Confessions of a Media Junkie

What The F is wrong with Texas Animal Shelters

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:44:00 +0000

(from Change.org)

It seemed like a story with the potential for a happy ending. Sara Legvold fell in love with a female Chihuahua at the Garland, Texas animal shelter. "I saw that little Chihuahua, and it broke my heart," said Levgold. "I said, 'I gotta get that little thing out of there.'" She planned to adopt her. Yet this story's ending was tragic, not happy. According to The Dallas Morning News, "less than a day after the dog, Blackie, was listed by the shelter as available, she was euthanized because of her aggressive tendencies."

(full story here)

Remember that story I posted at the end of July? Remember that it was a shelter in Dallas? Now Garland (which is a suburb of Dallas.) While I am pretty sure that stories like this go unreported all the time in various cities in the US, why does it feel that more of them come from Texas or of southern states than really need to? This sickens me and appalls me.

Some collected facts (with charts) about Obesity in the US

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 16:32:00 +0000

More facts located here

The Shame of being from Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:19:00 +0000

This is from Change

Dallas Animal Services has been having ongoing problems with its air-conditioning. As you might imagine, a building full of animals in the Texas summer heat is pretty uncomfortable (and potentially dangerous). It gets even less pleasant when there's a dead cat stuck in the wall.

Last month, a cat escaped from his cage at the Dallas shelter. It happens. The cat apparently climbed into the ceiling. That happens, too. It can be hard to find a cat who doesn't want to be found. But then the cat wound up trapped in the wall, where shelter workers could hear him trying to get free. It took several days for him to die in there.

As if the thought of this poor cat slowly dying in the walls wasn't bad enough, here's the worst part: He could have been rescued. How do I know that? Because when the stench of the cat's carcass made things unpleasant, it was removed. Apparently it wasn't a high priority for shelter staff to get the cat out of the walls when he was struggling and crying, but as soon as he started to smell, they were getting him out of there, even if it was Mission Impossible.

Sources told CBS 11 that managers were well aware of the missing cat trying to free himself from the wall. The district attorney's office is investigating who knew about the cat, and when, to determine whether cruelty charges can be filed.

Jonnie England, a member of the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission, said "If these allegations are true, these are the people who are charged with protecting and caring for animals in the city of Dallas. This is a level of callousness and unconcern and incompetence that is just stunning."

England has also been outspoken about the chronic ventilation problems at the shelter, saying that between the broken air conditioner and vents clogged with dirt and debris, there's a risk of spreading disease in addition to heat-related problems. It's good to know that the animals in Dallas have a champion, because if the city's "shelter" is allowing animals to die within its walls (literally), the animals need someone looking out for them.

The Dallas Animal Shelter Commission needs to replace the managers and staff responsible for this negligence with compassionate leaders who know the meaning of the word "shelter," and can give the city's animals the safety and care that they deserve.

If you'd like to contact the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission, please do so here:

Dallas Animal Services and Adoption Center

Phone: 214-670-8246

1818 N. Westmoreland Road
Dallas, Texas 75212

USDA Admits Link Between Antibiotic Use by Big Ag and Human Health

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:46:00 +0000

Can't get much more blatant than that now can we?

From Huffington Post:

At a hearing of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Wednesday, July 14, 2010, a representative of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) finally caught up with the rest of the world -- and his peers at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) -- and admitted that the use of antibiotics in farm animal feed is contributing to the growing problem of deadly antibiotic resistance in America.

Dr. John Clifford, Deputy Administrator for Veterinary Services for the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) read from his previously submitted testimony that the USDA believes it is likely that U.S. use of antibiotics in animal agriculture does lead to some cases of resistance in humans and the animals.

Why is this news? Because the USDA has been continually playing the Three Wise Monkeys game -- it sees no evil, hears no evil and speaks no evil -- when it comes to deadly consequences to humans of the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in farm animals. In fact, Dr. Clifford looked as if he'd been given a choice between testifying or having his eye poked out with a stick and he lost the toss.

Others, though, readily stepped up to the plate. Despite the feeble nature of the recent FDA Guidance to Industry on farm animal antibiotics, Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Principle Deputy Commissioner of the FDA, was clear in his testimony that the overall weight of evidence supports the conclusion that using antibiotics for production purposes in livestock farming (as growth promoters and to prevent rather than treat illness) is not in the interest of protecting and promoting public health.

