Facts of InterestFacts of Interest
Compassionate Teaching and Studies About animals, food, health, and the environment From All-Creatures.org

Daily Facts Listed by Date

May 2008

1 May 2008 - Vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle.
2 May 2008 - World Wildlife Fund supports the Canadian seal slaughter (seals are bludgeoned and skinned alive) because “it is not a conservation issue.”
3 May 2008 - The USDA recalled 143 million pounds of beef on Feb. 17, 2008, marking the largest meat recall in U.S. history to date.
4 May 2008 - Research indicates the extract from cranberries inhibits proliferation of human tumor lines, causing an anticancer effect.
5 May 2008 - Capsaicin (an ingredient found in hot peppers) triggers cancer cell death without harming surrounding healthy cells.
6 May 2008 - Dead cats and dogs from shelters and vet clinics are often mixed into livestock feed for cattle and hogs on factory farms.
7 May 2008 - Scientific evidence proves that fish do in fact, feel pain and react to it.
8 May 2008 - A recent study found that higher IQ's in childhood are associated with an increased likelihood of being vegetarian as an adult.
9 May 2008 - Calcium absorption from vegetables is better than that of milk.
10 May 2008 - The U.S. government is exempt from false advertising laws.
11 May 2008 - A 12-year Harvard study of nearly 78,000 women, found that women who drank milk three times a day actually broke or fractured more bones than women who drank little to no milk at all.
12 May 2008 - Declawing cats is an unnatural, painful and inhumane act; the surgery is actually an amputation of the last joint of a cat's "toes".
13 May 2008 - Throughout ancient history, some of the most revered, influential, and brilliant thinkers of have embraced animal compassion and vegetarian ideology.
14 May 2008 - Chickens are excluded from the U.S. Animal Welfare Act and from the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.
15 May 2008 - A vegetarian, including vegan, diet can meet current recommendations for all essential nutrients.
16 May 2008 - Raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars, SUVs, and trucks in the world combined.
17 May 2008 - Researchers at the University of Chicago have determined that switching to a vegan diet is more effective in countering global warming than switching from a standard American car to a Toyota Prius.
18 May 2008 - Albert Einstein supported vegetarianism.
19 May 2008 - Likelihood of a vegetarian reaching the age of 80 compared to a non-vegetarian :1.8 times greater.
20 May 2008 - There are no federal laws requiring humane protection of animals in fur factory farms.
21 May 2008 - Bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%
22 May 2008 - Young women eating just 2 to 4 servings a week of beans or lentils seemed to cut their risk of developing breast cancer by about a quarter, compared to those that ate servings less than once a month.
23 May 2008 - Animal testing on cosmetics is not required by the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
24 May 2008 - During slaughter, many hogs are alive when they reach the scalding-hot water baths.
25 May 2008 - Pigs are capable of high levels of cognitive thought - more so than dogs and certainly [more so than] three-year-old humans.
26 May 2008 - Gelatin is derived from soaking animal (usually pig or cow) hides and bone in acids, then boiling them to extract the gelatin, and finally turning it into a dry powder.
27 May 2008 - Artificial coloring in foods and cosmetics is sometimes made from crushed bugs.
28 May 2008 - Milk is a maternal lactating secretion, a short term nutrient for newborns - nothing more, nothing less.
29 May 2008 - The 2007 Dairy Checkoff Unified Marketing Plan (UMP) reported a budget of $175.2 million.
30 May 2008 - In addition to other serious health concerns, dairy products may play a major role in the development of allergies, asthma, sleep difficulties, and migraine headaches.
31 May 2008 - In 2007, a tenured, and widely admired school teacher was fired for providing students with FACTS about the meat and dairy industry.

