September 2001

Since last I wrote, we learned that the CUFA annual picnic/fundraiser has been scheduled for the same day – September 9 – as our regular potluck, and the question arose of combining the two events. Since our group’s decisions are made by the consensus of whoever is at the potluck where the issue arises, this question arose at the August potluck, where all present was in favor of joining with CUFA on that Sunday, especially since CUFA people usually do come to our Pre-Thanksgiving Feast fundraiser en masse. A flyer for the CUFA picnic is therefore included with this newsletter; please note that there is a charge for attending this picnic just as there is for our Pre-Thanksgiving Feast, and that this year CUFA, like us, needs pre-registration by mail for it. They are also using the same fee scale that we’ve used in the past, whereby you pay less if you bring a potluck dish to pass. Reserve now, and we’ll see you there – we are still planning to have our non-dairy ice cream tasting at the picnic.

We also need to begin talking about and planning our own Pre-Thanksgiving Feast.

If anyone wishes to do something about World Vegetarian Day on October 1, bring it up as soon as possible, by calling me at 962-2703 or Jody at (414) 764-7262. (Chuck and I would not be able to do anything that day as we will be in Istanbul at the time at the European Vegetarian Union conference (with a little sightseeing on the side).

And we wish to welcome our community’s two newest vegetarians, born in the last few weeks, Jeremy Embar and Cecilia Groshek.

M.A.R.V. ACTIVITIES

Sunday, Sept. 9, CUFA Vegetarian Fest Picnic combined with MARV potluck, noon-4 PM, Grant Park. See flyer for details.

Sunday, Oct. 7, 6 PM, regular potluck. A host is needed. Topic will be hors d’oeuvres, and Pre-Thanksgiving Feast planning.

Sunday, Nov. 4, 6 PM, regular potluck. Host needed.

Saturday, Nov. 17, Pre-Thanksgiving Feast!

The next macro potluck will be at 5 PM on Sept. 16, at John and Donna Moberg’s house, 2303 E. Menlo in Shorewood, 962-9358.

"’When I went into medicine,’ Dr. David Heber [who directs the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition] remembers, ‘I thought that if you’re a physician doing research, you’ll be closer to that magical discovery that’s going to extend the life span. And in a way I really think I have been, because it looks like it’s nutrition.’" -- Sept. 2001 Prevention

"In her article … Danielle Nierenberg states, ‘For the time being, the only way consumers can avoid animal products tainted with antibiotics is by purchasing food from organic producers that prohibit their use.’ She overlooks another, safer alternative: avoid animal products entirely!"

There are two items this month under the heading of bad additives. One involves follow-up on the Twinlabs B-12 flap, regarding which we reported last month our discovery that these supposedly vegetarian-acceptable vitamins had turned out to contain gelatin. Chuck found an Aug. 10 article on the website of VegSource, expressing their disgust over the same discovery and discussing the possibility of a class-action lawsuit against Twinlabs, based partly on the FDA rule that ingredients, specifically including gelatin, must be listed on vitamin labels (look up vegsource.com/articles/twinlab)

The other item involves vitamin D added to milk. According to an article on the website of notmilk.com, milk used to be supplemented with vitamin D-2, which is made by exposing algae to ultra-violet light. But this gave milk a bitter taste and therefore D-3 is now used, which is an animal product, derived from pig skin, sheep skin, raw fish liver, and pig brains. Such milk is therefore neither kosher nor vegetarian. I immediately checked and was relieved to find that my Soy Dream soymilk’s vitamin D comes from D-2 – but people had now better start reading labels for that as well.

Speaking of milk, the August Prevention did an article evaluating whether there are really risks from supposedly-healthy foods that have recently been questioned. Their findings as to whether milk can trigger diabetes and/or prostate cancer: moderate amounts of milk should be okay for men, but babies from families with type 1 diabetes should indeed be breastfed and/ or receive soy formula rather than cow’s milk.

Meanwhile, there continue to be problems with animal foods. Sargento Foods recently recalled two shredded cheese varieties due to fear of listeria contamination, while here in Wisconsin there was an e. coli outbreak among attendees of the Ozaukee county fair, with at least 50 suspected cases, of which at least 11 children’s cases were confirmed. A fishing-contest pond downhill from the cow barn was suspected to be the source.

Other news is just bizarre, such as the report that researchers from the University of Guelph in Ontario are trying to use bioengineering to create pigs whose excrement will not cause phosphate pollution when it leaks. The September Prevention announced that eating just a few ounces of beef is good, since it contains several B vitamins, iron, and zinc, and not that much cholesterol…. (never mind that you can eat dark green leafies, nuts, and a B-12 supplement, and get the same goodies with no cholesterol). Prevention also reported the finding that several foods help lower blood-serum cholesterol – but the mechanism is that they prevent dietary cholesterol from getting into the bloodstream, so if you’re not eating meat, eggs, or dairy in the first place, then eating soybeans and chickpeas won’t help.

On the other hand, vegetarianism is still Good For You. A big study recently found that losing just moderate amounts of weight and adding moderate exercise to one’s life can enormously reduce and reverse type 2 /adult onset diabetes; the only catch was that the study participants who succeeded with the new regimen were the ones who were given classes and counseling and follow-up rather than just a bit of advice. Needless to say, exchanging fatty and meaty foods for more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains was a key to the dietary aspect of the plan.