Dr. Sharfstein also turned away a challenge from Representative John Shimkus (R-IL 19) about the soundness of the science upon which his findings rest. Mr. Shimkus, obviously unhappy with Dr. Sharfstein's testimony, badgered him to come up with up a U.S. peer-reviewed study (which Dr. Sharfstein did -- a 2003 Institute of Medicine study) and then questioned the veracity of the findings. Dr. Sharfstein assured Mr. Shimkus that the Institute has a peer-review process in place and reminded him that "the Institute is considered our nation's leading scientific expert ... "

Dr. Ali Khan, Assistant Surgeon General and the Deputy Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Center for Disease Control and Prevention, testified that there is unequivocal and compelling evidence that the use of antibiotics in farm animals leads to drug resistance that has an adverse impact on public health. He also faced questions from a visibly agitated Mr. Shimkus, who kept dismissing studies by the World Health Organization and others to request "real science," which, from his posturing, is evidently only that which supports Big Ag.

Mr. Shimkus played his role as Big Ag's Mouthpiece admirably. He questioned every statistic, slide, study, expert, institution, report or person cited that didn't agree with an antibiotic free-for-all in the farmyard. "So far there's nothing that links use in animals to a buildup of resistance in humans," he stated, recklessly ignoring all published science since 1968 and the testimony of the doctors his government has charged with protecting health, while making sure he gave Big Ag a clear, concise statement around which it can issue an indignant press release.

So let's recap -- the USDA, however grudgingly, is finally admitting the link between the use of subtherapeutic antibiotics in farm animal feed and human drug resistance; the FDA is impressed enough with the "weight of the evidence" to begin calling for changes in how antibiotics are used in farm animal production; and the CDC feels the evidence is "unequivocal and compelling," yet there are still those calling for "real science?"

Well how about the March 22, 2010, report from the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network that a superbug call C. difficile is multi-drug resistant and on the rise? Is that real science or should we conduct more studies and perhaps hold a few more hearings?

We don't need more hearings, we need action. H.R. 1549, Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, continues to languish in committee while a few elected officials spend the taxpayer's time and money to pretend the science they are calling for doesn't already exist in mountains.

In the coming days, I expect that Big Ag will marshal their forces and come out with its own brand of science and experts to refute all testimony that threatens its profit margin. Of course, what I'm really waiting for is the day the Subcommittee calls on one of the dozens and dozens of AWA farmers to relate how changing from confined to pasture-based farming has eliminated the need for subtherapuetic and most therapeutic antibiotics because their animals and their farms are safe and healthy to begin with.

No Charges for Man Who Abused Cows

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:05:00 +0000

MARYSVILLE, Ohio — The owner of a central Ohio farm won't face charges in connection with a video showing cattle being beaten and poked with pitchforks, a prosecutor announced Tuesday.

A Union County grand jury decided not to indict Gary Conklin of Plain City after investigators and veterinarians studied the video and concluded Conklin acted appropriately, County Prosecutor David Phillips said.

An animal welfare group secretly recorded the video in late April, saying it showed cattle being abused at Conklin Dairy Farms. The farm fired an employee who has since pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of animal cruelty.

Phillips said the video posted on YouTube used out-of-context scenes to create a false perception that Conklin was involved in the abuse, but investigators and grand jurors saw the original video.

"They saw the unedited video of Mr. Conklin's actions, not the highly inflammatory version released on YouTube by Mercy for Animals," Phillips said in a statement.

The group Tuesday said the decision not to charge Conklin has failed concerned citizens and animals that deserve protection, giving Conklin Farms "a free pass" for animal abuse. "Mercy For Animals was the only true watchdog and defender the animals at Conklin Dairy Farms had," said Daniel Hauff, the group's director of investigations. "The dairy industry and local law enforcement had all failed to detect the abuse or hold the abusers accountable."

Phillips said the grand jury also considered charges against another farm employee, the undercover worker who made the video, and Mercy for Animals officials, but decided there wasn't enough evidence. Phillips said the abuse allegations should have been reported immediately to authorities.

He also said authorities were monitoring threats being made against the Conklin family and farm and warned they could result in prosecution.

Gary Conklin said in a statement it was gratifying that no else was charged. But he said the family remains saddened by the abuse shown in the video and said it doesn't reflect the farm's commitment to animal care.