June 2008

1 June 2008 - The dairy industry allocates the majority its marketing budget to kids.
2 June 2008 - Carl Lewis, winner of 9 Olympic gold medals, credits his best year of performance in part to the vegan diet he adopted in 1990.
3 June 2008 - Legumes provide a good source of protein and can be a healthy substitute for meat.
4 June 2008 - "Dolphin Safe" labels on tuna fish products do not necessarily mean that dolphins were not harmed or killed in the process.
5 June 2008 - In both the U.S. and abroad, investigations have documented egregious cruelty to animals in kosher farms and slaughterhouses.
6 June 2008 - Raising animals for food causes pollution to surface water, groundwater, air, and soil.
7 June 2008 - The Dairy Checkoff works on behalf of U.S. dairy farmers to increase sales of demand for U.S. dairy products and ingredients.
8 June 2008 - Veganic farming uses no synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, genetically modified ingredients, nor the use of any manure or slaughterhouse byproducts.
9 June 2008 - “Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems. Urgent action is required to remedy the situation.”
10 June 2008 - 75% of all the grain exported from the US to other countries goes to feed livestock rather than to feed hungry people.
11 June 2008 - Scientific data identifies a positive correlation between a balanced vegetarian diet and a reduced risk of of several chronic degenerative diseases and conditions, and some types of cancer.
12 June 2008 - The benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to alleviate menopausal symptoms can be obtained from HRT derived from plants and from processes that do not require any animal suffering.
13 June 2008 - Premarin and Prempro are hormonal replacement drugs that contain pregnant mare urine (PMU).
14 June 2008 - Thoroughbred racetracks in the U.S. have reported 5,000 horse deaths within the last 4.5 years.
15 June 2008 - Whole grains contain protective antioxidants in amounts near or exceeding those in fruits and vegetables.
16 June 2008 - Steve Mendell, president of the Westland/Hallmark slaughterhouse, acknowledged his company introduced sick cows into the hamburger supply.
17 June 2008 - Male chicks, of no economic value to the egg industry, are typically gassed or ground up alive.
18 June 2008 - Many former racing horses are slaughtered for profit.
19 June 2008 - Most chicken meat sold in the U.S. contains traces of fecal matter.
20 June 2008 - Avocados contain nearly 20 vitamins and minerals and are high in healthy fat.
21 June 2008 - New research finds that vegetables appear to help keep the brain young and may slow the mental decline sometimes associated with growing old.
22 June 2008 - Pigs can play joystick controlled video games.
23 June 2008 - Fur farmers often use genital electrocution to kill animals for fur mainly because it's cheaper than other killing methods.
24 June 2008 - Sometimes merchandise that is labeled or advertised as fake or 'faux' fur is actually real fur.
25 June 2008 - In China, dogs and cats are brutally killed and sometimes skinned alive so that their fur can be made into clothes, fashion accessories, and toys.
26 June 2008 - Results from a 10 year study found that cat owners "appeared to have a lower rate of dying from heart attacks" compared to feline-free households.
27 June 2008 - Results from recent clinical studies indicate a strong possibility that dogs can be trained to detect various forms of cancer in humans.
28 June 2008 - A 2007 survey found 88% of Americans with companion animals consider their pets to be "a member of the family."
29 June 2008 - On the typical egg farm, an average of 5.6 hens are confined for their entire productive lifetime in a single wire cage.
30 June 2008 - Debeaking is a common procedure within the poultry and egg industry in which a hot blade is used to chop off half of a birds beak without any painkillers.

