June 2005
GREETINGS
Incredibly, with Spring just underway, it’s time to start thinking about Autumn
activities!! For one thing, volunteers for the PreThanksgiving Feast have been
thin on the ground the last couple of years, and Jody, who does the incredible,
complex job of organizing and running the whole event, is planning to bring
sign-up sheets for it to the June potluck – and not planning to book the
hall until they are filled. It really is very unfair to her to leave her
worrying up til the last minute whether we’ll have enough workers to bring the
event off, and then scrambling to do it with too few people. After more than a
decade, we’ve actually developed a Milwaukee tradition that a couple of hundred
people look forward to and rely on – and it would be equally rotten for us to
disappoint them or to expect two or three people to do the whole thing
themselves. People need to come to the potluck and sign up for the job they
prefer, or phone Jody and David at (414) 764-7262 to sign up by phone.
Lots of us enjoy the Pre-Thanksgiving Feast and want it to continue. So we
all need to help make it happen!
Another thing that needs our mutual attention at the June potluck
regards an email that we’ve received from Erik Marcus. He will be touring in the
Fall, and wants to know if we would like to have him as a speaker. Do we want
him? Is the first question: he is a very knowledgeable and passionate speaker,
but does tend to focus strongly on animal welfare aspects of vegetarianism. Is
this what people want to hear and sponsor? On the one hand, we have members who
do eat eggs or dairy and don’t want to turn them off (as Eric can do); on the
other hand, we’ve had speakers who focused solely on the health aspects
of vegetarianism, so an animal rights focus on another occasion would be fair.
Should we ask Eric to speak at a regular pot-luck and then advertise it? Or work
with Alliance for Animals on this? We could ask him to come for the
PreThanksgiving Feast (assuming we get enough volunteers to have it) – yet I've
sensed that attendees at that event have not wanted to interrupt their feasting
for either entertainment or a speaker. This all needs open discussion, so we
need lots of you at the June 5 potluck to discuss it!M.A.R.V. ACTIVITIES
Sunday, June 5, regular potluck, 5 PM, at the Friends’ Meeting House,
3224 N. Gordon Pl. in Riverwest (from Humboldt, go east on Auer a few short
blocks to the parking lot). Focus will be a presentation on and
discussion about the possibilities of a vegetarian Atkins-style diet.
The July potluck will be on July 10 (to avoid the 4th
of July weekend) and will be at the Quigley house in Shorewood. Subsequent
regular potlucks will be on Aug. 7 and ?Sept. 4 (Labor Day weekend)??
Other veg-friendly potlucks
It
looks like there will be no macrobiotic potluck for June, but there will be one
on July 17 in Cedar Grove.
The raw foods potluck is usually held on the last Sunday of the
month at 6 PM in Brown Deer. Call the Cloughertys at (414) 355-7383.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
Chuck has been reading a book by Neil Hanson on England’s 16th
century defeat of the Spanish Armada. Among its lore about navies of those years
are some interesting tidbits on diet. For although scurvy was common and often
deadly, and citrus was already known to prevent or cure it, “fruits and
[vegetables] were considered very inferior foodstuffs. The standard diet of the
poor was heavily dependent on black bread, made from barley, wheat, rye or oats,
and in times of shortage…they ate bread made from…beans, lentils, and even
acorns, but rich and poor alike believed that the only proper food for man was
meat… Seamen continued to suffer and die from disease in far greater numbers
than ever fell prey to enemy guns.” Yet at the same time, galleys (oar-propelled
warships) were rowed by slaves and prisoners – and they would be “watched over
by physicians and fed a special diet of pulses [i.e., beans] grains, bread, and
water, since meat and wine were thought to spoil their condition, though the
concern for their welfare related solely to the need to keep them healthy enough
to work the oars.”
NEWS
Everyone consumes that utterly vegan stuff, water. And in this regard, a new and
distinctly unsettling development was the subject of the Journal-Sentinel’s
Sunday headline: the revelation that all kinds of drugs are getting into our
water: apparently when people take supplements and prescriptions, significant
fractions of those drugs are excreted and flushed down the toilets and into the
sewers, and end up in lakes, streams, and groundwater, where they cause
environmental problems and get into our drinking water. The existence of this
problem is just being realized. Stay tuned.
Obesity is again/still in the news. Associated Press reported on a study of
90,000 women which found that the fatter one gets, the higher one’s risk of
death and its preceding illnesses; another report determined that even though
government subsidies make fatty fast food especially cheap, and therefore the
poor are the likeliest to be fat, obesity is spreading most quickly among the
affluent. This leads to discussion of the recently-identified “Syndrome X/
Metabolic Syndrome,” characterized by weight increase, climbing blood pressure
and cholesterol levels, inactivity, and increased heart attack risk.
Interestingly (but not surprisingly), the solution suggested by the Out-post
Exchange nutritionist’s column is exercise and a change in diet: eat
less, eat less animal fat, eat more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and
omega-3 fatty acids, and “make better carbohydrate choices.” Examples of this
latter are things like eating a whole apple (fiber and all) instead of drinking
apple juice, eating oat-meal or bran cereal instead of corn flakes (corn,
carrots, and white potatoes shoot blood sugar up faster than many other foods),
having a sweet potato instead of a white potato, eating brown rice and whole
wheat bread instead of white rice and white bread, eating a whole wheat bagel
instead of a donut… You get the idea: whole foods are good, while refined foods
are bad, and the “high-glycemic-index” foods that cause blood sugar levels to
shoot up are to be used with care. However, indications that the low-carb craze
is waning are causing the food industry not to find ways to make whole foods
tasty but to make things sweet without using sugar. Never mind that there is no
indication that this would help people lose weight, or even that artificial
sweeteners are healthy. At least in Connecticut the state legislature is
debating banning junk food and soda from schools, although no one can really say
whether this will help. Meanwhile, there was a report of increasing incidence of
healthy-diet promoters like Dean Ornish and John McDougall working with the food
industry, the question being whether they are helping things improve or being
co-opted. And more and more people are now joining me in being disgusted with
the complexity of the new Food Pyramid.