Here is the "highly imflammatory" and "out-of-context" video that everyone on YouTube saw:

I don't know about you, but the first few seconds of this video looks like "cruel and unusual" punishment to me. Context or not. Acts of violence against another living creature is just that ... violence. Abuse is abuse, there is no "context."

If you take a club and beat a man who was entering your home, it does NOT take away from the fact that you were beating him. Your reasons may be justified but the act is still what it is. I can hardly think though that any cow, under ANY circumstance, would warrant having their heads trampled, stomped or kicked.

BP Burning sealife

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:11:00 +0000

BP just can't stay off my radar these days. It seems that they're grossly incompetent in just about any way that a major corporation can be incompetent. I can only imagine how many stories like this the "media blackout" are filtering out.

From Change

It’s not just oil going up in flames in the controlled burns BP has been setting off in the Gulf of Mexico. According to eyewitnesses, sea turtles and other marine life trapped in the oil slick are being burned alive — and BP is preventing rescuers from saving the creatures’ lives.

The Los Angeles Times reported last week that converging ocean currents are collecting long clusters of sargassum seaweed along with the spilled oil, creating 30-mile-long "islands of death." The booms trailing BP ships indiscriminately gather up the oil and seaweed (as well as whatever critters have the misfortune to be clinging to it), which is then torched. The 100-foot flames mark an area referred to as the "burn box."

Since April, more than 5 million gallons of oil have been ignited in more than 165 burns. No statistics are available as to the number of turtles and other marine creatures trapped and ignited in those burns. BP executives must be breathing a huge collective sigh of relief over that.

The Times story follows a team of turtle researchers as they cruise near Deepwater Horizon, shadowing the boom boats’ paths in an effort to save any turtles before they are incinerated. Not that the poor creatures have a chance for survival anyway.

"We've seen the oil covering the turtles so thick they could barely move, could hardly lift their heads," said Blair Witherington, a research scientist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. As for their almost certain death by either suffocation or fire, he conceded, "I won't pretend to know which is the nastiest."

In one case, the crew watched helplessly as a long, thick clump of seaweed was gathered by BP boats and burned — seaweed they were sure was full of sea turtles.

"In a perfect world, they'd gather up the material and let us search it before they burned it," Witherington said. "But that connection hasn't been made. The lines of communication aren't there." At least the team was able to save 11 turtles that day, all of them coated with oil.

Read the rest of the article here

Here's how to help:

* The National Wildlife Federation is working with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, and is encouraging anyone in the southern Louisiana area looking to help to reach out through its website;
* The International Bird Rescue and Research Center has sent a team of specialists to the region to help with any oiled wildlife. If you spot oiled wildlife, call the Wildlife Reporting Hotline at 866-557-1401. Please note that oiled birds (or any other oiled wildlife) should not be captured, but reported to the hotline;
* The National Audubon Society is recruiting volunteers to be trained to respond to the oil spill. They are also encouraging members of the public to contact the Interior Department and encourage them to halt the expansion of offshore oil drilling in the eastern United States;
* Alabama residents are asked to contact the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program at 251-431-6409;
* Or contact the Mobile Baykeeper at 251- 433-4229 to volunteer anywhere along the Gulf Coast;
* Save Our Seabirds is a Florida bird rescue group that is looking for volunteers as its response team prepares to help oiled wildlife. To help, call 941-388-3010;

Oil, Joe Barton and the shame of being from Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:08:00 +0000

First let me say that I was going to write about the despicable behaviour of Joe Barton last week when he "apologized" to BP, but I thought twice about that. Let me say this though, I love Texas and I love a lot of things about this state but the political environment stinks to high heaven. Readers of this blog (all 3 of you) have seen that I've posted things on here from time to time that, personally, make me hang my head in shame. People need to realize that politics, suffering and stupidity walk hand in hand (at least in Texas.)

This article is from Change

As if the millions of gallons of oil hemorrhaging into the Gulf of Mexico weren't bad enough, it appears that there is at least some evidence that the solution is almost as bad for animals in the affected areas. At issue is a chemical called Corexit, an oil dispersant.