July 2008

1 July 2008 - One cup of mushrooms provides about one-third of the recommended daily intake of copper, which helps to produce red blood cells.
2 July 2008 - Broccoli contains chemicals that activate cancer-fighting genes and inhibit others that fuel tumors.
3 July 2008 - A recent study shows protein from soy products significantly reduced participants' LDL cholesterol, especially those who had high cholesterol.
4 July 2008 - 73% of USDA poultry inspectors surveyed no longer eat chicken.
5 July 2008 - Medical researchers at the University of Minnesota analyzed over a thousand food samples from multiple retail markets and found evidence of fecal contamination in 69% of the pork and beef and 92% of the poultry samples as evidenced by E. coli contamination.
6 July 2008 - "The number one factor in elimination of Latin America’s tropical rainforests is cattle-grazing... the "hamburgerization" of the forests."
7 July 2008 -  Homemade, vegan recipes are essential to optimal health; grocery stores also provide an abundance of tasty, convenient, vegan alternatives to traditional meat-based products.
8 July 2008 - U.S. cattle production has caused a significant loss of biodiversity on both public and private lands.
9 July 2008 - Some elephants can be taught how to paint with a regular paintbrush on canvass.
10 July 2008 -  Referring to the way we treat animals, Dr. Bekoff states, “We must not simply continue with the status quo because that is what we've always done and it's convenient to do so.”
11 July 2008 - "Multiple experts have concluded independently that vegan diets can be followed safely by infants and children without compromise of nutrition or growth and with some notable health benefits."
12 July 2008 - Sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis may benefit from a vegan diet.
13 July 2008 -  One USDA study concluded, “Eating 2 ounces of chicken per day—the equivalent of a third to a half of a boneless breast—exposes a consumer to 3 to 5 micrograms of inorganic arsenic, the element’s most toxic form.”
14 July 2008 - In a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) study, researchers found that 66 percent of beef samples were contaminated with super-bugs resistant to antibiotics.
15 July 2008 - The British Medical Journal published findings from a study concluding that lifelong vegans have a 57% reduced risk of death from heart disease.
16 July 2008 - Odors from CAFO's may contain 170 separate chemical substances.
17 July 2008 - People living as far as two miles away from factory farms where hogs are raised experience symptoms such as bronchitis and shortness of breath at rates similar to those of farm workers.
18 July 2008 - Just one quarter-pound hamburger imported from Latin America requires the clearing of six square yards of rain forest.
19 July 2008 - Producing a pound of grain-fed steak requires the use of hundreds of gallons of water.
20 July 2008 - Producing a pound of beef protein often requires up to fifteen times more water than producing an equivalent amount of plant protein.
21 July 2008 - Protein needs are easily met as long as the diet contains a variety of grains, legumes, and vegetables.
22 July 2008 - Humane and reliable dissection alternatives already exist for frogs, fetal pigs, cats, earthworms, rats, fish and crustacean, and other species.
23 July 2008 - Evidence indicates that foods such as cheese, sugar, meat, and chocolate might actually have brain effects that create a food addiction to these specific products. 
24 July 2008 - Antioxidants are substances that may protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals. Free radical damage may lead to cancer.
25 July 2008 - Garlic consumption may reduce the risk of developing several types of cancer, especially cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.
26 July 2008 - The National Cancer Institute has an "Eat 5 to 9 a Day for Better Health" program, the numbers referring to servings of fruits and vegetables.
27 July 2008 - A 2008 Harris Poll survey concluded that approximately 3.2 percent of U.S. adults, or 7.3 million people, follow a vegetarian diet. Approximately 0.5 percent, or 1 million, of those are vegans.
28 July 2008 - Electric prods (sometimes referred to as "hot shots" are commonly used on rodeo animals.
29 July 2008 - Between the years of 1999 and January of 2008, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus has received over 35 violations of state and federal humane laws from the USDA.
30 July 2008 - Traveling circuses (such as Ringling Brothers) routinely abuse elephants with sharp, metal bullhooks to train circus elephants into performing frivolous "entertainment" for humans.
31 July 2008 - "Without torture, there can be no rodeo," claims Peggy W. Larson, DVM, MS, JD, a former bareback bronco rider. “In my opinion, and based on my extensive training and experience, it is impossible to create a humane rodeo.”

