by Brenda Shoss
printed in the Healthy Planet, February 2001
from Trevor Chin - [email protected]
As a vegetarian, I encounter a lot of misconceptions.
I'm a protein-deprived "bunny-hugger" who shuns materialism and doesn't
shave bodily hair. Puh-lease. I grew up in the seventies, a middle class
brat who mall-hopped along the asphalt straits of suburbia.
I do not find meat repulsive. In fact, Mom's broiled
pork chops and Dad's barbecued chicken elicit fond childhood memories. I
simply prefer live animals over dead ones, as do my now vegetarian
parents and sister. A glimpse behind the slaughterhouse wall forever
ruined my cheeseburgers and turkey sandwiches. There, I saw gentle
creatures slung upside down from meat hooks. I heard pigs scream like
terrified children. I watched half-stabbed birds hobble through pools of
blood. I will never forget the
mournful look of fully conscious cow, seconds before his throat was
slit.
Six years ago, after watching the graphic HBO special,
To Love Or Kill: Man Versus Animal, I confiscated all meat products from
my refrigerator and proclaimed to my surprised neighbors: "Please accept
these cellophane-wrapped remnants of tortured creatures. I can never eat
an animal again."
I may be a tad theatrical, but I'm no health guru. I
love sweets and drink coffee and diet soda. Yet whenever I mention my
vegan diet free of meat, dairy and eggs, someone ardently confesses:
"Hey, I've cut out red meat!"
"Good for you," I silently think. According to Michael
Klaper, M.D., author of Pregnancy, Children and the Vegan Diet, "We now
live in a world of Salmonella-tainted chickens, Listeria-covered
cheeses, and beefburgers laced with estrogenic hormones and residues of
potent antibiotics. There are very good reasons why parents would want
to raise their son or daughter without fatty and contaminated meat and
dairy products pouring through the child's bloodstream each day."
The recent birth of my son prompted research into the
benefits of an animal-free diet. Though I hope to foster Elijah's
kinship with animals (rather than teach a strict doctrine of vegan do's
and don'ts) I realize he'll one day face outdated "food facts" invented
by the United States Department of Agriculture. Their Food Guide Pyramid
advises two to three daily servings of dairy products along with meat as
a main protein source. While this concept champions the meat/dairy
industries, it offers sparse nutritional guidance. It ignores numerous
studies linking saturated fat and cholesterol in meat, eggs and dairy
products with heart disease, cancer and stroke - the three top American
killers.
One of two Americans will die from heart disease. The
excess saturated fat (mostly from animals) and cholesterol (completely
from animals) will be the cause in almost every case. The American
Dietetic Association claims that vegetarian diets reduce the risk for
coronary artery disease, hypertension,
diabetes mellitus, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, kidney disease, and
obesity.
In a 1999 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions
report, one in six teenagers' hearts showed significant blockage and the
arteries of five-year-olds were clogged with fatty patches. Cancer, the
number two U.S. killer, is similarly associated with our huge
consumption of animal fat and protein.
Still, wary carnivores warn: "Kids won't grow big and
strong without meat!" Yes, they will. They may, however, avoid
contaminated meat goods, which according to the Food and Drug
Administration contribute to six and a half million cases of food
poisoning and six thousand deaths every year. The
media regularly report new outbreaks of E. coli infection, Camplyobacter
and Salmonella poisoning - all potentially fatal in children, pregnant
or nursing women, and the aged.
When you serve an animal-based meal, you serve residues
of growth-inducing chemicals, antibiotics, pesticides and herbicides.
Factory farmers are encouraged to pump hormones and steroids into
animals to maximize their economic return. Howard Lyman, a former cattle
rancher and author of Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth From the Cattle Rancher
Who Won't Eat Meat, describes today's mega-farms as unnatural settings
where disease is rampant. Intensively confined animals ingest high doses
of antibiotics to keep them alive long enough to yield milk or meat.
Over 50 percent of the antibiotics produced in the
United States are sold to meat and dairy manufacturers, rather than sick
people. Antibiotic abuse by farmers has led to what the scientific
community refers to as Super-Bugs-Bacteria (SBB). SBB are resistant to
current antibiotic therapies.
And what about milk, the American cure-all for kids?
Cow's milk can cause deficiencies in iron, essential fatty acids, and
vitamin E, as well as contribute to juvenile onset diabetes and colic in
babies. Cow's milk, with its high levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I),
is associated with elevated risks for prostate cancer and breast cancer,
according to a review by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American
Institute for Cancer Research.
American dairy farmers use Recombinant Bovine Growth
Hormone (R-BGH) to boost milk production. BGH increases the incidence of
bovine mastitis. Antibiotics administered to treat this painful
inflammation of the cow's udder are passed on to humans who drink cow's
milk.
Contrary to the myth that vegetarians subsist on tofu
and grass, I serve hearty fare such as: Corn tacos with veggie-meat
hamburger and pinto beans; oat bran muffins with vitamin fortified
vanilla or chocolate soymilk; veggie cheeseburgers on whole wheat buns;
pasta in red sauce with soy meatballs; oatmeal with sunflower seeds &
raisins; soy-based meatloaf with mashed potatoes; veggie-bacon, lettuce,
and tomato on rye bagels; or veggie-chicken stirfry in peanut sauce with
cornbread stuffing.
All of the essential carbohydrates, fats, protein,
vitamins, minerals and water are found in the Vegan Six Food Groups -
�Whole Grains and Starches, Legumes, Green and Yellow Vegetables, Nuts
and Seeds,
Fruits, Vitamin and Mineral Foods. My kitchen is stocked with "fake
meats" and calcium-rich soy/rice/almond-based milks and cheeses. I don't
mind that the soy impostors resemble the real thing. Meals made with
mock beef, ham, turkey, chicken, or tuna don't sacrifice living
creatures.
There are 18 million American vegetarians, and that
number multiplies by one million or more every year. If I can nurture
Elijah's taste for food free of animal fat, I can offer him a fit body
with healthy arteries and a reduced cancer risk. Better yet, he'll know
the wonder of a curious pig's warm snout or a hen's contented purr. Call
me a cow-hugger, if you must, but I'd rather love 'em than eat 'em.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
1.) Eat lower on the food chain. Trade animal flesh for grain, soy, and
legume proteins and replace animal fats with plant oils. Use the "fake
meats," found in most supermarkets, in your favorite recipes.
2.) Learn more about vegetarian living and recipes.
Contact any of these groups for informational literature:
* Physician's Committee For Responsible Medicine (PCRM): 202-686-2210;
* Humane Society Of The United States (HSUS): 202-452-1100;
* VegNews: 408-358-6478;
* Farm Sanctuary: 607-583-2225;
* People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA): 757-622-7382;
* Farm Animal Reform Movement (FARM): 301-530-1737;
* Vegan Outreach: 412-247-3527;
* EarthSave International: 206-525-9903;
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