Now, it's hard to tell you a lot about Corexit, for a couple of reasons. First, we're talking about some pretty hardcore chemistry (key ingredients include things like 2-Butoxyethanol, propylene glycol, and dioctyl sodium sulfosiccinate), and, more importantly, Corexit's makers don't really want you to know a lot about the stuff, since it's a proprietary mixture. The ingredient list was kept secret until last week, when the EPA finally revealed it and scientists could start trying to figure out exactly how the chemicals will impact wildlife.

What we do know about Corexit is plenty though. We know, for instance, that on May 20, the EPA ordered BP to find a better, less toxic alternative to Corexit, and BP more or less refused. We also know that the two flavors of Corexit are but two options out of eighteen on the EPA's list of approved dispersants.

Most importantly, perhaps, we know what Corexit does, at least according to people like Joe Taylor, an environmental engineer in Daphne, Alabama. Taylor told his local TV news that Corexit basically makes oil sink from the surface down to the ocean depths, where it depletes oxygen levels. That, according to Taylor, kills of plankton, with resulting trauma all the way up the food chain.

And finally, we know that, according to the New York Times, "other U.S. EPA-approved alternatives have been shown to be far less toxic, and in some cases, nearly twice as effective."

So why the slavish devotion to Corexit? You might suspect, given BP's past history, it has something to do with lining their own corporate pockets. You would be right about that.

First of all, BP is already in pretty deep with Corexit; they've used between 800,000 and 1 million gallons so far. Nalco Holding Company, who makes Corexit, estimates that they could sell as much as $40 million worth of the chemical for use in the Gulf. And this stuff isn't cheap.

But, more insidious by far are the connections between Nalco and the oil industry, and specifically BP. Nalco exists, in its current iteration, thanks to a joint venture with Exxon in the mid-1990's. And, Nalco's board has more than a few oil-industry insiders, including at least one executive with over a decade of service to — guess who? — BP.

Basically, BP is getting a free pass to continue to help out their friends, while putting Gulf wildlife — even the ones who survive or avoid the oil itself — at risk.

Deepwater Spill Analysis (with oceanographic map)

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:00:00 +0000

Oceanographic Analysis for Deepwater Horizon Spill Dated June 8th

Animal Abuse at Cal-Cruz Hatcheries

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:09:00 +0000

Warning: This video is graphic and disturbing

New Report Says FDA Needs Revamping

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:10:00 +0000

(From Change.org)

As if we needed any more evidence that the food safety system in this country is dysfunctional, a new report found that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is — wait for it — unequipped to handle problems with the food supply and in need of major revamping.

The report was issued yesterday by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the National Research Council at the request of Congress. Authors recommend that the FDA take a risk-based, proactive approach to food safety at every stage of production, provide standards for inspections, and have mandatory recall authority over the roughly 80 percent of the nation's food supply it's responsible for overseeing.

"FDA uses some risk assessment and management tactics," said committee chair Robert Wallace, "but the agency's approach is too often reactive and lacks a systematic focus on prevention. Our report's recommendations aim to help FDA achieve a comprehensive vision for proactively protecting against threats to the nation's food supply."

Oh, and to do that, Congress is going to need to enact legislation that is unsurprisingly similar to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which has already passed the House of Representatives and has been pending in the Senate for seven months now. Congress asked for an expert opinion, and now they have it. It's time for them to act.

In a written statement, FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg concluded that "the report clearly highlights the need for enactment of pending legislation that provides much-needed authorities and resources to assist in our efforts to ensure the safety of our nation's food supply."

There's nothing particularly new or shocking within this report. For anyone who even casually follows food safety issues, everything about this report should be familiar. What is perhaps most shocking is how painfully clear it is that our food safety system is broken. While a viable solution is within reach, the Senate refuses to take the necessary action. How many more Americans must die or become ill before the Senate reads the writing on the wall?

One simple vote could transform our nation's food safety system. Sure, it won't be perfect, and certain interests groups have legitimate concerns about the pending legislation's potential impacts. But it will be a positive step for consumers, food producers, and our country. Tell your senators to bring S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, to the floor for a full vote.

Eat Less Meat .. Save the Planet

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:16:00 +0000

(From Change.org)

Last week, the United Nations issued a dramatic report calling on the world to reduce its consumption of animal products. According to the U.K. Guardian, the U.N. believes a "global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change."

