May 2008

GREETINGS

Our Earth Day tabling at the Urban Ecology Center was, I am informed, a great success. Many people visited our table; many good conversations were had; many children were intrigued by the secret tool for combating global warming which turns out to be a fork. A number of people signed up for further contact with us, and are receiving this free sample of our newsletter as a result: Welcome to you all. As you’ll see on page 3, you can continue to receive the newsletter either by a snail-mail subscription or on the internet for free. And we always welcome new faces at our potlucks. Also, thank you to Jody Johnson and Wanda Embar for (wo)manning our table.

M.A.R.V. ACTIVITIES

Sunday, May 4, 5 PM, regular potluck at the Friends’ Meeting House, 3224 N. Gordon Pl. in Riverwest (from Humboldt Blvd., go east on Auer a few short blocks to the parking lot), Theme will be Mediterranean Menu. As usual, bring a dish in the theme or not, as you choose.

Other veg-friendly meetings

The May macrobiotic potluck will be on Sunday, May 18, at 5 PM at Roberta Forman’s place 500 W. Bender Rd., # 67 in Brown Deer. Phone 414-967-2580 for directions.

The Urban Ecology Center’s vegetarian potluck will be on Thursday, May 15 at 6:30 PM at 1500 E. Park Pl. – bring plate and fork as well as a meatless dish. Phone 414-964-8505 to confirm or get directions.

QUOTES OF THE MONTH

“Biofuels, Energy Solution, Becoming a Food Problem”

-- New York Times headline, 4/15/08

“Higher food prices level the playing field for sustainable food that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels.”

NEWS

We’re still seeing fallout from the downer cattle scandal. A USDA audit of 18 beef slaughterhouses found humane handling violations in three of them. And as a result of the scandal, Congress asked the USDA to ban all downer cattle from human consumption, not just those that can’t be forced momentarily to their feet or passed on reinspection; at first, dairy farmers as well as cattle ranchers were objecting to such a measure, but by late April the pressure was such that they seem to have agreed to it. It may be too late for a young Virginia woman, though, who according to the Portsmouth Health Dept. appears to be dying of new variant Creutzfelt Jakob disease, which in Europe was contracted by eating beef from animals with mad cow disease.

In other follow-ups, there was a fresh out-break of bird flu in South Korean poultry farms. And Organic Gardening magazine reported on the problems encountered by dairies that want to label their milk as rBGH-free, as well as the recently-reported problems of mega-dairies that failed to honor the organic standards. And after the NY Times reported on problems with the Chilean salmon industry, the industry took out an ad in that paper claiming that they are environmentally responsible and their fish is safe…

Meanwhile, Michigan fined a dairy farm over polluted runoff that wound up in Saginaw Bay. And while the Iowa Supreme Court rejected a suit by neighbors who sought to deny a permit to a giant hog facility, Iowa’s House approved a study to find ways to ease the stench from such operations.

Another reason not to eat meat in the US is that the USDA has approved using carbon monoxide on it to keep it looking red while it sits in the case, a practice banned in Europe, Canada, and Japan since it can hide spoilage.

Environmental problems of industrialized livestock raising are finally getting into more mainstream news. I caught an interview on NPR with Stanford University economist Roz Naylor, which mentioned the inefficiency of feeding grain to animals, as well as the energy costs of fertilizers and pesticides and of growing and transporting grain to feedlots; Professor Naylor opined that even a 20 to 30% decrease in animal food eating would make a big difference.

And besides being bad for the world, eating animal foods still isn’t very good for consumers’ health. Good Medicine, the publication of the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine, ran an item reporting on a new Danish study which found that the more meat a woman eats, the greater her risk of breast cancer; other studies have recently reported that consuming even low-fat and skim milk on a regular basis can increase a man’s risk of prostate cancer. And a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that children who consume a high-dairy diet grow up to have an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

And then there is a great deal of news coming out about the global shortage of grains and resulting high prices for food staples, which have caused shortages, fear of famine, and food riots in 33 different countries all over the world (so far). The situation seems to be the result of a combination of factors. A severe 6-year drought in Australia has devastated the usual rice crop there, plus other climate problems, such as storms that greatly reduced the rice harvest in Vietnam, are one factor. (This may or may not be related to the global climate change which is partly caused by the livestock industry.) But another major contributing factor is the diversion of corn to biofuels, and a third major factor – which is actually starting to be talked about – is the diversion of grains from feeding people to feeding animals due to rising demands for meat. See Dialog section below.