According to Delicious!, a "nutshell" guide to reducing cancer risk is all about vegetarian foods: eat 7-10 fresh vegetables per day plus 3-6 fresh fruits, replace refined flour with whole grains, use garlic, onion, cayenne and other spices regularly, eat shitake and similar mushrooms, drink green and red tea, and eat raw nuts and seeds such as flax, sunflower, sesame, and almonds – while avoiding meat and dairy.

Speaking of flax, a pamphlet from Prevention sang its praises, due to the omega-3 fatty acids, lignins, and fiber, which together encourage heart health and help prevent breast and colon cancer, arthritis, and even severe menstrual cramps and depression. One level measuring TBS of ground flax seed gives measurable benefits (though a few people are allergic to it, so if you’re trying it for the first time, start with just a little and work up). Flax seed oil lacks the fiber, but is extra high in omega-3s.

Dr. Dean Ornish, who has already proven that a low-fat, nearly vegan diet, along with moderate exercise and stress reduction, can reverse heart disease, is now five years into a long-term study (funded by Michael Milkin) which is starting to find that a similar but completely vegan regimen can reverse prostate cancer.

Also regarding cancer, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine newsletter reports on a study of risk factors for pancreatic cancer – which include low intake of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, kale, and kohlrabi).

A comeon from Center for Science in the Public Interest (sometimes called the food police for their reporting on the health risks of popular foods) included a list of 10 super foods that you should eat, nine of which are vegetarian and all but two vegan. (They did include skim or 1% milk as a source of vitamins, calcium, and protein, while recognizing that soymilk can have the same nutrients without the cholesterol; and they do include salmon or other fatty fish as a source of omega-3 fatty acids, the vegan answer to which you now know.) Their other 8 great foods were oranges, whole-grain bread, cantaloupe, broccoli, sweet potatoes, beans, bran cereals, and kale.

By guest reviewer Jan Taylor

Recently I had a very pleasant dining experience at Cleveland Westlake, where I had stopped for the night.

I went to Appleby’s, hoping for a veggie burger, which is available at some but not all Appleby’s restaurants. This time, no veggie burgers.

My first scan through the entire menu turned up nothing appropriate. My second time through I found a chicken-and-veggie stir-fry. I asked the waiter if I could have this without the chicken, and he said that he would be happy to do that for me.

When my dinner arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a very large portion of interesting, delicious vegetables. They didn't just leave out the chicken; they added a lot more veggies.

My second pleasant surprise came when I got the bill, which was two dollars less than the price on the menu.

The reason for my surprise was that many businesses, especially large corporations, have very rigid procedures, from which their employees are not allowed to deviate.

(A few weeks later, I ordered the same thing at another Appleby’s and received the same bountiful, delicious meal, but without the discount. That’s okay. I was just happy to be able to get an enjoyable meal.)

We mentioned last month that EPA permits for bioengineered crops which include a gene for the caterpiller disease Bt are up for renewal, and that there is a time crunch for registering one’s hopes that Bt corn and cotton permits will not be renewed. I have now learned that letters and e-mails can still be sent through August 31 (so hurry!).

Send e-mail to Administrator Whitman at oppdocket@epa.gov, and be sure to include the docket number OPP-00678B with your letter or e-mail. The snail-mail address is Ms. Janet Anderson, U.S. EPA, 401 M St., SW, Washington, D.C 20460

Points to make include that: Bt crops pose unacceptable risks to butterflies such as the monarch and endangered Karner Blue; they threaten human health with the potential for allergic reactions; they contaminate organic and non-GE commercial crops, which seriously undermines foreign markets even for organic and non-GE-using U.S. farmers; they will inevitably lead to the loss of Bt as an important organic pest-control; and Bt crops are likely to cross-pollinate with and thus contaminate non-crop relatives.

We’ve reported in the past on controversy surrounding the safety of soy foods, and can now add to that discussion some additional points that were published in Delicious! and Prevention magazines, both of which have followed up on and investigated the recent allegations and concerns. Prevention looked at the question of whether soy can promote breast cancer, pointing out that soy was first touted as protective when epidemiological studies found that Japanese women (who eat much more soy than the average American) got less breast cancer than women in this country. Later studies seemed to negate this, however, finding that large amounts of soy might boost post-meno-pausal women’s estrogen levels slightly, which might slightly increase their risk. The article’s conclusion, however, was a common-sense recommendation to just eat one or two soy servings per day, rather than huge amounts, while giving (soy-derived) isoflavone supplements a miss.

The Delicious! editors’ response to a letter asking this same question was to point out that the only studies showing a potential problem for women with estrogen-sensitive tumors was in fact done not on people but on test tube cultures using isolated isoflavones – which would also tend to support the Prevention article’s conclusion.

Both magazines did issue mild cautions regarding soy and people with low thyroid function, since soy may have a mild thyroid-inhibiting effect, and may interfere with medication for low-thyroid conditions. People with this problem, it was suggested, might do well to limit soyfoods.

A third question was the concern about bio-engineered soy, and Delicious! did indeed suggest seeking out organic and non-GMO soy products, simply because we have no idea what the risks from heavy ingestion of bioengineered foods might turn out to be.