As the U.N. report makes clear, animal agriculture is extremely wasteful: "Animal products, both meat and dairy, in general require more resources and cause higher emissions than plant-based alternatives." According to Time, "worldwide livestock farming generates 18 percent of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions — by comparison, all the world's cars, trains, planes and boats account for a combined 13 percent of greenhouse gas emissions." More than half of all the food grown globally goes to feeding farm animals. And, according to Professor Edgar Hertwich, the lead author of the report, "Animal products cause more damage than [producing] construction minerals such as sand or cement, plastics or metals. Biomass and crops for animals are as damaging as [burning] fossil fuels."

Alas, in many places, people are eating more meat, not less. "Meat consumption per capita in China rose by 42 per cent over eight years from 1995 to 2003," says Sangwon Suh of the University of California, Santa Barbara. As a nation becomes richer, its citizens become more carnivorous, and the Earth suffers the consequences.

Sadly, it comes as no surprise that the U.N. report doesn't address the more than 55 billion animals killed worldwide every year in factory farms and slaughterhouses. If you're looking for something about the moral and ethical issues involving eating animals, you won't find it in this dry, academic report. Nor will you find anything health benefits of a meat-free diet. And, as Erik Marcus at Vegan.com notes, "The number of times this 112-page report uses the words vegan or vegetarian: zero."

Many will resist the United Nations' call to consume fewer animal products. Yet it is now obvious that a vegetarian or vegan diet is about more than saving the animals. It's about saving the
planet.

Here's the report:

Priority Products and Materials Report Full

These images speak for themselves

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:52:00 +0000

Angry BP Art

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:50:00 +0000

BP is in Full Media Lockdown over Gulf Spill

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:48:00 +0000

Here is a picture that neither the President saw, nor does BP want you to see. this picture is a rotting dolphin corpse that was dragged from the gulf."When we found this dolphin it was filled with oil. Oil was just pouring out of it. It was the saddest darn thing to look at."

I will be posting more later because TRUST me ... there is more and plenty to be angry about.

7 Tips for a low budget vegetarian diet

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:09:00 +0000

(From Savvy Vegetarian)

Here are 7 tips for eating a healthy vegetarian diet on a budget:

1. A pressure cooker to cook beans, soups and other foods - one of the best vegetarian investments you’ll ever make, and will save you TONS of Time. A good one costs about $120, and will last 20 years or more. We recommend the Fagor brand. Are you due for a gift from someone who can afford it?

2. Crockpots or slowcookers are also great time savers, and inexpensive. Put supper on to cook, leave the house for the day, and come home to a cooked meal. What a brilliant invention! It’s handy to have both 4 – 6 qt, and 8 – 10 qt. sizes.

3. Get a good chef’s knife with a sharpener, to chop veggies, and learn how to use it. Otherwise prepping veggies is time consuming and difficult, the main reason most people can’t be bothered. But being a healthy vegetarian means eating vegetables! A good chef’s knife will last your lifetime, and you can get a 1st class knife for around $30. My favorite is Victorinox – it’s one of the best & cheapest, recommended by Cook’s Illustrated.

4. Have at least one excellent all purpose vegetarian cookbook, with a large, informative ingredient section, nutrition information, cooking methods, and a vast array of delicious recipes for a varied vegetarian diet. Find used books in excellent condition online for half the price. See SV cookbook reviews.

5. Make extra, and freeze for later: beans, grains, soups, stews, breads, etc,. Not quite as nutritious or tasty as freshly made, although far better than most of the alternatives. Most of us can’t tell the difference, and don’t have time to cook three meals a day from scratch!

6. If your budget allows, buy bread, yogurt, sprouts, and other basics, such as canned beans, tomatoes, and frozen veggies like peas, corn, or spinach, to supplement what you make yourself. You’ll pay more, but the time saved for other activities, such as earning money, may be worth it to you. Getting these things through a food co-op, or shopping sales, will save quite a bit, but the trade off again, is your time.

7. Shop Around For Fruits & Veggies: Prices can vary widely for produce from store to store. The cheapest fruits and vegetables are usually in season, and they also happen to be the freshest and healthiest. Basics like cabbage and carrots are always cheap and nutritious. Apples oranges & bananas are the least expensive fruits in winter. When foods like asparagus or peaches are in season, they’re relatively cheap, so go for the treats! Shop carefully at the local farmer’s market, and if you can, grow some of your own veggies – super cheap, but again, the trade-off is your time.