Meanwhile, in any case, plant foods are still good for you. A tip from Prevention magazine suggested adding 2 or 3 ounces of citrus juice to green tea in order to improve the stability of the antioxidents in it that help prevent cancer, stroke, and heart disease. A different article reminded readers that another way to prevent disease is to eat raw vegetables: in one study, people who ate uncooked broccoli, cabbage, or cauliflower at least 3 times per month had a 40% lower chance of developing bladder cancer than those who didn’t; recipes for coleslaw were then supplied.

An article on marinades for grilled foods reminded readers that tofu and vegetables can be marinated and grilled instead of meat. And yet another article focussed on health advantages of some new and different fruits: fresh figs with their high levels of blood-pressure-lowering potassium (better than bananas); fresh lychees with more heart-healthy polyphenols than red grapes (and breast-cancer-protective properties too); guava for its super-high vitamin C, ability to protect against food-borne germs, and high antioxident content; Asian pears for their fiber; and papaya for its anti-oxidents that can protect against cancer. A final note from Prevention suggested making all that produce organic, since new British research found that organic produce has up to 40% more antioxidents than conventionally grown.

Dark chocolate is still being noticed for its high antioxident levels and health benefits, including lowering blood pressure and the risk of diabetes, blood clots, and cancer, while stabilizing cholesterol and enhancing brain function – all according to an AARP publication article.

CONNECTIONS

The North American Vegetarian Society, of which MARV is a member group, has announced its 2008 Vegetarian Summerfest, which will be held this year on June 18-22 in the usual place in Johnstown, PA. As always, there will be speakers, great vegan food, chances to meet and network with others and to get more active, as well as good fun. You can attend for all 5 days or just the weekend. Contact NAVS at 518-568-7970 if you’re interested or go to www.vegetariansummerfest.org

DIALOG

Two months ago, when I last addressed the food-issue problems surrounding biofuels, the situation was much less stark than it has since become. As mentioned above, the availability of food for people – and especially poor people – is nosediving worldwide. Even in the US, prices for eggs, milk, cheese, bread, and rice have jumped by 12 to 25 % in the past year. But in places like Haiti prices for some of the most basic staples have doubled. People who could afford enough food for health a year or two ago can no longer do so. There have been food riots in dozens of countries, from Haiti to Somalia to Thailand, Uzbekistan, Italy, Egypt, Ivory Coast, the Philippines…

Also as mentioned above, the causes of the problem are multiple, and interlocking. But in one way or another, they all involve food-crop policies.

One of the problems is certainly the wild and severe and unusual weather that has caused crop failures recently in various parts of the world. And it is now clear that one of the most significant causes of global climate change is the livestock industry, both in its high use of energy and in the greenhouse gases produced by billions of animals being raised for food.

Another of the problems is the biofuels thing. When edible portions of crops are used to run cars instead of feed people, two things happen: less food is available for people to eat; and the price of food rises, making even the food that’s still there too expensive for the poorest people to afford to buy. (Also, when rainforest is clearcut to grow crops for biofuels, that adds to global climate change.) There are two answers here: favor energy sources like wind power rather than biofuels; and make biofuels only from inedible materials like algae, or at least use the corn stalks instead of the grain!

But a third and very significant factor in the growing global food shortages is the increased demand for meat. Part of this comes from the increased number of human beings: if the same percentage of people want the same percentage of meat in their diet as before, but there are more people, demand goes up. But even worse, as increasing portions of the populations of developing nations move out of subsistence level and into a bit more comfort – which is a good thing in itself – they are seeking to live literally “higher off the hog.” The demand for meat is growing fast as the rest of the world tries to emulate Americans’ rich and meat-heavy way of eating. And as we all know, it takes many pounds of grain to make one pound of meat, so that the demand for meat directly decreases the amount of grain and beans available to feed people.