August 2008

1 August 2008 - Many restrained animals that are confined to a small, enclosed space (in labs, farms, and zoos) resort to stereotypies, the neurotic repetition of gestures such as pacing, swaying, head-bobbing or bar-biting.
2 August 2008 -  Oxford University published a study that lists polar bears, lions, tigers, cheetahs and other large carnivores as lousy candidates for captivity.
3 August 2008 - Animal research has a 92% failure rate. Just 8% of (animal-tested) drugs that enter Phase 1 and 2 trials reach the marketplace and half of products fail in the late stage Phase 3 trials.
4 August 2008 -  9 of 10 doctors surveyed admit that animal experiments are deceptive.
5 August 2008 - Estimated number of animals experimented upon in the U.S. annually exceeds 20 million.
6 August 2008 - Fiscal 2006 USDA charts list animals used in research by state and category of procedure: NO PAIN, NO DRUGS: 577,885 WITH PAIN/NO DRUGS: 73,640 WITH PAIN/WITH DRUGS: 382,298 Numbers do NOT reflect total animals used. 
7 August 2008 - Over 90% of animals used in laboratory experimentation are disqualified from protection under the U.S. Animal Welfare Act. Rats, mice, birds + numerous other species are explicitly removed.
8 August 2008 - Morgan Spurlock conducted and filmed a controlled experiment by enclosing French fries in glass jars. One jar contained fries from McDonalds, the other from a local restaurant. Ten weeks later, the fries from the local restaurant were completely blackened with mold yet the McDonalds fries were still intact without a single mold spore and appeared as if they were "just purchased yesterday."
9 August 2008 - On February 10, 2004, Mrs. Atkins released a statement clarifying details about her husband’s health. She confirmed that, in fact, her late husband Dr. Atkins did have coronary artery disease.
10 August 2008 - Hollywood celebrity paid by Meat Board to tout beef as "Real food for real people": James Garner – 1987. Medical event experienced by James Garner in April, 1988: Quintuple coronary artery bypass surgery
11 August 2008 - Most common cause of death in U.S.: Heart Disease Risk of death from heart disease by average meat consuming American male: 50% Risk of death from heart disease by average vegan man: 4%
12 August 2008 - A growing number of physicians now claim that a healthful plant-based, oil-free diet can prevent and (in some cases) even reverse heart disease.
13 August 2008 - Green and black teas promote a protective vascular effect and are good sources of antioxidants known to inhibit cancer growth.
14 August 2008 - Milk ruins the health benefits of tea. 
15 August 2008 - A 1997-1998 report found that only 33 accredited U.S. medical schools (26%) had a required nutrition course.
16 August 2008 - Despite the recognition that physicians are often called upon to provide guidance in nutritional aspects of disease and disease prevention, nutrition has not been consistently emphasized in medical school curricula. Numerous reports suggest that nutrition education of physicians remains inadequate.
17 August 2008 - In the 1950s, it took 84 days to raise a five-pound chicken. Due to selective breeding and growth-promoting drugs, it now takes an average of only 45 days.
18 August 2008 - A "factory farm" or a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO), is a large-scale industrial site where many animals are confined and treated with hormones and antibiotics to maximize growth and prevent disease. Factory farming is an attitude that regards animals and the natural world merely as commodities to be exploited for profit. In animal agriculture, this attitude has led to institutionalized animal cruelty, massive environmental destruction and resource depletion, and animal and human health risks.
19 August 2008 - Nearly 9 billion broiler chickens are raised on factory farms each year in the United States alone.
20 August 2008 - Over the past 30 years, poultry slaughterhouse workers "have consistently suffered injuries and illnesses at a rate more than twice the national average."
21 August 2008 - Consuming more fiber on a daily basis can increase lung capacity and decrease the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
22 August 2008 - The Dairy Council tells us: Milk is nature's most perfect food. The Dairy Council doesn't tell us: Milk is nature's most perfect food for a baby calf, who has four stomachs, will double its weight in 47 days, and is destined to weigh 300 pounds within a year
23 August 2008 - Dean Ornish, M.D., of the University of California at San Francisco, has shown that if people who have advanced heart disease adopt a low-fat vegetarian diet, stop smoking, reduce stress, and engage in mild daily exercise, the plaques in their arteries will actually start to disappear.
24 August 2008 - Many Jewish leaders confirm as it is halachically prohibited to harm oneself and as healthy, nutritious vegetarian alternatives are easily available, meat consumption has become halachically unjustifiable
25 August 2008 - Elephants can discern numerical values by observation.
26 August 2008 - During an outbreak of avian influenza among poultry there is a possible risk to people who have contact with infected birds or surfaces that have been contaminated with excretions from infected birds that carry the virus.
27 August 2008 - Cows automatically point to the north.
28 August 2008 - Study shows monkeys experience joy of giving.
29 August 2008 - Animal tests have an appalling 92% failure rate in predicting the safety and/or effectiveness of pharmaceuticals.
30 August 2008 - Addiction experiments performed at the University of Minnesota causes primates to suffer so terribly that they succumb to exhibiting anything from self mutilation to complete mental breakdown.
31 August 2008 - Genesis 1:29 states: "Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.""

September 2008

1 September 2008 -  Christian and Jewish vegetarians believe a vegan lifestyle promotes better stewardship of God’s Creation.

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