The Truth about Hamburger

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:42:00 +0000

For those of you who enjoyed a hamburger over Memorial Day, here are some facts for you:

One hamburger can contain the meat of hundreds of different cows, even from different slaughterhouses. Most beef cattle spend the last months of their lives at feed lots.

At the feed lot, cattle are pumped full of hormones, antibiotics, and fattening feed. Their feed is corn-based, but often contains the meat of pigs, chickens, and turkeys. It also legally can contain road kill and euthanized cats and dogs, as well as fecal waste from cattle, pigs, or chickens. As cows are designed to eat grass, they need roughage in order to digest their food. Plastic pellets are often used instead of natural fiber.

After a few weeks on the feedlot, cattle are sent to the slaughterhouse. The cattle are stunned before they are hung upside down and bled to death. The stunning process often does not render them unconscious and they remain kicking as a knife is stuck in their throat.

Beyond the cost to the animals, there's also the environmental impact of a hamburger. The manufacture of a single hamburger takes enough fossil fuel to drive a small car 25 miles. According to The Rainforest Action Network, 55 square feet of rainforest are destroyed for the production of every hamburger.

What's the harm in one hamburger? Well, if you ask Stephanie Smith, a lot. Stephanie Smith was a former dance instructor, and thanks to one hamburger, she will never walk again. Stephanie ate a largely vegetarian diet, rarely eating hamburgers. But the one she happened to eat was contaminated with fecal matter, which carries E.coli bacteria. She suffered seizures after eating the burger and was kept in a medically induced coma for three months. She is now paralyzed, with cognitive problems and kidney damage. Stephanie's case against beef producer Cargill Inc. was settled earlier this month.

Natural Resources Used Up in Food Production-

User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S.: animal agriculture
Amount of water used in production of the average cow: sufficient to float a destroyer
Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25
Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of California cow meat: 5,000
Years the world's known oil reserves would last if every human ate a meat-centered diet: 13
Years they would last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260
Calories of fossil fuel expended to get 1 calorie of protein from beef: 78
To get 1 calorie of protein from soybeans: 2

Amount of meat imported to U.S. annually from Central and South America: 300,000,000 pounds.

A new report authored by an Ohio State University professor estimates food-borne illnesses cost the U.S. $152 billion each year in health care and other losses.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year.

For every foodborne illness case that is reported, as many as 40 more illnesses are not reported or lab-confirmed.

More than 30 million people in the United States are likely to be particularly susceptible to foodborne disease. Very young, elderly, and immune-compromised persons experience the most serious foodborne illnesses.

It is estimated that chronic, secondary complications resulting from foodborne illness occur in 2-3 percent of cases.

The Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates the annual costs of medical care, productivity losses, and premature deaths due to foodborne illnesses caused by the five major pathogens to be $6.9 billion.

Still need more convincing?

Phyllis K. Fong, the Agriculture Department's inspector general, looked at how beef is tested for harmful substances.

According to her new report, inspectors charged with checking cattle for disease and meat for contaminants were, "unable to determine if meat has unacceptable levels of... potentially hazardous substances [and do] not test for pesticides... determined to be of high risk."

The inspectors also failed to test beef for 23 pesticides, the report says.

The study -- entitled the National Residue Program for Cattle Audit Report -- says there are no standards for how much of certain dangerous substances, such as copper and highly toxic dioxin, is too much for someone to eat.?? As a result, meat containing these substances has gotten into the nation's food supply, it finds.

The report says the health danger to people who eat this beef is a "growing concern," and calls for better coordination among the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ensure the safety of the country's meat supply.

Yearly:

20,000 others suffer from poisoning by E.coli 0157-H7, the mutant bacteria found in contaminated meat that generally leads to lifelong physical and mental health problems. A more thorough meat inspection with new technologies could eliminate most instances of contamination--so would vegetarianism.

Facts speak for themselves.

Health Related Foodborne Illness Costs Report.pdf 1

Paula Deen ... Responsible for teaching your children how to cook?

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Thu, 20 May 2010 18:05:00 +0000

Health food activists in Savannah are questioning the local school system's decision to partner with Paula Deen on a new culinary arts program.

According to a recent report by Georgia Public Broadcasting, some parents are horrified that the celeb chef responsible for the cookbook selected as the past decade's "unhealthiest" by a group of physicians will be steering the curriculum for high schoolers enrolled in the Paula Deen Academy of Culinary Arts.