There is not too much Bad Foods News this month, but E Magazine addressed
concerns about mad deer disease, and the possibility that it may be just the
same as mad cow disease in its ability to transmit spongiform encephalopathy to
people who eat affected animals; they felt that evidence is still inconclusive
–but is highly suggestive. A Harvard study found that trans-fats, often used in
deep frying and processed cakes, pies, crackers, and cookies, increase the risk
of colorectal cancer. And it has been noticed that Friday fish fries are not
heart-healthy: they involve both deep-frying and the wrong kind of fish to do
any good. It may be considered bad or good that Wisconsin is running out of its
surplus of milk powder, since this means that the poor will no longer get this
food yet it also means that they will be spared it (whichever you think is
better). And finally, you can find a horrible surprise in your food whether you
intend to or not: there were two different reports recently, one of which was
true (!) of people finding human fingers in food served to them at restaurants.
In
other food news, E Magazine ran an article (highly timely in light of the
revelations about drugs in water) on protecting ourselves against toxins in the
environment, and one of its seven recommendations was to “Go veggie” and avoid
both meat and dairy fats, as these are what contain the most toxins. Another was
to eat organically grown food, for the same reason. Finally, in relation to
both the diet wars and the hope of avoiding bad stuff, The Green Guide
suggested eating lots more produce,
avoiding animal fats in the diet through skipping meat and eating only no- or
low-fat dairy, eating whole foods not refined ones, and getting healthy fats and
exercise. And it is very good news that prices for organic produce are starting
to fall in line with prices for conventionally grown produce.
Finally, legislators have noticed that potlucks need legal protection, in the
sense of not being held to restaurant standards. See Connections.
There is also, of course, good news about vegetarian foods.
Prevention reports on a study which found that 4 small glasses of red wine
per week can cut the risk of prostate cancer in half (though 3 or more glasses
on each of several occasions seems to raise the risk for stroke). Another
prostate cancer fighter is watermelon, and in fact all the different carotenoids
help the immune system to protect against cancer as well as infections –and
carotenoids are all found in red, orange, pink, and yellow fruits and
vegetables. Also, the form of vitamin E that is found in nuts and seeds may slow
the growth of cancer cells. Foods that contain vitamin C and omega-3 fatty acids
can be helpful in reducing arthritis pain (vitamin C-rich strawberries are just
coming into season). According to Prevention, 20% of women are iron
deficient, so if you’re pale and chilled and tired all the time, the fix may be
simply to eat plenty of greens and beans, along with a vita-min C source to help
absorb it. Finally, it seems that people have been able to cut their cholesterol
without drugs simply by eating plant sterols – which obviously come from plants;
the article mentioned brand names of foods that feature healthy fats and
calcium.CONNECTIONS
As
some may recall, there was some concern last Fall about whether MARV might incur
any legal liability some day if anyone ever got sick after the PreThanksgiving
Feast. It now seems that the issue has occurred to others as well, and in a very
welcome way.
It
seems that there are some rumors of public health workers making problems for
schools, churches, and even nursing homes for holding potluck meals, at least
according to state Rep, Barbara Gronemus, a Democrat from White-hall. In fact,
there is some dispute about this, since the people that Rep. Gronemus named as
potluck-busters respond that they never did that, though they do state that they
have advised serving food from a licensed facility or cooking at an approved
site when potluck plans have come to their attention. Since we have never
controlled the food we serve in either of these ways, it is very good news for
us that Rep. Gronemus announced plans to introduce a law exempting such events
as ours from state food-safety rules which govern restaurants. Her bill would
specifically exempt events sponsored by a variety of religious and civic groups,
and senior citizen centers and adult day-care centers where attendees bring
their own food and there is no admission charge.
Obviously, such legislation would be all good for us, both at our monthly
potlucks and for the PreThanksgiving Feast.
We should all write or phone our state legislators and ask them
to support and cosponsor such a law.
THE VEGGIE TABLE
Two
things caught our attention in an ad for the Ardor Pub and Grill. One was the
promise that this eatery has gone completely smoke-free. The other was the
announcement that they offered salads, wraps, and vegetarian fare along with
burgers and Friday fish fry. So when the occasion arose for Chuck and me to eat
out with our Atkins-diet family, Ardor Pub was the place we tried, simply in the
hope that we would all be able to eat there comfortably together.
This
hope was fulfilled. We actually were able to download their menu from the
internet ahead of time, and it proved to be accurate. We entered and found a
very English-pub-style yet smokeless atmosphere, warm and inviting. (The ad also
mentioned an outdoor patio for warmer weather than pertained that day.) There
was indeed a vegetarian section on the menu, and just like in an English pub the
waitress turned out to be vegan herself and helped guide us to what was “safe,”
for example by warning us that the vegetarian burger was not in fact vegan.
Admittedly there was not much of a selection for Chuck, but he did find a
California Wrap that fit his needs, and there were several lacto-vegetarian
selections for me. We both found our meals very tasty and satisfying, and our
carnivorous family members were equally satisfied with theirs.
Ardor Pub and Grill is downtown, at 607 N. Broadway; phone (414)
224-1476. Hours are 11 AM to 9 PM Mon. through Thursday and 11 AM to 10 PM on
Friday and Saturday.