortunate accident that was in no way a result of any mistreatment or negligence on the part of HBO,” said Karen Rosa, vice president of American Humane’s Film & Television Unit. “We are all sincerely saddened by this accident that happened after the final shot on the final day of filming for this show. Throughout filming, HBO has been extremely collaborative and responsive to the many safety guidelines and precautions we put in place.”

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Let’s get a few things straight.

Judging from the hot dog named after her and from her own mouth, Betty White‘s no vegetarian.

She isn’t exactly down with animal rights either.

But she does have an interest in what she calls animal “health” and “welfare” and those interests have led her to support the Morris Animal Foundation for 45 years.

Betty told Starpulse, “Oh I think helping the animals is – that’s the lovely upside of any celebrity that happens. I’m not an animal activist. I’m not into anything political, demonstrations, or anything like that. I’m just into animal health and welfare. And have been with the Morris Animal Foundation, a health organization for 45 years, and with the Los Angeles Zoo for 45 years. Over the years of enjoying show business we’ve been able to help the animals.”

The foundation conducts research to improve the health of animals.

Research and testing always make an activist cringe, but here’s one non invasive and non pharmaceutical study that may help thousands of dogs get readopted.

The Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) is used to assess the behavior and temperment of relinquished dogs, but it is also very lengthy and as a result, shelters often don’t use it.

Behavioral scientists from the University of Pennsylvania have developed a shortened version that will allow shelter workers to determine an animal’s ability to successfully live in a home.

Results showed the shortened test is reliable, which could mean more returned dogs may find homes again.

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The Benedictine Women of Wisconsin are living in the greenest building in America after the ecumenical order’s new Holy Wisdom Monastery received the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest ever rating for sustainable construction.

Now, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is asking the sisters to take reducing their carbon footprint even further by serving vegan meals at the monastery.

Hopefully, the sisters have forgotten about that naked Joanna Krupa and the cross ad for pet adoption that angered the Catholic League.

What’s cool is that the sisters should also know adopting such a diet may not have adverse affects on their bone health, according to a study discussed in Science Daily.

The study, published in Osteoporosis International, found the bone densities of 105 vegan post menopausal women who were Buddhists nuns were identical to non vegetarians despite their calcium intake being lower.

Of course, calcium can be easily supplemented by consuming soy or almond milk, orange juice with calcium or calcium rich vegetable foods like kale.

But more factors than calcium play a role in bone health, such as magnesium, present in green vegetables.

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Much to the disappointment of vegans, the NFL has teamed up with dairy farmers in a campaign to fight childhood obesity.

The Fuel Up To Play 60 campaign encourages children to practice better lifestyle habits such as consuming low fat milk and exercising.

Politics aside, evidence for dairy being beneficial to weight maintenance is not conclusive.

Some studies have linked milk consumption to a decrease in the risk for obesity, while others found the opposite.

Since this particular campaign is directed at children, it’s interesting to note one study in the Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine found children that drank the most milk gained the most weight.

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Kate Nash is becoming the new fascinating and quirky girl of the month.

She’s a vegetarian who still craves cheeseburgers, but stopped eating meat because she had this OCD-like obsession that her pet rabbit Fluffy wouldn’t die of an illness if she didn’t eat animals.

Now, the Times Online is reporting that she feels being vegetarian has helped her OCD.

A new alternative medicine for mental health?

“Being vegetarian helped me control my other OCDs. I don’t have to fold the tea towel now, or worry about the sock hanging out of the drawer. It’s fine, just leave it, I’m veggie.”

Not sure what to make of that statement.

Is Kate saying that being vegetarian makes her feel so calm and mellow, she doesn’t stress about re-folding the towels dozens of times until she gets it right?

Or maybe her new meat and dairy free diet is feeding her brain the nutrients she needs.

A study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry titled Inositol Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, inositol, a chemical thought to play a role in serotonin balance, was effective in treating panic, depressive and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

The best sources of inositol are in fruits and vegetables, as well as beans.

Lima beans, for example, contain a whopping 180 milligrams of inositol per 1/2 cup, well over the recommended 100 daily milligram requirement.

You can view a list of food sources and their inositol content here.

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Dr. Sanjay Gupta recently touched on the new study that suggested eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day isn’t as beneficial in preventing cancer as once thought.

The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, followed thousands of Europeans in 10 different countries over nine years and only found a weak association between cancer and produce intake.

Specifically, the study found those who got an extra 2 servings of fruits and vegetables a day reduced their cancer risk by 4%, versus the 20% or 30% found in previous studies that launched the famous “Five a Day” campaign.

It’s thought this exaggeration was found because previous studies used healthier populations who were less likely to get cancer and more likely to demonstrate other health conscious practices to begin with.

Does that mean you should toss your daily apple to the birds?

Not exactly, unless you enjoy feeding them.

“Experts do agree still, of course, that you should eat your carrots, your tomatoes, your spinach, et cetera, it’s good for your heart,” Dr. Gupta said on a recent segment on CNN. “It’s good for your waistline as well. And, by the way, keeping the fat off is also a good thing because the estrogen in fat can fuel some cancers.”

Fruits and vegetables contain fiber, which keep you fuller, causing you to eat less, which is a proven way to keep fat off.

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