A spokeswoman for Savannah's Brighter Days Natural Foods was unaware of the controversy when reached by phone, but wondered why the schools didn't pick a nutritionist as a consultant. According to Audrey Biloon, there's no shortage of talented Savannah chefs who don't bathe their vegetables in bacon grease or fry balls of butter. "You don't have to eat a high-fat diet in the South," Biloon contends.

Although a spokesperson for the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System didn't respond to repeated requests for comment, a release issued by the system quotes the high school's executive director as saying "Paula Deen is an internationally recognized chef with the expertise and ability to connect our students to opportunities within the culinary arts industry. We are honored and pleased that this program will be unique in that it is the only culinary arts school partnership with Paula Deen."

Paula Deen Academy students, who will earn culinary arts certificates along with their high school diplomas, will follow a curriculum based on state guidelines, American Culinary Federation standards and Deen's recommendations.

Eating Liberally Austin

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Wed, 19 May 2010 17:59:00 +0000

I had said several weeks (or was it months) ago that I was starting a local Austin chapter of Eating Liberally and it has come to pass. We'll be having our first meeting tomorrow night (May 19th) here in Austin at Get Sum Dim Sum. We even have our own Facebook page. So if you're out and about tomorrow for dinner and have no idea of where to go or what to do, drop by and say hi :)

Fast Cheap And Easy

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:47:00 +0000

(This is from Huffington Post)

I can honestly say I've never gotten more mileage out of the word bullshit than I did last week at the IACP conference in Portland, Oregon. But I have to clarify that when I called bullshit, I wasn't responding to Karen Page personally--she was simply voicing what everyone seems to believe and propagate: that we all lead such busy lives that we have no time to cook.

To repeat: bullshit. Maybe you don't like to cook, maybe you're too lazy to cook, maybe you'd rather watch television or garden, I don't know and I don't care, but don't tell me you're too busy to cook. We all have the same hours every day, and we all choose how to use them. Working 12-hour days is a choice.

Tell me, do you ever hear this? "You know, this month, I really wished I'd had more time, because I believe in paying taxes. I was just too busy." Or, "I've got this cancer on my forehead but I've just been too busy to have it removed." Or, "You know how hard it is to get your kid into kindergarten in Manhattan; if only I weren't been so busy."

We don't blow that stuff off, do we? But the processed food companies make it easy to blow off cooking for ourselves. And we do so at our peril. This is why I responded to Karen as I did. America is too stupid to question whether something is good for it or not ("Marge, it says snack well right on the box!"). And in the very same way we believe that idiocy, we believe these very same companies telling us how wonderful our lives will be if we buy this low-fat Lean Cuisine because it will save us so much time, only 3 minutes! Used to take seven! You've got four extra minutes to play with!

This is not a judgment against people who eat Lean Cuisines. If you're happy eating them and life couldn't be better for you, I'm not going to say a word. I just don't want to hear it's because you don't have the time to cook real food.

Since the food industry began, they've been pushing for faster and faster cooking times--that's what they were selling, not food you enjoy or that makes you feel good. That's what they want people to value. For decades, not only have the multinational food corporations been selling us speed, so have the media. The media embraced it. "That's what people want!" argue editors and publishers I've spoken with.

Magazines, newspapers, and television shows bombard us with quick and easy meals. Have been for decades. Have we gotten any better, any happier, any healthier? Some people have. But not because they learned how to spend less time cooking. It's likely because they learned to spend more time cooking. And the rest of the country has only gotten fatter, sicker and sadder, to the point that the government feels it needs to step in and regulate the food.

Part of the problem is the magazine editors and television producers drumming us over the head with fast and easy meal solutions at home. It's the wrong message to send. These editors and producers and publishers are backing the processed food industry, propelling their message. What I say to you magazine editors and producers, to you Rachael Ray and you Jamie Oliver and your 20 minutes meals: God bless you, but you are advertising and marketing on behalf of the processed food industry.

Quick, fast, and easy isn't the point. Good is the point. Makes you feel good is the point. I am not saying spend three hours making a chicken galantine. I am saying put a chicken in the oven with some cut up potatoes for an hour. Yes, a whole hour! If you're inclined to enjoy some carnal exertions with your partner during that hour, that chicken will be all the more appreciated. But if there's laundry to be done, if there are kids who need help with their geometry, then do that.

In an hour, all who are eating, help set the table, fill some glasses, take out the plates. Make the time. In the same way that you make time to buy shoes for the kids, clean the bathroom, pay your bills--make time to be together over food that makes you feel good when you've finished eating it. Quick and easy won't get you anywhere. Quick and easy will only frustrate you and make you feel like you're failing. You want quick and easy? That's what take-out's for. Nothing wrong with it. Pizza, I love to come home with a couple beautiful pies from Marotta's down the street and open a nice bottle of wine.

But I know for a fact that spending at least a few days a week preparing food with other people around, enjoying it together, is one of the best possible things in life to do, period. It's part of what makes us human. It makes us happy in ways that are deep and good for us. Fast and easy has nothing to do with it.

Supreme Court to Rule on GM Crops

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:06:00 +0000

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Tuesday involving a federal judge's temporary ban on a breed of pesticide-resistant alfalfa, setting the stage for the court's first-ever ruling on genetically modified crops.

Legal experts do not expect a blockbuster decision on the merits of regulating modified plants such as Monsanto Co.'s Roundup Ready alfalfa, but the case, Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, has drawn widespread interest because the justices could issue a ruling that would raise or lower the threshold for challenges under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Environmental groups, which frequently use the statute to bring lawsuits against government agencies and industry groups, "don't expect anything good" to come from the Supreme Court's eventual decision, said David Bookbinder, chief climate counsel at the Sierra Club. It seems that some of the justices are "on a kick to gut NEPA remedies," he said earlier this year during a panel discussion on environmental law at Georgetown University.

See the full story here.

Countdown to Earth Day

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:58:00 +0000

Time, once again, to go out and try to give the planet a big hug. Do your part, do what you can. Make this day a day of setting goals, try to come up with a plan to start reducing your carbon footprint. Take meat off of your table 1 day a week, reduce the amount of plastic that you use. Learn more about what's going on around the world here

Record number of food stamp recipents

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:41:00 +0000

The economy is really hard on everyone right now, and here's another example:

About 39.4 million Americans, the most ever, received food stamps in January, the government said.

The number of recipients was up 22% from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The total of Americans getting the subsidy has hit records for 14 consecutive months.

With that said ... because we know that most food subsidies cover mass produced, factory farmed goods, can you see the health care crisis becoming worse?

Here's a really great article about obesity, healthcare and poverty:

Some highlights include:

According to the US Agriculture Department, between 1985 and 2003, the cost of fruits and vegetables rose by 120%. While the cost of soft drinks, sweets, sugars and sweets rose by less than 50%.

A 2006 study by the Colorado Health Foundation titled the “Income, Education and Obesity” found that 25% of Colorado children living in low-income households with an average income of $25,000 or less were obese compared to 8% of the children in households with an income of $75,000 or more who were obese.

While I'm not purely suggesting that lower income families are breeding obese children or that lower income families are "fat and lazy," what I am suggesting is that the issues with food, scarity and proper nutrition are an ever looming issue now exacerbated by a declining economy and a shrinking middle class.

Technology and Vegetariansim

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:39:00 +0000

So with all of the technology that's available out there now I'm happy to show off this little app for your Ipod touch, Ipad or Iphone:

http://www.vegetarianscanner.com/

I didn't have anything to do with it's production but I still think it's a cool thing. It's $1.99 and should come in handy when you're looking through ingredient lists at the grocery store.

Alternet explains how Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Failed

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

After two months, kids hated the new meals, milk consumption plummeted, and many students dropped out of the school lunch program altogether.

Read the full article here

Report Shows Cruelty at Top Egg Producers

noreply@blogger.com (Media Junkie) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:37:00 +0000

From the Humane Society of the US Website:

In February and March 2010, an HSUS investigator worked inside four different factory farms, owned by two of the nation's largest egg producers. The scope of suffering that the investigator revealed was staggering.

This is not a matter of a couple of rotten eggs, but rather standard industry practices that are simply rotten. As investigation after investigation has shown, this cruelty is pervasive throughout the entire battery-cage egg industry. It's time for an end to cage confinement of laying hens.

The video can be found here.

I highly recommend that you read the report and watch the video.

(I published this to Scribd but keep getting an error so here's the URL: http://www.scribd.com/doc/29607348/Report-2010-Iowa-Egg )